1967 Pershing High School Basketball Team Brought Championship to City

Considered the best team to ever play in the state, story largely untold as rebellion of 1967 takes hold of city

It’s piece of Detroit sports history that seems to be lost to time. Coach Will Robinson not only lead the 1967 Pershing High School men’s basketball team to a championship for the first time in 37 years, but he also lead basketball teams in Detroit’s Black Bottom neighborhood to championships after the 1943 race riots in the city. Detroit-based journalist Brendan Hunter talks to CultureShift about the legacy of the 1967 team.

Author

  • Ryan Patrick Hooper
    Ryan Patrick Hooper is the award-winning host and producer of CultureShift on 101.9 WDET-FM Detroit’s NPR station. Hooper has covered stories for the New York Times, NPR, Detroit Free Press, Hour Detroit, SPIN and Paste magazine.