Photo by Mark Berndt

Think big: Kareem Abdul-Jabbar

Q: What is the most surprising story you've ever told?

A: I haven't come across too many surprises. One was in On the Shoulders of Giants, finding out about Cab Calloway. He would come to [our pro] games in Oakland, and he'd sing the national anthem. And I found out that he tried out for the Harlem Globetrotters and made the team in 1928. There's a picture of him in the book in his gear. He was a serious player. That blew my mind.

Q: If you weren't a professional athlete, what would you have been?

A: A history teacher. Either that or law school.

Q: We all know about the Harlem Globetrotters. But you also write vividly about another unbeatable squad, the New York Renaissance Big Five, the "Rens."

A: The Rens really were the athletic aspect of the Harlem Renaissance. The Globetrotters are from Chicago. They are not Harlem's team. Harlem's team is the Rens, and they were the best team. They beat the Globetrotters in the [world basketball championships] the first year that they had it, in 1939.

Q: How did the themes you explore in On the Shoulders of Giants play out during your college years?

A: The campus was great [because] they always had good jazz at Royce. I went to see Duke Ellington, Charles Mingus, John Handy, Kenny Burrell [he's teaching here now]. Dr. Tanner's jazz class was pretty special.

Q: What is your sense, now, of the state of activism on campus?

A: From what I can tell, it's nothing like it was when I went to school. The Vietnam War really divided this country and made everybody a little nuts.

Q: What was your most memorable moment at UCLA?

A: Graduation. My parents were here, and [the graduates] went to Drake Stadium and got [their] degrees. I said, "I did it." I didn't think I was going to for a while. And just being with all the people you went through this whole experience with, faces that you would never see again after that day. A very special time.

Q: Are you hopeful for the future?

A: I am hopeful. A lot has changed for the better, but we have a long way to go. I think the years of the Bush administration have really been divisive. I think that needs to be healed.

Q: What's the one essential thing about Kareem Abdul-Jabbar that we don't know — but should?

A: I wanted to play baseball. I wanted to play baseball before I wanted to play basketball. I could have played for the Dodgers while they were in Brooklyn. That would have been the happiest day of my life.

Q: Probably for the Dodgers, too.

A: Yeah, I wanted to replace Gil Hodges at first base. I thought I had a shot.

Published Jul 1, 2007 8:00 AM