From NKAA, Notable Kentucky African Americans Database (main entry)
Grant, Ulysses, Sr.
(born: August 11, 1934 - died: April 26, 2016) Ulysses Grant, Sr. was a recognized basketball player from Louisville, KY. He was a star high school player at Central. He played center at the College of the Scriptures and in 1958 scored 42 points in a game against Southeastern Christian College located in Winchester, KY. He had earlier played for the Harlem Road Kings starting in January of 1956. The Harlem Road Kings was a traveling basketball team founded by Reece "Goose" Tatum after he left the Harlem Globetrotters in 1954. Two other Louisville players on the team were Sonny Mitchell and Chuck Duncan. Ulysses Grant was a 6 foot 3 inch forward/center. He was said to be one of the best one-handed shooters on the court and he was a consistent scorer throughout his career.Ulysses Grant played for the Harlem Road Kings for one year and was Rookie of the Year. He was still a member of the team in April of 1956 when he played in a charity game between Louisville and Fort Knox. The Louisville team won. Ulysses Grant was the second-highest scorer of the game with 18 points, behind Dick Keffer with 28 points. The following year, 1957, Ulysses Grant was playing basketball with the Trailermen team in Louisville [team also called Kingham Trailer]. Fred Hampton was the coach. The team had joined the Major Basketball Association (MBA) that was open to A-1 independent teams. The previous season, the Trailermen had won the city-wide elimination tournament and represented Kentucky in the A.A.U. Tournament in Brownstown, IN. In 1958, Ulysses Grant played for the College of the Scriptures in January, while continuing to play for the Trailermen team in the Major Basketball Association. In 1960, Grant was playing for the St. Augustine team in Louisville. In 1963, he played for the Hazelwood A.C. team in Louisville and was still playing for the team in the early months of 1964.
Ulysses Grant was born in Louisville, KY, the son of Napoleon and Onie O. Keltee Grant. He died in 2016 and is buried in the Green Meadows Cemetery in Louisville.
Sources: "Scriptures five wins," The Courier-Journal, 01/26/1958, Section2, p.2; "Harlem Roadkings play here Saturday," The Tracy Press, 01/13/1956, p.8; "Presenting the Harlem Roadkings," The Sun-Advocate, 02/18/1956, p.2; "Clown prince of two sports," Jet, 02/02/1967, p.55; "Star game," The Courier-Journal, 04/15/1956, Section 2, p.3; "U.L. cage products win," Louisville Courier-Journal, 04/16/1956, p.19; "Trailermen play tonight," The Courier-Journal, 12/03/1958, Section 2, p.9; "SS Simon-Jude, St. Augustine win," The Courier-Journal, 04/09/1960, Section 2, p.11; "Williams scores 44 for Bradford boys," The Courier-Journal, 12/11/1963, Section 2, p.5; see Ulysses Grant, Sr. at Find A Grave.