Oakland

Mack Memoirs: Virtual Murrell Resurrects Oakland City Treasure – The Original Warriors

Published

7 years ago

August 10, 2017

By Virtual Murrell

While growing up in (Harbor Homes) in West Oakland, I learned academics and how to play team sports, especially the game of basketball. When we played in the New Century and Thompkins gymnasiums all fast-break plays were stopped by the wall.

But at the Meltzer Boy’s Club, at 24th and Market Street, which was run by the legendary Marion Sims, we had the freedom to play fast-break-style basketball, without a wall. From Meltzer great players like Jim Hadnot, Ed Thomas, Paul Silas, Fritz Pointer, Wendell Hayes, Joe Ellis, “Cha-Cha” McKinney and so many others learned the fundamentals to help the McClymonds High School Warriors team earn the moniker, “Mack, The School of Champions”.

While I played for Oakland High against those awesome Mack squads, I had no idea they would become the best team in the nation.
Now living on the East Coast I have exchanged opinions and debated with local sports fans about this nation’s greatest high school teams.

All of the teams they favored were eastern teams with players like Lew Alcindor (Kareem Abdul-Jabbar) and from New York Wilt Chamberlain from Philadephia, Oscar Robertson, from Indiana, and Elgin Baylor, Dave Bing and Tom Hoover from the District of Columbia.

After doing a little homework, I discovered that Mack for three straight years was afforded the status of the best team in the nation. They were also California’s State Champion for five straight years. Mack historically had produced such greats as Willie Rock and Bill Russell, but it was not until 1958 that they had their first undefeated team. That Mack team remained undefeated for three straight years and carried the record over a five year period with 110 wins and only one loss. During that amazing period Mack also won six straight Northern California Championships, known as the Tournament of Champions (TOC).

I decided to help raise the awareness of Oakland’s treasured “Original Warriors” from Mack. With the city now mesmerized by the NBA-best Golden State Warriors, it is important to show Oaklanders and others that this is truly the place of Warriors greatness.
I then discussed the need to bring recognition to Mack with Oakland Post Publisher Paul Cobb and the founder of the Multi-Ethnic Hall of Fame Founder, Arif Khatib.

We formed a working committee and asked former Mack and Golden State Warrior great Joe Ellis to co-chair an event to honor the teams. We decided no effort of this nature would be complete without William “Bill” Patterson and Former Mack coach Ben Tapscott.
I contacted former Mack greats Ed Thomas, and Fritz Pointer and others who readily agreed to “team up again” to support the celebration event scheduled for October 11at Scott’s. Stories about Ed Thomas, Fritz Pointer and others will appear in upcoming editions of the Post.

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Bay Area

Faces Around the Bay: Sidney Carey

Sidney Carey was born in Dallas, Texas. He moved with his family to West Oakland as a baby. His sister is deceased; one brother lives in Oakland. Carey was the Choir Director at Trinity Missionary Baptist Church for 18 years.

Published

11 hours ago

May 4, 2024

Oakland Post

Courtesy of Sidney Lane.

By Barbara Fluhrer

Sidney Carey was born in Dallas, Texas. He moved with his family to West Oakland as a baby. His sister is deceased; one brother lives in Oakland.

Carey was the Choir Director at Trinity Missionary Baptist Church for 18 years.

He graduated from McClymonds High with a scholarship in cosmetology and was the first African American to complete a nine-month course at the first Black Beauty School in Oakland: Charm Beauty College.

He earned his License, and then attended U.C., earning a secondary teaching credential. With his Instructors License, he went on to teach at Laney College, San Mateo College, Skyline and Universal Beauty College in Pinole, among others.

Carey was the first African American hair stylist at Joseph and I. Magnin department store in Oakland and in San Francisco, where he managed the hair stylist department, Shear Heaven.

In 2009, he quit teaching and was diagnosed with Congestive Heart Failure. He was 60 and “too old for a heart transplant”. His doctors at California Pacific Medical Center (CPMC) went to court and fought successfully for his right to receive a transplant. One day, he received a call from CPMC, “Be here in one hour.” He underwent a transplant with a heart from a 25-year- old man in Vienna, Austria

Two years later, Carey resumed teaching at Laney College, finally retiring in 2012.

