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Creator
Smith, Anna Jackson, 1913-1998
Call number
Sc MG 301
Physical description
0.21 linear feet (1 box)
Language
English
Preferred Citation
[Item], Anna Jackson Smith papers, Sc MG 301, Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, Manuscripts, Archives and Rare Books Division, The New York Public Library
Repository
Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, Manuscripts, Archives and Rare Books Division
Access to materials
Request an in-person research appointment.

Born Anna Jackson in 1913, Anna Jackson Smith attended East Rutherford High School in New Jersey where she distinguished herself on the "Wonder-Girls" Basketball Team of the late 1920s and early 1930s. The Anna Jackson Smith papers focus on Smith's athletic achievements at East Rutherford High School.

Biographical/historical information

Born Anna Jackson in 1913, Anna Jackson Smith attended East Rutherford High School in New Jersey where she distinguished herself on the "Wonder-Girls" Basketball Team of the late 1920s and early 1930s as the team's center. The team amassed 104 consecutive victories over a seven-year span, a nationwide record, until 1933 when the Board of Education banned competitive sports for girls. Smith was the only African American on the teams, and she also participated in track, volleyball, and baseball. As an all-around athlete, she swam, ice-skated, and rode horses. In later life, Smith won trophies for Doubles Tournaments in the American Tennis Association. For many years, she was employed by the United States Postal Service. She died in 1998.

Scope and arrangement

The Anna Jackson Smith papers focus on Smith's athletic achievements at East Rutherford High School in the late 1920s until her graduation in 1931. Included is Smith's 1931 yearbook, as well as her scrapbook containing news clippings detailing her accomplishments in sports, principally in basketball. The papers also contain her high school diploma; other certificates; documents discussing her induction into the Wildcat Athletic Hall of Fame, Borough of Carlstadt, New Jersey in 1984; and subsequent dinners honoring the girls' basketball teams from 1926-1931.

Administrative information

Source of acquisition

Gift of Anna Jackson Smith Estate, July 2011.

Revision History

Finding aid updated by Lauren Stark. (2021 June 24)

Processing information

Accessioned by Janice Quinter, July 2011.

Separated material

Transferred to the Photographs and Prints Division: photographs.

Using the collection

Location

Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, Manuscripts, Archives and Rare Books Division
515 Malcolm X Boulevard, New York, NY 10037-1801
Second Floor