The DuSable Panthers: The greatest, blackest, saddest team from the meanest street in Chicago

by Ira Berkow

An account of the 1954 Illinois High School State Championship basketball game between the DuSable Panthers, the first all-black team to make the finals, and a team from Mount Vernon High School.

188 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1978

About the author

Ira Berkow was a sports columnist and feature writer for THE NEW YORK TIMES for more than 25 years. He won the Pulitzer Prize for national reporting and was a finalist for the Pulitzer for commentary. He is the author of numerous books, including THE CORPORAL WAS A PITCHER, ROCKIN' STEADY, and SUMMERS IN THE BRONX, the bestsellers MAXWELL STREET: SURVIVAL IN A BAZAAR and RED: A BIOGRAPHY OF RED SMITH, as well as two memoirs, FULL SWING and TO THE HOOP. He was the coauthor and editor of HANK GREENBERG: THE STORY OF MY LIFE, which was a primary source for the award-winning documentary The Life and Times of Hank Greenberg. He lives in New York City.