LeBron James was born on December 30, 1984, in Akron, Ohio. His mother, Gloria James, was only 16 at the time. His biological father, Anthony McClelland, was an ex-con uninterested in being a parent. Gloria raised LeBron on her own, and to this day he goes by her last name.

Life was often a struggle for LeBron and his mother. Gloria battled personal problems during much of his childhood. Some of those were brought on by the death of her mother, who passed away when LeBron was an infant. Bouncing between retail and accounting jobs, Gloria was never able to land steady work, and she and LeBron moved from apartment to apartment. The pair got to know all the seedier neighborhoods of Akron, a city of more than 200,000 located less than a hour south of Cleveland.

Despite her failings, Gloria worked hard to be a loving mother and shield LeBron from the poverty and violence of the streets. This was no easy chore, and at times made her choice of boyfriends seem puzzling. When LeBron was two, she started dating Eddie Jackson. In and out of trouble with the law, he went to prison in 1990 for aggravated cocaine trafficking. (In 2002, he pled guilty to mortgage fraud and mail fraud.) Nevertheless LeBron formed a bond with Jackson, and Gloria liked having a man around who was willing to serve as a father figure. Her brothers, Terry and Curt, also helped out.

From an early age, LeBron showed tremendous instincts for basketball. Gloria gave him a miniature hoop and ball when he was an infant, and he amused himself for hours each day with the toys. LeBron also had the genes necessary to spawn a long-limbed basketball phenom. Though Gloria stands only 5-5, she has relatives who are much taller.




The strain of the Jameses’ nomadic lifestyle began to take its toll when LeBron entered elementary school. Embarrassed by his home life, he didn’t make friends easily. And thought he wanted to do well in school, focusing on his studies was difficult. He found an outlet for his emotions and intelligence in sports. Basketball and football were his favorites. By now LeBron had developed into a superb athlete. In addition to his natural speed, quickness and strength, he could think his way around the court or gridiron. His hero was Michael Jordan, and he patterned his hoops game after his idol’s. LeBron liked taking it to the hole, as well as launching jumpers, but he took a special delight in distributing the basketball to his teammates.

In football, LeBron usually played receiver. He scored 19 touchdowns in six games in his first year of Pee Wee football. His coach was Frankie Walker, a man who would soon have a profound effect on his life. After the season ended, Walker began hearing stories that his young star, now a fourth-grader, was missing school on a regular basis. He soon discovered that LeBron had all but dropped out. Walker confronted Gloria, who admitted that her son needed a more stable living environment. They agreed that Lebron should move in with Walker and his family.

LeBron quickly took to his new surroundings. Walker and his wife, Pam, had three kids, Chanelle, Frankie Jr. and Tanesha. Everyone in the household, including LeBron, was responsible for daily chores. The structure did wonders for him. As a fifth grader, he received his school’s attendance award.

Walker also had a positive impact on Lebron’s basketball. Among other things, he taught the youngster how to shoot with his left hand.

After 18 months of living separately from her son, Gloria took him back. But when financial problems arose, LeBron returned to the Walkers. Eventually they worked out an arrangement to help Gloria pay her rent. Walker and his wife wanted to ensure that LeBron always had a place in the Akron area he could call home.

For LeBron, another advantage of living with the Walkers was his friendship with Frankie Jr. The two ran with four other boys—Sian Cotton, Dru Joyce III, Willie McGee and Romeo Travis. Together they formed a terrific team on the basketball court. On Sunday nights they gathered at the Akron Jewish Community Center, where Keith Drambot, the former head coach at Central Michigan University, put them through their paces.

LeBron and Dru, who played point guard, became extremely close friends. In fact, when LeBron was 12, he spent most of that summer living with Joyce’s family.