By William Townsend
The year was 1944, and it was an incredible moment for collegiate basketball in Durham. The high-speed, fast-flying North Carolina College for Negroes, now NCCU, led by future Hall of Fame coach John B. McLendon, had lost only one game all season. They believed they were the best team in town but had no official way to prove it. Neither the National Invitational Tournament nor the NCAA Tournament allowed Black colleges to participate. Just a few miles down Ninth Street, Duke University had won the Southern Conference championship, but they were not even considered the best team on their own campus. That distinction belonged to the Medical School intramural team, which featured some of the best athletes at the university at the time. Players, coaches, and spectators alike quietly talked about what might happen if the two teams ever met. In early 1944, the YMCA chapters at Duke and North Carolina College began meeting, at considerable risk from police who aggressively enforced the color line. From these meetings, the Secret Game was born.
On Sunday, March 12, the players took the floor in secrecy, and long-standing questions surrounding American sports were finally answered. When the final buzzer sounded, the scoreboard told the story and more: Eagles 88, Visitors 44. Not only could Black athletes compete, they could dominate. Coach John B. McLendon’s fast-break offense, four-corners attack, and relentless full-court press, innovations he helped pioneer, overwhelmed Duke’s players. After the first game ended and a short break passed, players mixed teams and began a second game. Unbeknownst to the city, inside a gym at North Carolina College for Negroes, multiple Jim Crow laws were being broken for the sake of basketball. More importantly, racial barriers were being quietly shattered. Though this story remained secret for years, African Americans in Durham were finally asserting their presence on the state’s athletic stage and laying the foundation for future generations.
In the early 1900s, many Durham children had access to parks and recreational facilities that played a vital role in shaping community life. These spaces provided common ground for youth development and for prominent leaders to gather. However, in the Hayti district of Durham, African Americans were not afforded the same opportunities. They often had to fight for access to these public spaces and were frequently chased away. This began to change in 1946 with the opening of East End Park, the first publicly recognized park space for Black residents. Just one year later, in 1947, the W. D. Hill Recreation Center opened, becoming a premier recreational hub for African Americans in Durham.
Now that African Americans had spaces of their own, things began to blossom. These spaces were not limited to sports; they also served as meeting places for African American business leaders, educators, and politicians. From these environments, ideas grew and movements began to take shape. By the 1950s and 1960s, the Civil Rights Movement had become a major force within the city. This pride and passion for justice had always existed, and sports were a meaningful part of that struggle. Alumni such as Sam Jones of North Carolina Central University fought against segregation and the marginalization of others. At the same time, students at NCCU and Duke began participating in sit-ins and peace walks throughout the city, often unaware that their collective action foreshadowed what was soon to unfold on the basketball court.
Just two years after the first African American students enrolled at Duke University, a young man from Danville, Virginia arrived on a Fulbright scholarship. He had the option to attend North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University, an HBCU just a short distance west of Durham. Instead, he enrolled at Duke University and went on to star on the Duke varsity basketball team. His name was Claudius B. Claiborne, better known as C.B., and he became the first African American basketball player to compete at Duke. His journey did not come without challenges. Claiborne faced severe mistreatment and often spent his free time at North Carolina Central University, where he found community and support. At times, he was even barred from playing if his hair did not meet certain standards. Despite these obstacles, he made a lasting impact both on and off the court. One of his most notable performances came in 1968, when he helped lead Duke to a triple-overtime victory against longtime rival North Carolina. Beyond basketball, Claiborne was actively involved in campus sit-ins and protests, even missing games to participate in demonstrations. Still living today, he reflects on his time at Duke with gratitude, emphasizing that while athletics opened doors, earning his degree was the most important achievement. His legacy continues to reinforce the responsibility of future generations to be not only student-athletes, but leaders as well.
As athletes all across Durham pushed boundaries within traditionally white institutions, sports in Durham and across the region began to reflect deeper shifts in power, access, and representation. What started as individual acts of courage would soon evolve into broader structural change, setting the stage for a new era in which Black athletes no longer simply entered spaces, but began to reshape them and champion them.