The Rucker
From Hoopedia
Holcombe Rucker Park is a playground basketball court in New York City located north of 155th Street, and bounded by Frederick Douglass Boulevard (8th Avenue) and the Harlem River Drive in Harlem. It can be best reached by the B train or D train. It is on the former site of the Polo Grounds.
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The park opened February 23, 1956, as P.S. 156 Playground.
In 1993, Manhattan Borough President Ruth Messinger sponsored a $423,000 renovation of the playground. The resulting facility contains play equipment, swings, safety surfacing, a spray shower, a flagpole with yardarm, a comfort station, four handball courts, seal animal art, and a baseball diamond. But, amongst an array of bleachers and stadium lights stands the Holcombe Rucker Basketball Court, the park’s main attraction, where both local players and national idols have come to play for four decades.
The park has been a venue for NBA legends and streetballers alike. The courts are known for both the flashy play and high level of competition of the participants. It is called simply, "the Rucker."
Some consider Rucker Park to be the center of the world of streetball. NBA stars who have played ball in Rucker include Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Wilt Chamberlain, Dr. J, Nate "Tiny" Archibald, Connie Hawkins, even former Senator Bill Bradley have played streetball at Rucker Park. But it's not about them. It's about the amazing players who, for whatever reason, never made it to the professional level.
History
The basketball tradition began with Holcombe Rucker who ran a semi-professional basketball tournament at a playground on 7th Avenue between 128th and 129th streets starting in 1946. The tournament moved to the current location in 1965.
In 1965 when Holcombe Rucker died from lung cancer, two of his pupils; Bob McCullough Sr. and Fred Crawford Sr. started the Rucker Professional League, the first All-Pro summer basketball league. They were participants in Holcombe Rucker's Tournament since 1954. The loss of their mentor in 1965 was especially hard to take since they were both now NBA players. Bob was drafted by the Cincinnati Royals and Fred was a member of the Milwaukee Bucks.
The idea came from Fred Crawford to have a Memorial game in Rucker's honor. It was held at the Milbak Recreation Center. After finding out that Rucker's peers, Donald Addams, Howie Evans, Ollie Edinburough and Pelham Fritz were not going to continue the Pro division of Rucker's tournament. Fred and Bob chose to run an All-Pro tournament in Rucker's honor in the park across from the famed former Polo Grounds baseball park, now a housing project. It is in this tournament, established in 1965, that the Pros versus Playground Legends phenomenon began.
For a number of years, players like Emmett Bryant, Willis Reed, Senator Bill Bradley, Dave Stallworth, Calvin Ramsey, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Tiny Archibald, Charlie Scott, Cazzie Russell and droves of other NBA ballplayers met here. Joining them were Harlem Globetrotters Bobby Hunter, Pablo Robertson, Walter Robertson, Herman "Helicopter" Knowlings and playground legends Richard "Pee Wee" Kirkland, Joe "The Destroyer" Hammond and others.
In 1974, petitioned by, The Rucker Pro League headed by Bob McCullough, the New York City Council renamed it Holcombe Rucker Playground, in memory of the Harlem native who used the basketball programs he started to help countless young men find their way in life.
The Pro Tournament also created a youth program entitled "Each One Teach One" that held clinics in the park since 1967. Clinics hosted by NBA basketball players, from the Rucker Professional League. Tiny Archibald and Dean Meminger were among the first coordinators of the Each One Teach One Program
A number of basketball tournaments for children, high school, college, and professional players now take place in Rucker Playground, including the Entertainer's Basketball Classic (EBC) and the Each One Teach One tournament. The EBC has become the major draw, as it brings together NBA stars with Streetball legends, just as the Rucker Pro-Am did, back in the day. The EBC also brings celebrities and long lines of spectators.
Holcombe Rucker, the Rucker court and the top players it attracts have also been the subjects of several films, including The Real, Above The Rim and On Hallowed Ground. These films secure the park’s place in urban and basketball history.
Venue
The court surface is green with red paint. There are bleachers, but they are fairly run-down. The rims are breakaway, to allow for the rugged streetball style of play, and in a nod to the importance of the venue, there are permanent scoreboards.
During league play, MCs give the action flavor through constant play-by-play and by teasing players for bad plays and perceived weaknesses. Otherwise, the park is known for the high level of basketball played publicly, particularly for its streetball style.
Legends
Playground legend Earl "The Goat" Manigault called Rucker his home court. Manigault started and ran the "Walk Away From Drugs" tournament at Rucker until his death in 1998. Other playground legends who have graced the hallowed grounds of Rucker include Rafer "Skip 2 My Lou" Alston, Richard "Pee Wee" Kirkland and Stephon "Starbury" Marbury.
