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Don Barksdale

Full name: Donald Argee "Don" Barksdale
Gender: Male
Height: 6'6" (198 cm)
Weight: 201 lbs (91 kg)
Born: March 31, 1923 in Oakland, California, United States
Died: March 8, 1993 in Oakland, California, United States
Affiliations: Oakland Bittners
Country: USA United States
Sport: Basketball

Medals: 1 Gold (1 Total)

Biography

Don Barksdale was the first black to play on the U.S. Olympic basketball team. Unfortunately he could not then join the pro ranks as they did not allow blacks at that time. The 6-6 (1.98) UCLA product then played four years of AAU ball with the Oakland Bittners before the ban on blacks in the NBA was lifted. In the NBA he played for two years with the original Baltimore Bullets and was the top player on that team – averaging 12.6 and 13.8 points per game in the days of much lower scores. In 1953, he was then traded to the Boston Celtics where he played only two more years, but he was elected to play in the NBA All-Star Game in 1953. Barksdale was also an outstanding track star, having won the 1944 AAU triple jump championship. After his retirement from pro basketball, he worked as a real estate investor and nightclub and radio station owner.

Results

Glossary ▪ CSV ▪ PRE
Games Age City Sport Event Team NOC Rank Medal
1948 Summer 25 London Basketball Men's Basketball United States USA 1 Gold

Men's Basketball

Glossary ▪ CSV ▪ PRE ▪ Event History ▪ Mouseover for column descriptions
Games Age City Sport Team NOC Phase Unit Rank Date Result P
1948 Summer 25 London Basketball United States USA Final Round Match 1/2 1 1948-08-13 USA 65, FRA 21 8
1948 Summer 25 London Basketball United States USA Quarter-Finals Match #1 1 1948-08-09 USA 63, URU 28 3
1948 Summer 25 London Basketball United States USA Group C Match #1 1 1948-07-31 USA 86, SUI 21 0
1948 Summer 25 London Basketball United States USA Group C Match #6 1 1948-08-02 USA 53, TCH 28 4
1948 Summer 25 London Basketball United States USA Group C Match #8 1 1948-08-03 USA 59, ARG 57 12
1948 Summer 25 London Basketball United States USA Group C Match #10 1 1948-08-04 USA 66, EGY 28 17
1948 Summer 25 London Basketball United States USA Group C Match #14 1 1948-08-06 USA 61, PER 33 10