Football’s pioneering racial-equity game changer

Halley Harding was a triple-threat athlete who set records in baseball, football, and basketball. He played professional basketball for the Harlem Rens, made his Negro League baseball debut for Indianapolis ABCs in 1926, played with Satchel Paige and was an American Negro league shortstop from 1926 to 1937. Harding also performed minor roles in Hollywood Black movies during 1939 and 1940. After his athletic career, he worked as a sportswriter for Los Angeles Tribune, the Los. Angeles Sentinel and later the Chicago Crusader newspapers. In 1967, Harding died in Chicago at age 62.

Halley Harding was a journalist and a pioneer in the field of sports. He was instrumental in breaking down barriers for working African-American athletes. His nephew Geoff Harding is proud that the NABJ recognized his career and promoted his legacy. He believes his uncle is being celebrated in football heaven. The nephew also believes that his father's career was exemplary. Geoff's journalism career included stints with CNN and Newsweek. Halley's legacy is synonymous with the modern-day makeup of the National Football League (NFL) and other sports, according to Geoff.