Utah Basketball Legend Wat Misaka Passes Away at Age 95
11/21/2019 2:18 PM | Men's Basketball
SALT LAKE CITY, Utah – The University of Utah Athletics Department mourns the passing of Wataru "Wat" Misaka, who passed away at the age of 95 on Nov. 20 in Salt Lake City.
Misaka, who helped lead the Utah basketball program to national championships in 1944 and '47, broke barriers when he became the first non-Caucasian player in the Basketball Association of America (predecessor to the NBA) in 1947.
"We are saddened to learn of the passing of Wat Misaka," said Director of Athletics Mark Harlan. "He was a part of the Utah teams that won national championships in the 1940s, but Wat was bigger than the game of basketball, blazing trails into places nobody of his descent had gone before. He was such a kind and thoughtful man and will be missed by so many. Our thoughts are with his family, friends and Utah fans, who all mourn his passing."
Known as the Jackie Robinson of basketball, Misaka was inducted into the Utah Sports Hall of Fame in 1999 and the University of Utah's Crimson Club Hall of Fame in 2011. Misaka was the point guard for Utah's 1944 NCAA tournament championship team and the 1947 NIT championship team. In between his two seasons playing for Utah he was drafted into the military and rose to the rank of Staff Sergeant.
After returning from his service during WWII, Misaka helped lead the Utes to the 1947 NIT title with a 49-45 victory over Adolph Rupp's Kentucky Wildcats. That team wound up 19-5 overall at season's end and finished second in the Skyline Conference with a 10-2 mark.
Following his playing career at Utah, Misaka was drafted by the New York Knicks in 1947. The first player of Japanese descent to play in the NBA, known then as the Basketball Association of America, Misaka took part in three games during the 1947-48 season and scored seven points.
In August of 2018, his hometown of Ogden, Utah, honored Misaka with the "Kilowatt Court" at Liberty Park. He also was the Terasaki Budokan's guest of honor in Los Angeles' Little Tokyo two months earlier. In 2009, U.S. President Barack Obama mentioned Misaka when he spoke at the opening ceremony to mark the formation of the President's Advisory Commission and White House Initiative on Asian American and Pacific Islanders. In 2008, Bruce Johnson and Christine Johnson directed, "Transcending: The Wat Misaka Story."
"Wat was a person who was an achiever in all he did," said Misaka's Utah teammate Arnie Ferrin, who later served as Utah's Athletics Director from 1976-85. "His contribution to winning a National Championship may not be remembered, but his play won the championship for Utah in the 1947 Tournament. Imagine playing in Madison Square Garden, the Mecca of college basketball, guarding the best player in the game (Ralph Beard) and shutting him out. That may be the best defensive performance in the history of the tournament. He did so many great things such as representing the Japanese as an American citizen during the War. He was one of my best friends, in fact we all should have a friend like him. I will miss him dearly."
Misaka, who helped lead the Utah basketball program to national championships in 1944 and '47, broke barriers when he became the first non-Caucasian player in the Basketball Association of America (predecessor to the NBA) in 1947.
"We are saddened to learn of the passing of Wat Misaka," said Director of Athletics Mark Harlan. "He was a part of the Utah teams that won national championships in the 1940s, but Wat was bigger than the game of basketball, blazing trails into places nobody of his descent had gone before. He was such a kind and thoughtful man and will be missed by so many. Our thoughts are with his family, friends and Utah fans, who all mourn his passing."
Known as the Jackie Robinson of basketball, Misaka was inducted into the Utah Sports Hall of Fame in 1999 and the University of Utah's Crimson Club Hall of Fame in 2011. Misaka was the point guard for Utah's 1944 NCAA tournament championship team and the 1947 NIT championship team. In between his two seasons playing for Utah he was drafted into the military and rose to the rank of Staff Sergeant.
- OTHER VOICES: -- Hoop pioneer Wat Misaka reflects on breaking barriers in an incredible life (Japan Times, Dec. 28, 2018)
After returning from his service during WWII, Misaka helped lead the Utes to the 1947 NIT title with a 49-45 victory over Adolph Rupp's Kentucky Wildcats. That team wound up 19-5 overall at season's end and finished second in the Skyline Conference with a 10-2 mark.
Following his playing career at Utah, Misaka was drafted by the New York Knicks in 1947. The first player of Japanese descent to play in the NBA, known then as the Basketball Association of America, Misaka took part in three games during the 1947-48 season and scored seven points.
In August of 2018, his hometown of Ogden, Utah, honored Misaka with the "Kilowatt Court" at Liberty Park. He also was the Terasaki Budokan's guest of honor in Los Angeles' Little Tokyo two months earlier. In 2009, U.S. President Barack Obama mentioned Misaka when he spoke at the opening ceremony to mark the formation of the President's Advisory Commission and White House Initiative on Asian American and Pacific Islanders. In 2008, Bruce Johnson and Christine Johnson directed, "Transcending: The Wat Misaka Story."
"Wat was a person who was an achiever in all he did," said Misaka's Utah teammate Arnie Ferrin, who later served as Utah's Athletics Director from 1976-85. "His contribution to winning a National Championship may not be remembered, but his play won the championship for Utah in the 1947 Tournament. Imagine playing in Madison Square Garden, the Mecca of college basketball, guarding the best player in the game (Ralph Beard) and shutting him out. That may be the best defensive performance in the history of the tournament. He did so many great things such as representing the Japanese as an American citizen during the War. He was one of my best friends, in fact we all should have a friend like him. I will miss him dearly."
Wataru Misaka passed away on Thursday at the age of 95.
— NEW YORK KNICKS (@nyknicks) November 21, 2019
?? Drafted in 1947 by the Knicks
?? NCAA champion (Utah)
?? First non-white player and Asian descent player to play in the NBA
Trailblazer. #NewYorkForever pic.twitter.com/weDzyX79Yy
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