First integrated team to win a state championship.

[Red Rebels]

The Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka decision was announced on May 17, 1954. In my preliminary research it appears that the 1966-1967 Alcoa Tornadoes, Coached by the late Vernon Osborne "Coach O", were the first integrated team to win a state championship in basketball. This was back in the days of a single tournament for all teams. 

During the 1965-1966 season the all black Pearl High School team out of Nashville, won the state championship. 

In all previous years, the teams were all white. 

1967 Alcoa integrated
1966 Pearl all black
1965 Murfreesboro all white
1964 Donelson all white
1963 Oak Ridge all white
1962 Bradley Central all white
1961 Oak Ridge all white
1960 Hampton all white
1959 Alcoa all white
1958 Lenoir City all white
1957 Linden all white
1956 Linden all white
1955 Linden all white
 

http://tssaasports.com/history/results/?sport=basketball-boys

 

[tantra]

Pretty sure Alcoa LOST in state finals in 1967 to Holston & Jimmy England.  Final was, I believe, 44-43.

[CoachT]

http://tssaasports.com/event/bracket.cfm?id=19660201

[Red Rebels]

10 hours ago, tantra said:

Pretty sure Alcoa LOST in state finals in 1967 to Holston & Jimmy England.  Final was, I believe, 44-43.

I even posted a link, kinda like a footnote. They have the trophy in the picture. March 13 - March 18, 1967  ·  Stokely Athletic Center - UT Knoxville - Knoxville, TN. Thanks Coach T.

[midtnmale]

Good info.

[Red Rebels]

I left off the names:

Alcoa High School

Pictured: David Marsh, Garry Godfrey, Clayton Bledsoe, Tim George, Jim Whittemore, Keith Bennett, David Davis, Bruce Sipe, Carroll Bledsoe, Gary Douglas, Ronnie Pittard, Bill Joines, David Mills, Dwight Loveday, Mayford, Vernon Osborne, Richard Abbott, Jack French, Lum Deal

[Red Rebels]

 

Pearl High School

Pictured: Charles Moorman, Larry Hayden, Joseph Herbert, Willie Fisher, Melvin Smith, Harold Sowell, Ervin Williams, Cornelius Ridley, Theodore McClain, Richard Wade, James Avery, Walter Fisher, Melvin Black, James Douglas, Perry Wallace, Tyrone Fizer

[matt610]

Awesome post. I can't imagine a more satisfying championship than Pearl's in '66. Lots of brave men pictured here.

[Red Rebels]

1 hour ago, matt610 said:

Awesome post. I can't imagine a more satisfying championship than Pearl's in '66. Lots of brave men pictured here.

They pass the eye test. I'd like to see some film. 

[Red Rebels]

https://www.tennessean.com/picture-gallery/sports/high-school/2016/03/19/nashville-then-pearl-wins-state-title-50-years-ago/81956688/

FROM WIKIPEDIA:

Pearl High School, the predecessor and namesake for Pearl-Cohn, was a traditionally black public school. It was Nashville's only black high school, accepting its first white student in 1971. The original Pearl High School building built in 1937 (a historical site) has been reconfigured as Martin Luther King Magnet at Pearl High School.^[1]

 Maraniss, Andrew (July 19, 2016). "THE LEGACY OF PEARL HIGH SCHOOL AND ITS SUCCESS DURING SEGREGATION". The Undefeated. Retrieved 12 January 2018.

Edited January 19, 2018 by Red Rebels

[Red Rebels]

Pearl vs Hampton (semifinals) 

[SweetScience]

Not the football boards, I know. This is a good thread to ask, though. Who  was the first integrated football team in TN to win it all? Anybody know?