Bannister, Frank T., Jr.
(born: 1932 - died: 1986)Frank T. Bannister, Jr. was at one time a schoolteacher in Louisville, KY who later became a pollster with Jet magazine, compiling African American college football and basketball polls. Bannister was also a broadcaster who in 1976 became the first African American closed-circuit announcer for a heavy-weight championship fight: Muhammad Ali vs Ken Norton. He was selected for the job by Top Rank Inc. executives Robert Arum and Butch Lewis.
Bannister, who had taught Ali when he was a student in Louisville, was a sportswriter and commentator. Born in Roanoke, VA, he was a graduate of Tuskegee University and earned a doctorate from the University of Massachusetts.
For more see "Jet pollster Bannister to call Ali-Norton fight," Jet, vol. 51, issue 2 (9/30/1976), p. 52; "The Pop Culture Legacy of Muhammad Ali" at portablepress.com; "Frank Bannister, 54 dies; sportscaster, educator," Jet, vol. 71, issue 8 (11/10/1986), p. 18; and Dr. Frank T. Bannister Jr at findagrave.com.