Nera White
(1935-2016)
Hall of Fame Induction: 1992
Card Shown:
1992 Champion
Hall of Fame Enshrinement
Position: PG
Height: 6’1″
bb
bb
Nera White was arguably the greatest women’s basketball player in the 1950s and 1960s. Her play and athleticism were said by many to be ahead of her time. Since her college did not have a basketball team, Nera played for an Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) team sponsored by the Nashville Business College (NBC). During her fifteen-year career, she led NBC to ten AAU championships and was voted the Most Valuable Player ten times.
White was a tremendous athlete. Standing 6’1″ tall, she could dunk the ball. She could also lead the break, shoot with accuracy, and make the effective pass when she was double-teamed. Nera’s tremendous skill on the court also gave her the opportunity to play on All-Star teams that toured internationally and played games in Brazil, Great Britain, France, Germany, Russia, and Venezuela.
Awards and Honors
- White was also a great softball player. She did not really take up basketball until high school, where she led her Macon County High School team to the district championship her junior year.
- Nera was a fifteen-time AAU All-American. When she played, the AAU was really the only league where women could continue to play basketball after high school. The first NCAA women’s champion was crowned in 1982 and the WNBA was not formed until 1997.
- White played for the Nashville Business College for fifteen years, from 1955-1969. During that time she teamed with Hall of Famer Joan Crawford to lead NBC to ten AAU National Championships, including eight in a row in the 1960s.
- White was the selected the Most Valuable Player in the AAU National Tournament ten times during her career.
- Nera starred for the USA national team that won a gold medal and World Championship in 1957, defeating the Soviet Union. She was the leading scorer for the USA team and was named the Most Valuable Player. It was not until 1976 that women’s basketball became an Olympic sport.
Points of Interest
- Nera White and Lusia Harris-Stewart were the first two women to be inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. They were enshrined in 1992.
- Her AAU team once had a streak where they won 91 of 92 consecutive basketball games.
- While playing for NBC, White supported herself by working at a print shop owned by the same man who owned the Nashville Business College and the team.
- White retired from basketball at the age of 33 in 1969. She continued to work at the print shop until she was laid off after the death of the owner in 1982. After that she moved back to her family farm in Lafayette, Tennessee. She lived and worked there until her passing.
- In an interview with Steve Marantz of The Sporting News in 1996, Nera reflected on her basketball legacy. She noted that basketball had given her two bad knees and had not provided for her economically. It had only given her some dusty trophies and worthless certificates. Still, White said that she played because she wanted to. She loved to win and basketball also offered her the opportunity to meet many people, make new friends, and travel the world.