First Black Student Athlete at TCU, James Cash, Honored with Statue
Friday afternoon saw a massive thunderstorm and freezing temperatures in the forecast, but that didn’t stop the city of Fort Worth from coming out to celebrate Dr. James Cash. Cash paved the way for those who would come after him as he was Texas Christian University’s first black student-athlete. He was also the first black basketball player in the history of the Southwest Conference.
While at TCU, Cash was an Academic All-American. He led the Frogs to the 1968 Southwest Conference championship. His jersey is retired at TCU, and he is one of just five players to have 1,000 points and 800 rebounds.
The likes of Roy Charles Brooks, commissioner of Fort Worth, Mattie Parker, mayor of Fort Worth, TCU head basketball coach Jamie Dixon, the TCU basketball team, and countless others were on hand for this very special event.
Brooks, Cash, and other I.M. Terrell High School alumni were on hand and took a moment to reflect on what Cash’s accomplishments mean to the black community. I.M. Terrell High School was a segregated school that Cash attended in the early 1960s.
A big factor in Cash’s decision to choose TCU was how helpful the university was in helping his mother with her education. TCU was desegregated in 1962, and Cash’s mother, Juanita, enrolled to finish her master’s degree in 1965.
Chancellor of TCU Victor Boschini and colleagues switched out of their suit attire and into graduation attire to award Cash with an honorary doctorate of science degree, a proclamation by Tarrant County and a proclamation by the city of Fort Worth making Nov. 11, 2022, Dr. James Cash Day.
After TCU, Cash earned his master’s and doctorate degrees at Purdue University. He then joined Harvard Business School in 1976 and was the first ever Black faculty member to receive tenure. He is still there, as he is Harvard’s Jame E. Robison Professor of Business Administration, Emeritus. Cash also has a building named after him at Harvard’s business school.
TCU forward Emanuel Miller, who led the prayer at the statue reveal, discussed how much Cash means to him as well as to the Black community.
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