harold sylvester tulane basketball
TriPod -- New Orleans at 300 revisits the first integrated high school sports contest in Louisiana, on February 25, 1965. “He was a very, very good player as a sophomore.”. Harold Sylvester: Yes, I was in New Orleans doing a campaign for Rusty Palmer, a college classmate of mine. “My memory is that we were in the locker room,” he says. Harold Sylvester (born February 10, 1949) is an American film and television actor. If you read the Louisiana Weekly or read about us in The Times-Picayune, you know, the articles are very short and terse and they just had, you know, St Aug beat Lincoln or Landry, one of the other black schools, and then they would give you the score, and that was it. His better known film roles are in supporting roles in An Officer and a Gentleman (1982), Uncommon Valor (1983), Innerspace (1987), and Corrina, Corrina (1994). A fight. Tulane alumnus, veteran actor, writer and producer Harold Sylvester is currently starring in Tour Detour, a play written by award-winning playwright Harold Ellis Clark, during a six-performance run with just three shows remaining.. He’s lived in New Orleans his whole life, and grew up in the Bayou St. John neighborhood on Taft Place. And this, in my memory, and this is an indelible memory, is the shotgun that got pressed to my forehead. But, while they were trying to fight for freedom, for America, who would not grant them their freedom. And try to beat them.”. And that was the beginning of desegregating local high school sports. The most recent TV show in which he starred was The Army Show. Sylvester said the … Between a bull. Early life and education. He was the first African-American student to receive an athletic scholarship from Tulane University. He is a graduate of New Orleans' St. Augustine High School and Tulane University. Demetria Fulton previewed Sylvester in Barnaby Jones; episode titled, “A Desperate Pursuit” (10/11/1979). And then I watched the film again this morning and I think you could make the leap back 50 years and say that substantially, significantly, we’re in the same place that we were in 1965. His first Hollywood role was as Nathan, a lead character in Part 2, Sounder, the sequel to Sounder. He is a graduate of New Orleans' St. Augustine High School and Tulane University. Sylvester remembers a limited audience. They decided on a secret match on Jesuit turf. Because we won’t, and please understand that we won’t.’ My dad was a barber and I had an afro. Sylvester attended Tulane University on a basketball scholarship and graduated in 1972 with a degree in theater and psychology. [1], Sylvester wrote the screenplay for the 1998 TV movie Passing Glory, based on some of his experiences playing basketball in high school[1] including a groundbreaking game of St. Augustine High School's all-black team against Jesuit High School's all-white team. Tulane University's basketball player #44, center, Harold SylvesterPhoto measures 8 x 10.25inches. He went on to a life in Hollywood, and made a movie about the game called Passing Glory. Tulane Alum and actor, Harold Sylvester gives the Keynote Address for the 52nd Annual Tulane Educational Conference Saturday, February 26, 2005 The Secret Basketball Game That Desegregated Louisiana High School Sports. Sylvester had a recurring role on the TV series City of Angels. CULVER - Former Tulane basketball coach Ralph Pedersen passed away Wednesday, June 15, 2016, in Culver. “How, a lot of things were, superficially, very different, but fundamentally a lot of things remained the same in 1992. He was the first African American to receive an athletic scholarship from Tulane. He had the guts to turn down Harvard University and attend the basketball scholarship that he received from the Tulane University. Sylvester was Tulane’s first black scholarship athlete – he came to play basketball a few years after Martin enrolled at Tulane. But that was the difference between these Purple Knights and their families. But they were the two top teams in the city. He also coached four All-Americans during his tenure at Tulane, was inducted into the Tulane Hall of Fame in 1993, and inducted into the Indiana Basketball Hall of Fame in 2003. In The Mid-19th Century, Vicious Animal Combat Drew Thousands To Algiers, How The Germans Brought Gymnastics To New Orleans. Harold Sylvester (born February 10, 1949) is an American film and television actor.. Sylvester was born in New Orleans, Louisiana. Having endured in World War II and essentially having to spend all of WWII below deck, because the black service people were, you know, essentially service people in many of the arenas. Son, also named Harold, played basketball for the U.C.L.A. Sylvester was born in New Orleans, Louisiana. So Jesuit didn’t play St. Aug. Credit Harold Sylvester / Amistad Research Center. We didn’t have a gym. Turning down Harvard, he attended Tulane on a basketball scholarship and graduated in 1972 with a degree in theater and psychology. Martin won an academic scholarship. In 1968, on the strength of his basketball skills, Sylvester became the first African-American student ever to receive an athletic scholarship to Tulane University. The two men also have very different experiences sharing this news with their parents. But after hearing the announcement about the game from their respective coaches, their memories and experiences of this shared moment stray. Sylvester has been married to Kathleen since 1970. He was a Purple Knight for St. Augustine High School, or St. Aug. “Harold was younger, he may have been a sophomore when we played that game," says Glenn Goodier, who played for Jesuit. But the next thing we know, trucks started pulling up to the front of the restaurant, and the guys literally came in and dragged us out and took us to the back of the building. Sylvester attended Tulane University on a basketball scholarship and graduated in 1972 with a degree in theater and psychology. Turning down Harvard, he attended Tulane on a basketball scholarship and graduated in 1972 with a degree in theater and psychology. Description above from the Wikipedia article Harold Sylvester, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia. 1967 - First Black student to graduate from Tulane University, first Black student to earn an athletic scholarship from Tulane (Harold Sylvester) and first Black students to play on basketball team and baseball team 1967 - First marching band