Tiny Cole played basketball when it was in its infancy as an organised sport in England before World War II, and in 1938, he captained England in an international tournament in Berlin. The following year, he skippered a Birmingham representative side in the first basketball exhibition, against a London select, at the Harringay Arena. Also that year, he skippered the Birmingham YMCA Wasps to the Birmingham League title, and then competed in the national final against Rochdale Greys. Cole went on to play in six of Great Britain’s eight matches at the 1948 Olympics, and one of the two games he missed was their only win of the tournament, against Ireland.
Great Britain