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— CH. 1 · BASEMENT ON 25TH STREET —

Wat Misaka

~3 min read · Ch. 1 of 6
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  • Wataru Misaka grew up in a basement apartment on 25th Street in Ogden, Utah. His family lived between a bar and a pawn shop during the early 1930s. The neighborhood was known as a ghetto filled with prostitution and crime. Misaka's parents worked hard to provide him and his two younger brothers with an American education despite their poverty. He attended Ogden High School where he led the basketball team to a state championship title in 1940. The following year they won another regional championship. Despite the discrimination around them, Misaka refused to move back to Hiroshima when his mother suggested it. He chose to stay in Utah even though his friends were forced into internment camps while he remained free.

  • Misaka joined the University of Utah Utes basketball team after serving in the United States Army for two years. The young squad finished with an 18, 3 record during the 1943, 44 season. They lost to Kentucky in the first round of the NCAA tournament but won the championship game over Dartmouth 42, 40 in overtime. Two nights later Misaka and his teammates defeated St. John's 43, 36 at Madison Square Garden. During the 1947 National Invitation Tournament Utah defeated Kentucky 49, 45 to capture the championship title. Misaka held Wildcats All-American guard Ralph Beard to just one point that night. Fans booed him whenever he stepped onto the floor because Japan was at war with the United States. His teammates protected him from the hostility despite the tension. A crowd of 15,000 to 20,000 people gathered for a celebration parade in March 1947.

  • Misaka debuted as the first non-Caucasian player in the Basketball Association of America in 1947. This occurred the same year Jackie Robinson broke baseball's color line. He played only three games for the New York Knicks during the 1947, 48 season before being cut mid-season. He scored seven points total across those appearances with field goal percentage at .231. There were no press conferences or interviews to mark his historic debut. Nobody cared about breaking the barrier back then according to Misaka himself. He believed the Knicks released him because they already had too many guards on their roster. During training camp

  • he became close only with future Hall-of-Famer Carl Braun. No discrimination came from teammates or opposing players during his brief tenure there.

    Misaka was inducted into the Utah Sports Hall of Fame in 1999. A landmark exhibit titled More Than a Game appeared at the Japanese American National Museum in Los Angeles in 2000. Documentary film Transcending: The Wat Misaka Story premiered in 2008 directed by Bruce Alan Johnson and Christine Toy Johnson. In 2012 he attended a Knicks game as a fan reflecting on Jeremy Lin's rise to stardom. Plan-B Theatre Company staged the one-man show Kilo-Wat about his career at Kingsbury Hall in 2025. He received induction into the Japanese American National Bowling Hall of Fame in 1997. His number 20 jersey

  • was honored by the Utah Utes on the 22nd of January 2022 for his contributions toward national championships and courage against discrimination. Wataru Misaka died at age 95 on the 20th of November 2019 in Salt Lake City.

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1923 births2019 deaths20th-century American engineers20th-century American military personnel20th-century American sportsmenAmerican electrical engineersAmerican men's basketball playersAmerican military personnel of Japanese descentAmerican people of Japanese descentBasketball players from UtahEngineers from UtahJunior college men's basketball players in the United StatesMilitary personnel from UtahNew York Knicks draft picksNew York Knicks playersPoint guardsSportspeople from Ogden, UtahSportspeople of Japanese descentUtah Utes men's basketball playersWeber State Wildcats men's basketball players

Common questions

Where did Wataru Misaka grow up and what was the neighborhood like?

Wataru Misaka grew up in a basement apartment on 25th Street in Ogden, Utah. The neighborhood was known as a ghetto filled with prostitution and crime.

When did Wataru Misaka win his first NCAA championship title?

Wataru Misaka won the NCAA tournament championship game over Dartmouth 42 to 40 in overtime during the 1943-44 season. He also captured the National Invitation Tournament championship by defeating Kentucky 49 to 45 in 1947.

Why were fans booing Wataru Misaka when he played for the University of Utah Utes?

Fans booed Wataru Misaka whenever he stepped onto the floor because Japan was at war with the United States. His teammates protected him from this hostility despite the tension surrounding the games.

How many games did Wataru Misaka play for the New York Knicks before being cut mid-season?

Wataru Misaka played only three games for the New York Knicks during the 1947-48 season before being released. He scored seven points total across those appearances with a field goal percentage of .231.

What year did Wataru Misaka die and how old was he at the time of his death?

Wataru Misaka died at age 95 on the 20th of November 2019 in Salt Lake City. He had been born in 1923 and lived through significant historical events including World War II and the civil rights movement.

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