Lester Harrison

Please note that the content of this book primarily consists of articles available from Wikipedia or other free sources online. Lester "Les" Harrison was an American professional basketball player, coach, and team owner and is a member of the Basketball Hall of Fame. Upon his graduation from East High School in Rochester, New York, in 1923, Harrison began playing, coaching, and organizing semi-professional basketball, working for the Rochester Seagrams and later the Rochester Ebers. In 1945, with his brother Joseph, Harrison founded his own semi-pro team, the Rochester Pros; in 1946, the franchise changed its name to Royals and began play in the National Basketball League. Harrison coached the NBL iteration of his team for three years, leading the Royals to three straight NBL finals and amassing a record of 99 wins and 43 losses. In 1946, Harrison, as team owner, signed Long Island University standout Dolly King; King became the first African-American to have played in the league since 1943 and the first to see substantial playing time for his team.