Ray Province Crowe (May 30, 1915 – December 20, 2003)[1] was a basketball coach, educator, school administrator, and Republican politician in Indianapolis, Indiana.
Ray played basketball and baseball at Whiteland High School in Johnson County, the only black player on the team.
[3] Crowe then attended Indiana Central College (now known as the University of Indianapolis), where he earned nine letters in basketball, baseball, and track.
[2] After college and working as a sweeper at International Harvester, Crowe taught math and coached basketball at an Indianapolis grade school.
The team featured three future inductees of the Indiana Basketball Hall of Fame: Hallie Bryant,[6] Willie Gardner,[7] and Bailey Robertson.
[13] His teammates on the championship squads included two other inductees of the Indiana Hall of Fame, Willie Merriweather[14] and Bill Scott,[15] and the team as a whole has also been inducted.
[22] Many believe that the success of Attucks helped racial relations in Indianapolis and eased integration of the public schools there, Robertson included.
Crowe maintained a quiet, non-combative demeanor in the face of such challenges, determined to overcome adversity through discipline and achievement.
[4][23] Taking advantage of his tall, fast, athletic players, his tactic was to get down the floor quickly and shoot before the defense was able to get set up.
They played their home games at Butler Fieldhouse and increasingly drew thousands, and soon other teams wanted to schedule them to benefit from larger attendance.
The team also faced questionable, likely racially motivated, officiating, including a number of incidents that even white fans found outrageous.
[4] Crowe would not complain and would tell his team they needed to build a large enough lead that bad calls could not affect the outcome.
[11][24] They were compared to Jackie Robinson, Joe Louis, and the Harlem Globetrotters for gaining respect for black achievement in the sports world.
"[11] The team could not wipe away race problems in Indianapolis, of course, but it certainly "influenced attitudes and ideas" about blacks, if not directly shaping policies and laws.
[26][27] Following the 1970 census redistricting, Crowe represented the smaller multi-member 42nd District (northern Indianapolis and Marion County) from 1972 until resigning in mid-1975.
[28][1][29] He was replaced by fellow Republican William Lyman Soards, who would likewise win re-election several times, surviving one redistricting.
Crowe worked to change that, and in 1969 court orders led to the reassignment of teachers and students to achieve fuller integration.
"[2][31] In 2009 a ceremony was held and a banner raised at Conseco Fieldhouse, the home venue of the Indiana Pacers, to honor Crowe's 1955 championship squad.
[1] A memorial service was held at Crispus Attucks High School, drawing a large, racially mixed crowd, including many of his former players.