Rucker Park
Located in the heart of Harlem, on the old site of the Polo Grounds, Rucker Park is a New York basketball institution. According to many people, Rucker Park is the birthplace of “streetball”, a style of basketball that focuses on theatrical dribbling and dunking. The legendary court epitomizes much of the fast paced and flashy style of basketball that makes streetball so much fun to watch. Many NBA stars have graced these courts during the famous summer leagues, including, Stehpon Marbury, Rafer Alston, Kenny Anderson, Ron Artest, Kevin Garnett, Wilt Chamberlin, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and others. Rucker Park also has its own legends that unfortunately never made it to the big time. These players include Pee Wee Kirkland, and Earl “The Goat” Manigault. Rucker Park has been the subject of many films, including On Hallowed Ground: Streetball Champions of Rucker Park, a documentary about the park.
Pee Wee Kirkland was one of the greatest scorers in the history of the Rucker League. However, he got caught up in the fast life of drug dealing. Pee Wee never played professional basketball but has become active in teaching basketball to New York youth.
