Posted on Nov 23, 2019
Former Japanese American Basketball Star Inspired On And Off The Court
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Wataru "Wat" Misaka was known as a better bowler than basketball player in his hometown of Ogden, Utah. But it was his skills on the court that would lead to college success and ultimately a historic contract with the New York Knicks, making him the first nonwhite professional basketball player in the NBA.
The 95-year-old Misaka, who died Wednesday, is being remembered this week for the hope he inspired both on and off the court, especially during a particularly painful chapter in American history.
Misaka's parents ran a barbershop in the railroad town of Ogden, north of Salt Lake City. He was a natural athlete, said Bruce Johnson, who got to know him while making the 2010 documentary, Transcending: The Wat Misaka Story. He loved all kinds of sports, including tennis, golf and one Johnson wasn't expecting.
"It was interesting for us when we started touring with the film, there was all these people in the Japanese community who knew Wat strictly as a bowler," Johnson said, adding that Misaka was added to the Japanese American National Bowling Hall of Fame in 2001. "So to hear the story that he was a famous basketball player, they were like, 'Oh, I had no idea.' "
The 95-year-old Misaka, who died Wednesday, is being remembered this week for the hope he inspired both on and off the court, especially during a particularly painful chapter in American history.
Misaka's parents ran a barbershop in the railroad town of Ogden, north of Salt Lake City. He was a natural athlete, said Bruce Johnson, who got to know him while making the 2010 documentary, Transcending: The Wat Misaka Story. He loved all kinds of sports, including tennis, golf and one Johnson wasn't expecting.
"It was interesting for us when we started touring with the film, there was all these people in the Japanese community who knew Wat strictly as a bowler," Johnson said, adding that Misaka was added to the Japanese American National Bowling Hall of Fame in 2001. "So to hear the story that he was a famous basketball player, they were like, 'Oh, I had no idea.' "
Former Japanese American Basketball Star Inspired On And Off The Court
Posted from npr.org
Basketball
Ogden
New York City
Movies
Posted >1 y ago
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PO1 William "Chip" Nagel
..."In a 2012 interview with NPR, he said he saw his draft as an insignificant event — he played only three games.
"I don't think anyone, especially me, even compared that with what (Jackie) Robinson had done," Misaka said. "I never did think of myself as a pioneer of any sorts."
For the Japanese American community, Komai said Misaka represents someone who embodies many of the qualities they admire: someone who is humble, works hard, tries their best and is a selfless teammate. That will be Misaka's legacy, Komai said.
"He showed everyone in the worst times, in the 1940s, that it was still possible for an individual like him, who looked every other nisei [second-generation Japanese American] he could succeed at the highest level collegiately," Komai said.
Misaka is survived by his two children and his grandchildren."
..."In a 2012 interview with NPR, he said he saw his draft as an insignificant event — he played only three games.
"I don't think anyone, especially me, even compared that with what (Jackie) Robinson had done," Misaka said. "I never did think of myself as a pioneer of any sorts."
For the Japanese American community, Komai said Misaka represents someone who embodies many of the qualities they admire: someone who is humble, works hard, tries their best and is a selfless teammate. That will be Misaka's legacy, Komai said.
"He showed everyone in the worst times, in the 1940s, that it was still possible for an individual like him, who looked every other nisei [second-generation Japanese American] he could succeed at the highest level collegiately," Komai said.
Misaka is survived by his two children and his grandchildren."
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JEREMY LINN AS WELL. THE ONLY THE MEDIA TALKED ABOUT was his member, if you get my drift? very good player also. I m part-Korean. I do not appreciate that. Lt Col John (Jack) Christensen Christensen]
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