Holcombe Rucker Park

This site was once part of the 8th Avenue Railroad Company, which opened in 1852, ran from Lower Manhattan to 51st Street and 8th Avenue, and expanded here in the late 1800s; part of its original route is now followed by the M10 bus line. The park opened as the PS 156 Playground in 1956 as a Jointly Operated Playground, part of a program begun in 1938 in which the Board of Education provided land next to schools for playgrounds built and maintained by the Parks Department for school use by day and public use on evenings and weekends. Although the school closed in 1981 because of declining student population, the playground remained, and in 1974 it was renamed for Holcombe Rucker, a Playground Director whose protégés requested the change. Holcombe Rucker (1926-1965), born and raised in Manhattan and educated at Benjamin Franklin High School, worked at various Harlem parks for NYC Parks from 1948 and 1964 and became known for the basketball tournaments he founded here and for mentoring generations of players. His tournaments became summertime rituals rooted in neighborhood streetball, and his motto, "each one, teach one," emphasized sharing knowledge as he encouraged scholarly pursuits as well as athletics. By the 1950s, he had started the Rucker Tournament, which led to some 700 college athletic scholarships, and over time top amateur players competed alongside leading professionals including Wilt Chamberlain and Kareem Abdul Jabbar. Rucker saw the tournaments as a positive influence on local youth when school was out, completed a degree from the City College of New York in 1962, and then taught English at Frederick Douglass J.H.S. 139. After his death at age 38 from complications of cancer, leaving his wife Mary Thomas and many followers, protégés Bob McCullogh and Fred Crawford created the Rucker Pro League, a summer competition among professionals that was always preceded by the amateur "Each One Teach One" tournament. In the late 1960s and 70s, the Rucker Pro League reached its height with players such as Julius "Dr. J" Erving and Willis Reed, while amateur teams featured Joe "The Destroyer" Hammond, Herman "Helicopter" Knowling, and Earl "The Goat" Manigault. By the early 1980s, professionals participated less because of fears of injury during non-season play, and the league returned to its amateur roots. Today Rucker's original tournament is played at Colonel Charles Young Playground at 145th Street near the Harlem River, while for over 50 years the Each One Teach One summer league, also founded by McCullough and Crawford, has remained here, fostering young players, academic growth, and community building. The Entertainers Basketball Classic, founded by Gregory Marius and combining basketball and music, moved to this court in 1985 and brings together top high school, college, and professional players.

New York, New York · United States