The American Basketball League’s Cleveland Pipers, owned by George Steinbrenner, hire John McLendon, Jr. as the franchise’s head coach, making him the first African American to be named to a top leadership position in any major professional sport. The well-respected college coach, leaving the post midway through the 1961-62 ABL season, will become the first of many of the future Yankee owner’s employees to resign over the years due to interference from the front office.

This Day In Baseball

On May 15, 1961 — The American Basketball League’s Cleveland Pipers, owned by George Steinbrenner, hire John McLendon, Jr. as the franchise’s head coach, making him the first African American to be named to a top leadership position in any major professional sport. The well-respected college coach, leaving the post midway through the 1961-62 ABL season, will become the first of many of the future Yankee owner’s employees to resign over the years due to interference from the front office.

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