Hong Wah Kues

Lore & Background

The Hong Wah Kues were formed in 1939 by accountant James W. Porter, who held tryouts at the Chinese Playground in San Francisco. The original six players were Fred Ming Gok, Fred Hong Wong, Albert Lee, George Lee, Robert 'Doggie' Lum, and Chauncey Yip. The team name, meaning 'Brave (Great) Chinese Warriors' in Cantonese, reflects their heritage and fighting spirit. Players were mostly single, working-class, second-generation immigrants who faced limited job opportunities due to discrimination; basketball became an equalizer on the court. At their tallest, they stood 5'11", and the shortest was 5'3". They utilized a fast up-tempo game with quick passes.

Reader's Guide

The Hong Wah Kues hold significance as a pioneering all-Chinese professional team that challenged racial barriers in American sports during the 1930s. Their existence provided a platform for Chinese American athletes to travel and compete beyond Chinatown, and they served as a racially progressive force for audiences who saw 'Oriental invaders' speaking perfect English. The team's experience with racism was complex: fans sometimes used racial slurs in a seemingly non-derogatory manner, while ad campaigns emphasized exoticized stereotypes. The players co-opted harmful language into slogans for mass entertainment, creating a contested terrain. Their legacy is preserved through a 1998 Emmy-winning documentary by Rick Quan and museum exhibits. The team's brief two-season run, cut short by World War II, underscores how war disrupted emerging opportunities for minority athletes.

Did You Know?

• The Hong Wah Kues played 80 games in 100 days during their first season, achieving a 70% winning percentage.
• Players received a small stipend or a share of gate receipts rather than a fixed monthly salary; the team provided a car, a ball, and one uniform, but players had to cover their own room, board, food, and shoes.

Origins & Formation in 1930s San Francisco

The Hong Wah Kues emerged in 1939 from the basketball culture that had taken root in San Francisco's Chinatown during the 1920s. The idea to assemble an all-Chinese professional men's team came from accountant James W. Porter, who held tryouts at the Chinese Playground. The inaugural roster featured six players: Fred Ming Gok, Fred Hong Wong, Albert Lee, George Lee, Robert "Doggie" Lum, and Chauncey Yip. Many of these young men had left Chinatown after high school seeking better opportunities, and some likely knew one another through pickup games at the shared Playground site or through the Mei Wahs club. The second season brought slight roster changes, with Faye Lee, Douglas Quan, and Arnold Lim joining alongside returning players Lee, Lum, and George Lee. The team's name, rendered in Cantonese characters, carries meanings that range from "Brave Chinese Warriors" to "compatriots," reflecting the transliteration choices of the era. As the first Chinese professional basketball team, the Hong Wah Kues carved out a space in a sport that had spread rapidly through American urban centers, particularly during the Depression era when affordable entertainment became essential to working-class communities.

Playing Style & Athletic Identity

The Hong Wah Kues built their identity around speed and rapid ball movement, a style that set them apart in the barnstorming world of the late 1930s. Their roster ranged from 5'3" to 5'11", and the players were predominantly single, working-class, second-generation immigrants who had faced dead-end employment due to pervasive discrimination. Basketball became, for them, a great equalizer. Each player brought substantial experience: Gok, at 5'11", was among the first Chinese lettermen at Galileo High School and earned all-city honors while competing in multiple sports. Fred Hong Wong lettered in basketball, soccer, and track, and would later win the 1948 San Francisco Golden Gloves in the lightweight division. This collective athletic foundation allowed the team to execute a fast, up-tempo game built on quick passes. In the broader social context, the court offered these young men a way to see America beyond Chinatown, while audiences encountered what they framed as a "racially progressive force" of athletes who spoke fluent English and played with evident skill.

The Barnstorming Circuit & Life on the Road

From November through March, the Hong Wah Kues lived out of a car, playing once nightly and twice on Sundays. In their first season they logged 80 games over 100 days, finishing with a 70 percent winning record. Travel was grueling: after each game, seven players crammed into one vehicle—three up front, three in back, one on the hassock—rushing to the next town. Each player earned $135 monthly, covering room, board, food, and shoes from that sum. The team provided only a car, a ball, and a single uniform. Abe Saperstein, owner of the Harlem Globetrotters, served as their agent, scheduling games and collecting ticket fees. A remarkable episode unfolded in Coeur D'Alene, Idaho, where local law barred Chinese residents from working. The city council met days before the game, temporarily repealed the statute, and reinstated it once the team left. Upon arriving in a new town, the Hong Wah Kues' first task was finding a Chinese restaurant. When sharing a bill with the Globetrotters, the African American players would follow them there, knowing they would not be turned away.

Racial Dynamics & Enduring Legacy

The Hong Wah Kues navigated a complex racial landscape throughout their barnstorming years. Ad campaigns marketed them with phrases like "Oriental rug cutters" and "invaders," and players were expected to speak Cantonese on the court, reinforcing a caricatured identity. Fans in some towns cheered with the slur "Go, Chinky!"—a usage that, while still rooted in racial otherness, differed from the purely derogatory context in which the term was typically deployed. In certain locations, African American players received the harshest abuse, suggesting a hierarchy of racial targeting. Yet the team also co-opted some of this language into their own entertainment branding, creating what scholars might call a contested terrain of identity and agency. Their story has endured beyond the court: in 1998, KPIX-TV reporter Rick Quan won an Emmy and a Radio-Television News Directors Association award for a documentary chronicling the team's history. The Hong Wah Kues have also been featured in museum exhibits, preserving the memory of a group that played just two seasons before World War II ended their barnstorming era.