Wataru Misaka

• Born: December 21, 1923
• Birthplace: Ogden, Utah
• Died: November 20, 2019
• Place of death: Salt Lake City, Utah

Athlete

Wataru Misaka was the first player of Asian descent as well as the first athlete of color to play for the Basketball Association of America, the organization that later became the National Basketball Association (NBA). He was drafted as a first-round pick by the New York Knicks in 1947.

Full name: Wataru Misaka

Also known as: Wat Misaka, Kilo Wat

Area of achievement: Sports

Early Life

Wataru Misaka was born in Ogden, a railroad town in northern Utah. He was the oldest of four children born to Ben and Tatsuyo Murakami Misaka. His father came to the United States in 1903 at age nineteen, and worked on railroads. He remained in Ogden and opened a barber shop in one of the poorest parts of town, where many Japanese immigrants lived and worked. In 1922 Ben traveled to Japan, married Murakami, and returned with her to Utah. Misaka was born the following year.

After his father’s death in 1939, Misaka, a teenager in high school, convinced his mother not to move the family to Japan. Instead, a barber in town taught his mother to cut hair so she could continue to run the shop. Misaka helped out with cleaning the shop and working on a nearby farm, but most of his time was spent studying and playing sports.

Misaka excelled as a student athlete. He won his first basketball championship at Central Junior High School. At Ogden High School, he continued to play basketball, winning both regional and state basketball championships. In addition, he was captain and quarterback of the football team, played baseball, and ran track.

Misaka attended Weber Junior College (now Weber State University) to study mechanical engineering and play basketball. His basketball career flourished when he continued at the University of Utah. In 1944 Misaka led the Utes, as the university team was called, to the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) championship, beating Dartmouth College at New York’s Madison Square Garden. Misaka was very popular with the New York fans, even though the war with Japan had kindled anti-Asian sentiments throughout the United States. Fans appreciated Misaka’s energetic athleticism and masterful defense tactics.

Misaka’s reception at road games was not always as positive as his experience in New York. He often faced hostility and anti-Asian slurs from unfriendly audiences. Tensions intensified with the creation of internment camps for Japanese American residents of California, Oregon, and Washington in 1942.

Before completing his studies, Misaka was drafted into the US Army. He served two years in military intelligence, including nine months as a member of US forces occupying Japan. While in Japan, he interviewed survivors of the atomic bomb attack on Hiroshima, including his uncle. The devastation wrought by the bombing and the looks of betrayal from the survivors stayed with Misaka long after his release from the army.

Life’s Work

After the end of World War II, Misaka returned to the University of Utah. In 1947 the Utes won the prestigious National Invitation Tournament, upsetting the favored team from the University of Kentucky, at Madison Square Garden. Misaka’s spectacular defensive effort and popularity among the New York fans caught the attention of Ned Irish, the general manager of the Knicks. Irish chose Misaka as the Knicks’ first-round pick in the premier draft of the Basketball Association of America, the organization that merged with the National Basketball League in 1949 to form the National Basketball Association (NBA). Misaka became the first player of Asian descent and the first player of color in NBA history.

Misaka’s NBA career was brief; he played point guard in only three games, scoring seven points. Following the Knicks’ first road trip of the 1947 season, Irish cut Misaka from the team without explanation. He was offered the opportunity to play for the Harlem Globetrotters but turned it down, returning instead to Utah to complete his engineering degree. Misaka never blamed racism for his firing. Instead, he cited his lack of height and struggles with his shooting technique.

Misaka worked as an engineer for the Sperry Corporation, which produced electronics, and remained a life-long basketball enthusiast. In 1952 he married Katie Inoway. The couple lived in Utah where they actively supported the Salt Lake City Chapter of the Japanese American Citizens League.

Decades after his debut, Misaka was honored as the first NBA player to break the color barrier. In 1999 he was inducted into the Utah Sports Hall of Fame and celebrated as a sports pioneer at the Japanese American National Museum in Los Angeles the following year. A documentary film of his life, called Transcending: The Wat MisakaStory, was released in 2008. His accomplishments were profiled at the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2009. That same year, during a game's timeout period at Madison Square Garden, he was honored by his former team and shown a team plaque that bore his name.

After eventually retiring, Misaka remained active in his later years and occasionally offered his services as an engineer in consultation. In 2018, his hometown of Ogden dedicated one of the basketball courts, naming it "Kilowatt Court," at Liberty Park to him. He died in Salt Lake City, Utah, on November 20, 2019, at the age of ninety-five.

Significance

Misaka’s short career in the all-White basketball league at a time when anti-Japanese bigotry was at its highest has inspired generations of Asian Americans, particularly Japanese Americans, since the end of World War II. He played professional basketball three years before the first African American players joined NBA teams and the same year that baseball player Jackie Robinson broke the color barrier in his sport. It would be more than fifty years until players of Asian descent would be drafted by the NBA again. In December 2009 President Barack Obama invited Misaka to the White House to recognize his contributions as the first person of color to play in the NBA.

Bibliography

Goldstein, Richard. "Wat Misaku, 95, First Nonwhite in Modern Pro Basketball, Dies." The New York Times, 21 Nov. 2019, www.nytimes.com/2019/11/21/sports/basketball/wat-misaka-dead.html. Accessed 27 Aug. 2020.

Robbins, Liz. “Size 7 Sneakers Are Still Hard to Fill.” Sports. The New York Times Company, 5 Jan. 2005. Web. 29 Feb. 2012. Examines Misaka’s basketball experiences and his contributions to the New York Knicks organization.

Vecsey, George. “Pioneering Knick Returns to Garden.” Pro Basketball. The New York Times Company, 10 Aug. 2009. Web. 29 Feb. 2012. Profiles Misaka’s basketball career and includes interviews from his 2009 visit to New York.

Wolff, Alexander, and Michael Atchison. “Utah the First Cinderella.” SportsIllustrated Vault. Time Inc. A Time Warner Company, 22 Mar. 2010. Web. 29 Feb. 2012. Chronicles Misaka’s basketball and life experiences in Utah, based on interviews with teammates and coaches.