Cumberland “Cum” Posey, Jr. inducted into Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame
September, 2016
Cumberland “Cum” Posey, Jr. (Sci 1911), who is recognized as the first known African American student athlete in Penn State history, was inducted into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame. Posey enrolled at Penn State in 1909 and played forward on the freshman basketball team (1909- 10) and the varsity basketball team (1910-11), while also playing on the freshman baseball team (1910). He left Penn State after just two years and joined the Monticello Athletic Association, which later became the Loendi Big Five. By the following year, Posey was the star player and operator of the club. Loendi won the Colored Basketball World Championship four years in a row from 1920 to 1923. He was widely regarded as the best African American basketball player of his time. Along with his 2006 induction into the National Baseball Hall of Fame, Posey became the only person enshrined at both sports halls of fame.
