Banks, Charles Anthony, Sr. [Kentucky Trojans Basketball Team]
Birth Year : 1919
Death Year : 2004
The Kentucky Trojans were a semi-pro basketball team in Lynch, KY, coached by Charles A. Banks, Sr. in the mid to late 1940s. The trainer was George "Piggy" Smith. Little is known about African American semi-pro basketball teams in Kentucky prior to the 1960s. Charles A. Banks, Sr. was born in Greenville, GA, the son of Flora Martin and Frank Banks. By 1930, the family had moved to Lynch, KY, they lived on Fifth Street, and Frank Banks was a coal loader in the coal mines, according to the U.S. Federal Census. Charles Banks attended school in Lynch and was the valedictorian of his 1937 high school graduating class. He would become a coal miner with U.S. Steel. Charles A. Banks moved to Youngstown, OH, in 1951. He was a foreman with U.S. Steel for 32 years. For more see "Charles Anthony Banks, Sr., 84," The Vindicator, 10/23/2004, p.9; and see the photo image of the Kentucky Trojans basketball team at the Kentucky Historical Society Digital Collections.

Subjects: Basketball, Migration North, Miners, Mines, & Steel Mills
Geographic Region: Greenville, Georgia / Lynch, Harlan County, Kentucky / Youngstown, Ohio