World War II Chronicle: August 4, 1942
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Page 14 mentions that Wilmeth Sidat-Singh is joining the Army Air Force. You’ve probably never heard of him, but had he not been black you likely would have. Grantland Rice witnessed the Syracuse halfback led his team down the field for three touchdowns in the final nine minutes of a game to upset Cornell in 1938, causing Rice to declare Sidat-Singh’s skills “beyond Sid Luckman and Sammy Baugh.”
Unfortunately Sidat-Singh was barred from playing in Southern stadiums and was kept out of pro football and basketball. He did play in a professional colored basketball league — see page 19 of the Jan. 5, 1942 Chronicle for one mention, and you will find his name in plenty of sports pages this year. In fact, he led the Washington Bears in points as his squad put together a winning streak of over 20 games in 1942. Sidat-Singh played for two teams in 1941 (the Bears and the Harlem Renaissance), played football for the U Street Lions, and was on the Treasury Department’s softball team — see page 19 of the August 3, 1941 Chronicle. He was as tough on criminals as he was on opposing teams, patrolling the 13th Precinct of Washington, D.C. as a police officer. Stay tuned for more on Sidat-Singh…
Pres. Roosevelt has awarded PT boat skipper Lt. Cmdr. John Bulkely the Medal of Honor (see page six)… On page seven we learn Luftwaffe chief Hermann Göring is compiling perhaps the most impressive art collection in the world… Sports section begins on page 14, and Grantland Rice wonders on the next page: who is the best first baseman in baseball history? And a first-hand account from the American ambulance service in Egypt can be found on page 28.
Evening star. (Washington, D.C.), 4 August 1942. Chronicling America: Historic American Newspapers. Lib. of Congress.
https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn83045462/1942-08-04/ed-1/