to play for a New Orleans Saints game; also first Black marching band to participate in the Krewe of Rex Goodier says there was no clock kept for score, and five untimed quarters. “We tried to tell him that we couldn’t stop in that place, but he really didn’t understand. And they had reason. Some players on both teams were barred by their parents from playing, but most did, including Sylvester and Goodier. “That same year we went up to Bogalusa and we had a new priest from the north who came down and wanted to stop for some pie,” remembers Sylvester. Goodier says families weren’t in the stands. “We played it at the Jesuit gym, right there on Carrollton Avenue,” says Harold Sylvester, remembering what it was like walking into that gym for the first, and only time. Then you find out the ferry to cross the river to Algiers is running at half rate, on account of a sporting event. It’s a Sunday afternoon. Harold Sylvester (born February 10, 1949) is an American film and television actor.Sylvester … The Purple Knights pose on the court; Harold Sylvester is kneeling next to his coach. He went to Holy Rosary grammar school, and then on to Jesuit, a private Catholic school. Harold Sylvester poses with trophy and Bishop Harold R. Perry, the first African-American bishop in the 20th Century. He is a graduate of New Orleans’ St. Augustine High School and Tulane University. “We wanted to play in all the sports. Goodier is now a partner at the Jones Walker law firm, and has been there practically since he graduated college. And so, walking into that gym for the first time was like wow, what is this?”. And that is a huge disappointment.”. Turning down Harvard, he attended Tulane on a basketball scholarship and graduated in 1972 with a degree in theater and psychology. [1] So both guys were playing ball in 1965, just when New Orleans private schools desegregated, but the city’s high school sports leagues were still segregated. “It was how fast can we get out of here so that we can celebrate,” he says. Jesuit's Glenn Goodier, in his Loyola days. Sylvester is best known for his role on the TV series Married... with Children as Griff, the co-worker and friend of Al Bundy at the shoe store. Which was a very strange dynamic. But Sylvester says the motive wasn’t explained to the players at the time. “We actually beat them by 22 points”, Sylvester says, laughing. OUTSTANDING ATHLETES FROM TULANE ... Harold Sylvester* 1996 Ben Abadie* Frank Burge* Terrence Jones* Margaret Kelly Eric Lane* E.C. Photo is dated 03-03-1969. In 1964, Jesuit was 30-2; in 1965, Jesuit was 28-1. For the Vermont Supreme Court Justice, see, Learn how and when to remove this template message, "50 Years/50 Collections: Harold Sylvester papers", Harold Sylvester Speech at Education Conference, 2004, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Harold_Sylvester&oldid=957638083, St. Augustine High School (New Orleans) alumni, Articles lacking in-text citations from February 2013, Wikipedia articles with WORLDCATID identifiers, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License, This page was last edited on 19 May 2020, at 20:28. Turning down Harvard, he attended Tulane on a basketball scholarship and graduated in 1972 with a degree in theater and psychology. Biography Born February 10, 1949, Harold Sylvester was the first African-American to receive an athletic scholarship from Tulane University. Goodier remembers hearing this news, and not thinking much of it. Right, Sylvester affirms. The game stayed a secret for a few months before the coaches told the papers. Five years earlier, in 1965, Sylvester played for St. Augustine High School and Fitzgerald for Jesuit High when the basketball teams from the two schools played a … Sylvester was born in New Orleans, Louisiana. He was a contract player for Universal Studios. Fitzgerald then went on to play basketball and baseball at Tulane. Members of the Jesuit team today. Description above from the Wikipedia article Harold Sylvester, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia. By 1967 when the leagues were fully integrated, Sylvester and Goodier were playing in college -- Goodier for Loyola, Sylvester for Tulane. From left, Ronnie Britsch, Tommy Morel, John Carrere, Billy Fitzgerald, Glenn Goodier, Joe Williamson, Art Hamburger and Drew Gates. It didn’t matter to us -- we knew it was a scrimmage, so it wasn’t like we were playing for something that really counted.”. 4. Billy Fitzgerald played for back-to-back state basketball championship teams at Jesuit in 1964 and ‘65. ... Harold Sylvester, to a full athletic scholarship to play at Tulane … He was the first African American to receive an athletic scholarship from Tulane. Sylvester attended Tulane University on a basketball scholarship and graduated in 1972 with a degree in theater and psychology. He grew up in the adjacent Calliope housing projects, which has now become the Benjamin C. Cooper homes. Many parents saw playing Jesuit as something that could put their children in danger. And a grizzly bear. To Goodier, this was just another thing his coach was asking him to do. “My dad, he -- and this gets, uh, sometimes very tough -- but he was an activist in his own way. We didn’t have lockers, we didn’t have a shower. Sylvester was born in New Orleans, Louisiana. Sylvester was born in New Orleans, Louisiana. You know, why won’t the barber’s son get a haircut?”. Basketball seems to gleam in the hands of the nation's leading scorer Pete Maravich of Louisiana State, as he moves in for a basket against Tulane in New Orleans, Feb. 10, 1969. It’s the last practice of the season for the Jesuit High School basketball team. And they remember the outcome differently. Goodier says, again, it was a non-issue. Here's how the Germans brought gymnastics to New Orleans. So, that happened. When the next generation comes along saying ‘Why do you take that? “Tick” Upton* ... Basketball Johnny Arthurs* Milwaukee Bucks Jeff Cummings* (Italian pro team) 122 Phil Hicks* Chicago Bulls, Denver Nuggets, and As a senior, he averaged 15.7 points per game and was selected the Class 3A All-State Most Valuable Player. It’s understandable that Sylvester’s parents wouldn’t want to put him in that position of being a target again. He was the first African-American ever to receive an athletic scholarship from Tulane. Harold Sylvester poses with trophy and Bishop Harold R. 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