Photo of Paul Brekke-Miesner by Pendarvis Harshaw
My father has been talking about the amazing history of Oakland sports for as long as I can remember. Every night at the kitchen table the whole family was given history lessons about the local legends who collectively told the Oakland story.
There was the talented 5’5″ kid from Castlemont High School who couldn’t generate any draft interest because he was so small. He wasn’t deterred though, and after paying his dues in junior college, he was finally given a chance with an all-rookie expansion team. Little did the world know that Little Joe Morgan would emerge as the best all-around 2nd baseman of all time.
And then there were the McClymonds teammates who would go on to be two of the best players in the world in two different sports, shattering records and social barriers along the way. Both were toughened by the grating racism of the time, but their tenacity only grew. After amassing hall-of-fame careers, and becoming the first black coach/manager in the NBA and MLB, both Bill Russell and Frank Robinson would receive Presidential Medals of Freedom.
There was also an immensely talented ballplayer who attended both Mack and Tech before deciding as a major-leaguer that players shouldn’t be treated as property. He challenged major league baseball’s reserve clause–likening it to slavery. Though he lost his case in the Supreme Court, it wasn’t long until free agency was born thanks to Curt Flood’s valiant and self-sacrificing stand for labor rights.
I’m often asked, ‘What’s up with this kid from Oakland when he thought he could sue major league baseball?’ I say, it was Oakland. Men who came into Curt’s life taught him to stand up and be a man. He got that from Oakland.” – Judy Pace Flood (Curt’s widow)
And then there was the other side of the Oakland coin. Another young man from Mack who couldn’t even sign his name and would be unable to capitalize on his immense basketball talent. His name was Jimmie Tolliver, but wasted potential has many names in Oakland. Hook Mitchell, Antonio Kellogg, the list goes on.
Greatness, resolve, and heartbreak are all native to this region, and are often sowed together. Many aspire to make it to the league, but coming from the impoverished and traumatized flat lands of Oakland has never been a walk in the park. It takes something special to ascend to the elite ranks of the sporting world, and yet Oakland’s small population has produced more pro athletes than almost any other city in the world.
McClymonds High School stand-outs Vada Pinson and Frank Robinson would star together for many years in the Cincinnati Red’s outfield.
In recent years we’ve watched athletes like Leon Powe, Marshawn Lynch, Alexis Gray-Lawson, Andre Ward, and Damian Lillard represent Oakland’s resilient heritage on the national stage. All are hard working young people with an inimitable edge born of this city’s beautiful struggle.
He’s from Oakland. He’s got an edge. He’s got swagger. I think it’s that dichotomy that makes him so special.” – Portland Trailblazers General Manager Neil Olshey
This city is a furnace of sorts. Many are melted in the heat, but those that emerge from here are made up of some of the strongest metals on earth. Oakland athletes have not only broken into professional sports, they’ve broken records, and then many have broken down unjust social barriers too. Joe Morgan would probably agree that though we may be small, we’re indeed mighty.
It is this special story about the greatness of Oakland that I was raised on, and it is this history that my father has documented in his book, Home Field Advantage: Oakland – The City That Changed the Face of Sports.
This unprecedented compilation of Oakland’s indigenous sporting history can be found online at www.homefieldadvantage.info or the following local bookstores:
1) Walden Pond Books on Grand Ave.
2) Diesel Books on College Ave.
3) Laurel Books on MacArthur Blvd.
4) Oaklandish on Broadway and Fruitvale
5) A Great Good Place for Books in Montclair
6) Spectator Books on Piedmont Ave.
7) Pegasus Books on College Ave.
8) Books Inc. on Park St. in Alameda and on 4th St. in Berkeley
9) Point Reyes Books in Point Reyes Station, CA
Coming up this Thursday December 19th, Oaklandish is hosting a pop-up event at Jack London Square in promotion of the book. We hope to see you there!
