Neda Thomas

Neda Thomas made history in 1964 as the first African-American, man or woman, to play volleyball at the Olympic Games. She was new to volleyball, but not new to sports. Thomas was from Chicago, where she starred in the high jump in track & field from 1954-58. She won the AAU title in the high jump in 1954 (indoors) and 1957, tied both times, and won a bronze medal in high jump at the 1955 Pan American Games. Thomas was third at the 1956 US Olympic Trials, but did not compete at Melbourne and never competed in Olympic track & field. She represented the Chicago CYO and Chicago Comets as a high jumper.

Thomas played for the Chicago Rebels in volleyball, learning from Dr. Donnis Thompson, who later became athletic director at the University of Hawai’i. She worked in Chicago as a research chemist, but in 1973 moved to Hawai’i, tired of the Chicago winters. In Hawai’i she worked at The Queen’s Medical Center and became an official in volleyball, appearing in over 40 consecutive US national championships as a player or official.