Sunday Speaker Series Online: Little Brother Gets His Due – High School Basketball in the Valley, 1914-2014

The Museum of South Texas History welcomes Dr. Greg Selber to present two new books on high school basketball during the Sunday Speaker Series Online presentation, “Little Brother Gets His Due: High School Basketball in the Valley, 1914-2014,” on Facebook Live.

Selber, a historian on Rio Grande Valley sports, released two books, “Hardwood Heroes: The History of High School Basketball in the Rio Grande Valley Vols. 1 & 2,” which were published by the Rio Grande Valley Sports Hall of Fame. Copies are available for purchase at the Museum Store.

High school football is arguably the Rio Grande Valley’s favorite sport, but basketball comes close. The sport was introduced to the Valley during a time of racial tension in the early 1900s. According to SelberSports.com, Selber focuses on high school basketball starting with “the formative stages of the game, including on one hand the prominent pioneers—players, coaches, promoters—who made the game go, but on the other, the cultural and socio-political context of the times.” The books range from 1913-1914 to 2014, and examine the impact of race, economics, and technology on the sport, among other factors.

Selber began his work as a sports journalist in the Rio Grande Valley in 1989. He is a recognized author, journalist and communication professor at The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley. He is the author of “Border Ball: The History of High School Football in the Rio Grande Valley (2008)” and “Bronc Ball: The History of College Basketball at Pan American (2013).” Selber was inducted into the Rio Grande Valley Sports Hall of Fame in June 2020 and was the recipient of the Putt Powell Award in Journalism as the most outstanding high school sports journalist in the state of Texas in 2011.

The presentation will broadcast at facebook.com/MOSTHistory/live. Viewers are encouraged to interact with panelists by posting comments and questions on the live feed. The presentation will also be recorded and posted for public access on the museum’s website at mosthistory.org.

This program is made possible by the generous support from the Carmen C. Guerra Endowment. Mrs. Guerra was committed to educational causes in the Rio Grande Valley. This named endowment was created by her family to honor her memory and to continue providing educational opportunities for the community.