Now, he’s slowed down and comfortable in a Senior Residence in Berkeley, but still manages to fit his 6/4” frame in his 2002 Toyota and drive to family gatherings in Oakland and San Leandro and an occasional Four Seasons Arts concert.

He does his own shopping and cooking and uses Para Transit to keep constant doctor appointments while keeping up with anti-rejection meds. He often travels with doctors as a model of a successful heart-transplant plant recipient: 14 years.

Carey says, “I’m blessed” and, to the youth, “Don’t give up on your dreams!”

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Bay Area

Emiliano Zapata Street Academy Celebrates 40 Years Serving Oakland Families

The Oakland Emiliano Zapata Street Academy, a public alternative high school, celebrated its 50th anniversary this year with a community party and festival last Saturday with live music, good food, vendors’ booths, and activities for adults and children.

Published

11 hours ago

May 4, 2024

Oakland Post

Live music was part of the 50th anniversary celebration of the Emiliano Zapata Street Academy, a public alternative high school, on April 27, at St. Augustine’s Episcopal Church on Telegraph Avenue and 29th Street. Photo by Ken Epstein.

By Ken Epstein

The Oakland Emiliano Zapata Street Academy, a public alternative high school, celebrated its 50^th anniversary this year with a community party and festival last Saturday with live music, good food, vendors’ booths, and activities for adults and children.

Attending the Saturday, April 27 celebration were current and past students, families, faculty, and supporters of the school. The school is located at 417 29^th St., and the celebration was held nearby at St. Augustine’s Episcopal Church on Telegraph Avenue in Oakland.

For more information, go to www.streetacademy.online or call 510) 874-3630 or (510) 879-2313.

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Activism

Oakland Ambassadors Strengthen Ties and Aid Efforts in Ghana

Oakland natives and esteemed members of the African American Sports and Entertainment Group (AASEG), Jonathan P. Jones and Dr. Maritony Efua Jones, recently embarked on a significant journey to Ghana as guests of the World Martial Authority Ghana. This trip signifies a crucial opportunity to bolster partnerships, explore new avenues of collaboration, and contribute to impactful initiatives in Ghana.

Published

11 hours ago

May 4, 2024

Oakland Post

Elder Jorg Klebingat, Flint Mensah, Richard Burton, H.E. Dr. Maritony Jones, Amb. Jonathan Jones, Elder S. Gifford Nielsen, Elder Alfred Kyungu. Courtesy photo.

By Post Staff

This trip signifies a crucial opportunity to bolster partnerships, explore new avenues of collaboration, and contribute to impactful initiatives in Ghana.

Upon their arrival at Katota Airport in Accra, Ghana, the Joneses were warmly received by His Royal Majesty Okatakyie Asafo Boakye III, the distinguished king of Sanzule Kingdom in the Eastern Nzema, and Etse Nyamedi of World Martial Authority, Ghana.

Nyamedi accompanied the Joneses to the city of Mepe, which had recently experienced flooding, to assess damages and engage with local leaders, elders, and youth regarding the city’s urgent needs after major floods last fall.

Key concerns and priorities identified by the community include comprehensive flood mitigation measures, agricultural support, housing initiatives, educational enhancements, improved healthcare access, and the development of communal recreational spaces.

The Joneses were also graciously invited to meet with leaders of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints at their headquarters in Accra. This meeting provided insights into ongoing humanitarian efforts in Ghana and explored avenues for collaboration to further assist Ghanaian communities.

The LDS leaders shared their prompt response to the recent flood, demonstrating their commitment to humanitarian aid by dispatching substantial supplies including medical provisions, sanitation items, blankets, and food to assist flood victims just four days after the disaster.

Additionally, Boakye extended a special invitation to the Joneses to his palace, where they were pleasantly surprised with a heartfelt recognition ceremony. Maritony Jones was honored as the Queen Mother of the Sanzule Kingdom in acknowledgment of her dedicated work, while Jonathan Jones was lauded and welcomed as the ambassador of the Sanzule Kingdom, symbolizing a meaningful homecoming to their ancestral land.

The visit not only strengthens ties between Oakland and Ghana but also underscores the collaborative spirit and commitment to meaningful progress and humanitarian endeavors shared by all involved parties.