Macker Basketball (redirected from Gus Macker Basketball)

Macker (Gus) Basketball

January-October; varies according to host city

This 3-on-3 basketball tournament—and party—takes place on the streets of more than 70 cities across the United States. The Gus Macker 3-on-3 Basketball Tournament grew out of a low-wager backyard competition when, in 1974, Scott McNeal assembled 17 friends at his parents' house in the western Michigan city of Lowell, near Grand Rapids, to play a basketball tournament with six teams of three people each.
Apparently realizing that this kind of event could have larger popular appeal, McNeal adopted the moniker "Gus Macker" and began holding Macker tournaments once a year in Belding, Michigan. National media attention from the likes of Sports Illustrated and ABC's "Wide World of Sports" sparked inquiries from communities around the country, and in 1987 McNeal began taking the Macker on tour.
In 1992 the Macker was honored by the Basketball Hall of Fame as the Official 3-on-3 Tournament. Indoor Mackers were introduced in 1994 so that the games could proceed during winter months in northern cities. Several Canadian cities have begun to participate as well.
The Macker is notable for its stringent guidelines for having a positive, family-oriented event and its insistence on donating proceeds to local charities. By 2009, the organization estimated that since its inception in 1987, approximately $15 million had been raised for local charities.

CONTACTS:
Macker Basketball LLC
812 Industrial Park Dr.
Greenville, MI 48838
616-754-0373; fax: 616-754-0884
www.macker.com