Markward Playground is a beloved Fitler Square destination for families and kids of all ages. More than just a playground, it includes an indoor recreation center, basketball and pickleball courts, a pool, and more. But visitors may have wondered: where does the name Markward come from? You may be surprised to know that the playground’s name is tied to the very origins of professional basketball, and to an important figure in Philadelphia’s rich sports history.

William “Billy” Markward was born on September 1^st, 1878 in the Devil’s Pocket neighborhood of Philadelphia, just south of Fitler Square. His father, George R. Markward, was a police patrolman, and had three other children besides Billy with his wife, Mary. Very little is known about Billy’s early life; records of him begin with his service in the Spanish-American War of 1898, which he served in at the age of 20. After returning from the war, Billy began working for City Hall and eventually became the Commissioner of Deeds.

Markward’s career in basketball began in 1900, just two years after the first professional basketball league (the National Basketball League) was established, and only nine years after the invention of the sport by James Naismith in Springfield, Massachusetts. He played his first season in the newly founded Interstate League before moving to the NBL, which, despite its name, only included teams from Philadelphia, Delaware, New Jersey, and New York. Billy was not exactly an all-star player in his professional career: across his nine seasons as a player, he scored an average of 2.6 points per game. However, he would soon find immense success in another aspect of the sport.

The same year his professional career began, Billy found out through a teammate that Roman Catholic High School was looking for a coach, and he decided to volunteer for the position. This began his 41-year career as one of the most prominent high school coaches in Philadelphia’s history. In those 41 years, Markward led his team to 20 championship victories, and fostered the growth of many successful athletes: 240 of Billy’s players went on to play in college, and 24 became captains of their teams.

According to John Gibbons, a Roman Catholic alumnus and Chair of Roman’s Archives Committee, much of Billy’s achievement as a coach can be attributed to the coaching structure he developed, which came to be known as the “Markward System.” As Gibbons put it, “He focused not so much on shooting the ball, but passing and positioning- he would run drills without a ball, and focus just on positioning the players.” This approach, which concentrated more on teamwork than individual performance, made his teams a force to be reckoned with. Over the years, Markward received offers to coach at Penn, Yale, and several other colleges, but refused to leave his team at Roman Catholic.

Beyond his prowess in coaching, Billy was notably an early advocate for diversity and inclusion in sports. In 1902, a student named Johnny Lee played for Roman Catholic’s basketball team- the son of a freed slave, Lee was one of Roman’s few Black students at the time, the majority being Irish. Markward was told that his team could not play in the Interscholastic Athletic League that year unless he expelled Lee from the team. Each and every one of Markward’s students subsequently refused to play unless Lee was allowed to play alongside them: as Gibbons put it in a 2015 article, “Billy Markward, the coach who always stressed the importance of how to live over how to play, must’ve beamed with pride.” Markward informed the league of his team’s decision, and the league backed down; the 1902 Roman Catholic team would go down in history as the first-ever integrated high school basketball team.

Gibbons emphasized that to his players, “Billy was more than just a coach. They viewed him as a second father… He taught them about life.” Markward’s players came overwhelmingly from working-class backgrounds and faced many struggles outside of school, but on the court, they knew they were among family, and many “revered” Billy as a role model of both sportsmanship and kindheartedness. Billy was known for his giving spirit, even refusing to accept compensation for his coaching until 1919, when Roman Catholic essentially forced him to take a salary.

After a long and storied career, Billy retired from coaching in 1941, at the age of 63. After a long battle with illness, he passed away in 1947, and was buried at Fernwood Cemetery in Lansdowne. Markward was posthumously inducted into the Philadelphia Sports Hall of Fame, and the Markward Memorial Basketball Club was founded in his honor. Each year, the club presents the Markward Award to the most outstanding high school basketball player in the city: notable recipients include Wilt Chamberlain, Reggie Jackson, and Jerome “Pooh” Richardson, among many others. In the 1970s, when Schuylkill River Park was being constructed, the city decided to name Markward Playground in Billy’s honor.

From his military service, to his pro career, to his unforgettable tenure in coaching, Billy Markward is undeniably a staple of Philadelphia’s sports history. So next time you’re shooting hoops, or even just taking a walk, at Markward Playground (or Lee Park in West Philly, named in honor of Johnny Lee) make sure to take a moment to remember William “Billy” Markward, who inspired countless players and forever changed the history of basketball in Philadelphia.