In old Chicago basketball circles, Bernard Price is remembered for his underhand shot from the pivot. But the quiet South Sider also is legendary for playing with the Harlem Globetrotters and eventually becoming a pioneer in helping break the color barrier in sports.
Mr. Price, 86, died Thursday, Jan. 24, of kidney failure in Roseland Hospital in Chicago.
He was drafted by the Globetrotters in the mid-1930s after team founder Abe Saperstein saw the 6-foot-3 1/2-inch standout play a pickup game on a South Side dirt lot.
“Bernie was tall and raw-boned and strong,” said Jim “Nugie” Watkins, a boyhood friend who also played for the team.
Mr. Price was born in Toledo, Ohio, and moved to Chicago when he was a teen. Watkins remembers a few summers when the two would sit in the school yard of the old Willard School at 49th Street and South St. Lawrence Avenue and talk about basketball and girls. “He was a quiet kid. Always reserved,” remembered Watkins.
On the court, though, Mr. Price was a powerhouse. “When he was in the pivot, no one could move it,” said Watkins.
Marques Haynes, another Globetrotter, also marveled at Mr. Price’s skills. “He was a smooth player. … He could go in and around and underneath the arms of defensive players” with the greatest of ease.
Mr. Price played “straight basketball” back then, before the Globetrotters mastered the “showboating” style.
He also played before sports teams were integrated.
Saperstein, who was white, started the team in Chicago, using the word “Harlem” to tell people the players were black, said his daughter, Eloise Saperstein. And he hoped the team would live up to its Globetrotter name by traveling to places like Minnesota or Nebraska. “He had no idea they would go to New York City, let alone ’round the world,” she said.
The Globetrotter team Mr. Price played on beat the best professional teams, including George Halas’ Chicago Bruins. During the 1941-42 season, Mr. Price scored more than 3,000 points–an unbelievable feat at a time of low-scoring games. Mr. Price also is one of just 15 Globetrotters honored by the team with Legends status.
After more than 10 years with the Globetrotters, Mr. Price joined the Chicago Studebakers for a season. The team was considered a pioneer for becoming racially integrated.
When he left basketball, Mr. Price worked for Ford Motor and Yellow Freight companies in Chicago. He liked telling stories of his basketball days to his four sons. “But he would tell us education is number one and that if you don’t get your education, you can’t do anything,” said his son, Vincent.
Other survivors include his wife, Joan; and sons Bernard Jr., Michael and Steven. Visitation will be held from 4 to 9 p.m. Friday at A.A. Rayner & Sons Funeral Home, 318 E. 71st St. in Chicago. The funeral will be held at 1 p.m. Saturday at Rayner.
