# Barry Howson

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**Barry Howson** (born 17 June 1939) is a Canadian [basketball](/source/Basketball) player. He competed in the men's tournament at the [1964 Summer Olympics](/source/1964_Summer_Olympics),[1] and was the first [Black Canadian](/source/Black_Canadian) member of Canada's Olympic basketball team.[2]

He was the son of Frank Howson and Christine DeGroat Jenkins; his mother was the publisher of *[The Dawn of Tomorrow](/source/The_Dawn_of_Tomorrow)*, an important early Black Canadian community newspaper which had been founded by her first husband James Jenkins.[2] He was also the half-brother of broadcaster and activist [Kay Livingstone](/source/Kay_Livingstone), his mother's daughter with James Jenkins.[3]

He attended Sir Adam Beck Secondary School in [London](/source/London,_Ontario), [Ontario](/source/Ontario), where played on the school basketball team which won the [Ontario Federation of School Athletic Associations](/source/Ontario_Federation_of_School_Athletic_Associations) provincial basketball championship in 1957.[2] He subsequently attended the [University of Western Ontario](/source/University_of_Western_Ontario), playing basketball at the university level, before playing at the senior level for the Toronto Dow Kings, who served as Canada's Olympic basketball team in 1964.[2]

He subsequently completed a master's in education at [Wayne State University](/source/Wayne_State_University) in [Detroit](/source/Detroit), [Michigan](/source/Michigan), and became a high school teacher and athletics coach in [Sarnia](/source/Sarnia) in his professional life.[2]

Because Canada had simply sent the Toronto Dow Kings to the Olympics rather than organizing an official national team, Howson's status as a pioneering Black athlete was overlooked for many years, with [Canada Basketball](/source/Canada_Basketball) incorrectly identifying somebody else as the first Black Canadian basketball player to compete at the Olympics in its [Black History Month](/source/Black_History_Month) materials.[2] In February 2024, the error was rectified with the organization presenting him with a trophy and a special framed Olympic jersey to commemorate his achievement.[2]

## References

1. ["Barry Howson Olympic Results"](https://web.archive.org/web/20200418123007/https://www.sports-reference.com/olympics/athletes/ho/barry-howson-1.html). Archived from [the original](https://www.sports-reference.com/olympics/athletes/ho/barry-howson-1.html) on 18 April 2020. Retrieved 6 July 2018.

1. Norman De Bono, ["At long last, Canada's first Black Olympic basketball player gets his due"](https://www.thesudburystar.com/sports/basketball/at-long-last-black-former-londoners-place-in-hoops-history-recognized/wcm/0ed4a929-8270-4bf9-b808-f80fab95bcbe). *[Sudbury Star](/source/Sudbury_Star)*, February 27, 2024.

1. Eli Yarhi, ["Kay Livingstone"](https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/kay-livingstone). *[The Canadian Encyclopedia](/source/The_Canadian_Encyclopedia)*, March 5, 2019.

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