Today in Wheeling History: March 21—Lincoln High School wins first West Virginia Athletic Union Basketball Championship (1925).
On March 19, 1925, basketball teams from 11 of West Virginia's 24 Black high schools took the court at the West Virginia Colored Institute (now West Virginia State University) gym in Institute, Kanawha County, for the first West Virginia Athletic Union (WVAU) state basketball tournament. The three-day event was the first statewide tournament held for segregated high schools in the Mountain State, with Lincoln High of Wheeling edging Kimball of McDowell County, 25-24, in the title game on March 21.
Lincoln was coached by J. H. Rainbow, and the roster included Leroy Spriggs (captain), Berry, Dennis, Campbell, William Riley, Charles Earley, Joseph Woods, Oliver Shannon, Hunter, and John W. Kinney, who would go on to serve as a Lincoln coach and administrator. The "Wheeling Register" reported that Lincoln had lost only four games all season, outscoring opponents 476 to 271, and had not lost a home game in nine years. The team also defeated independent squads from neighboring states, including the Washington Collegians, Steubenville A.C., Cadiz A.C., Sparta A.C., and Holy Cross of Pittsburgh.
Lincoln School was founded in 1866 by Dr. Hupp and John Jackson and was among the first publicly funded schools for African Americans in the United States. Its most recent school building opened on Chapline Street in 1943 and closed after desegregation.
The WVAU tournament continued until 1957. Lincoln's 1925 championship — the first ever played in West Virginia for Black high schools — remains a landmark achievement in Wheeling's African American athletic history.
To learn more: Ohio County Public Library Archives, Wheeling WV (https://tinyurl.com/5y26e98h) (https://tinyurl.com/45b6e4f3), Wheeling Register (https://tinyurl.com/yt889anj), West Virginia Encyclopedia (https://tinyurl.com/2arydyts), West Virginia Sports Writers Association (https://tinyurl.com/d5nsrxc7), My Buckhannon (https://tinyurl.com/3hwyd4kc), Wikipedia (https://tinyurl.com/yc3dxx3p), West Virginia Archives & History (https://tinyurl.com/y2y67bt4)
Photo credits: Ohio County Public Library Archives, Wheeling WV; Wheeling Register, Wikimedia Commons
On March 19, 1925, basketball teams from 11 of West Virginia's 24 Black high schools took the court at the West Virginia Colored Institute (now West Virginia State University) gym in Institute, Kanawha County, for the first West Virginia Athletic Union (WVAU) state basketball tournament. The three-day event was the first statewide tournament held for segregated high schools in the Mountain State, with Lincoln High of Wheeling edging Kimball of McDowell County, 25-24, in the title game on March 21.
Lincoln was coached by J. H. Rainbow, and the roster included Leroy Spriggs (captain), Berry, Dennis, Campbell, William Riley, Charles Earley, Joseph Woods, Oliver Shannon, Hunter, and John W. Kinney, who would go on to serve as a Lincoln coach and administrator. The "Wheeling Register" reported that Lincoln had lost only four games all season, outscoring opponents 476 to 271, and had not lost a home game in nine years. The team also defeated independent squads from neighboring states, including the Washington Collegians, Steubenville A.C., Cadiz A.C., Sparta A.C., and Holy Cross of Pittsburgh.
Lincoln School was founded in 1866 by Dr. Hupp and John Jackson and was among the first publicly funded schools for African Americans in the United States. Its most recent school building opened on Chapline Street in 1943 and closed after desegregation.
The WVAU tournament continued until 1957. Lincoln's 1925 championship — the first ever played in West Virginia for Black high schools — remains a landmark achievement in Wheeling's African American athletic history.
To learn more: Ohio County Public Library Archives, Wheeling WV (https://tinyurl.com/5y26e98h) (https://tinyurl.com/45b6e4f3), Wheeling Register (https://tinyurl.com/yt889anj), West Virginia Encyclopedia (https://tinyurl.com/2arydyts), West Virginia Sports Writers Association (https://tinyurl.com/d5nsrxc7), My Buckhannon (https://tinyurl.com/3hwyd4kc), Wikipedia (https://tinyurl.com/yc3dxx3p), West Virginia Archives & History (https://tinyurl.com/y2y67bt4)
Photo credits: Ohio County Public Library Archives, Wheeling WV; Wheeling Register, Wikimedia Commons
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