Apr 22, 2022
Cecil Harris has written on sports for The New York Times, the
New York Daily News, Newsday, the New York Post, The (Raleigh, NC)
News & Observer, The Indianapolis Star, The Sporting News, The
Hockey News, the Associated Press, and USA Today. He has covered
major events such as the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta, baseball’s
playoffs and World Series, the NBA Finals, Stanley Cup playoffs,
college basketball’s Final Four and national championship game,
tennis’s U.S. Open and WTA Championships, college football, boxing,
soccer, and track and field. He appeared in the CBS documentary,
"Althea & Arthur", about tennis Hall of Famers Althea Gibson and
Arthur Ashe; the documentary, "A Perfect Match", about Gibson and
her Wimbledon doubles partner Angela Buxton; and the hockey
documentary, "Soul on Ice".
Cecil’s fourth book, "Different Strokes: Serena, Venus, and the
Unfinished Black Tennis Revolution", was published in 2020 by
University of Nebraska Press. His previous books are "Breaking the
Ice: The Black Experience in Professional Hockey" (2004); "Call the
Yankees My Daddy" (2005); and "Charging the Net: A History of
Blacks in Tennis from Althea Gibson and Arthur Ashe to the Williams
Sisters" (2007). He also contributed a chapter to the anthology,
"African Americans and Popular Culture" (2008). He graduated summa
cum laude from Fordham University with a Bachelor of Arts degree in
media studies. He lives in Yonkers, New York.