SIXTY years ago on October 31, history was made in the National Basketball Association (NBA) when the first ever African-American saw action in the league. His name: Earl Francis Lloyd of the Washington Capitols.
A 6-foot-6 product of West Virginia State College, Lloyd took the floor against the Rochester (New) Royals (the predecessors of the Sacramento Kings) on that day. Japanese-American Wataru Misaka, wearing the colors of the New York Knickerbockers, was the first player to break the NBA color barrier during the 1947-48 season when the league was still called the Basketball Association of America (BAA).
He was the only non-white player in the league before Washington also made history in signing an African-American, Harold Hunter, to a free-agent contract in 1950. Unfortunately, Hunter was waived by the Caps during training camp.
Months before, on April 25, 1950, the Boston Celtics drafted the first African-American ever, taking Charles (Chuck) Cooper with their second-round pick in the 1950 grab-bag.
The 6-foot-5 Cooper was an All-American from Duquesne University and had played with the comical and all-black Harlem Globetrotters.
Following the Celtics’ lead, the Capitols grabbed Lloyd in the ninth round.
A day before the college draft, Abe Saperstein, the Globetrotters owner, reportedly notified the NBA that he won’t take his popular team into Boston or Washington again if black players were drafted.
For the first time, the Trotters needed to compete for black talent now that Cooper and Lloyd were drafted for the NBA. Soon thereafter, Harlem also lost the services of Nathaniel (Sweetwater) Clifton to the New York Knicks.
On May 24, 1950, the Knicks purchased the contract of the 6-foot-6 Clifton, a product of Xavier University in Louisiana, from the Trotters for $12,500.
In effect, Clifton obtained free-agent status before signing an NBA contract with the Knicks in September 1950.
Clifton, who got his nickname because of his love for sodas or soft drinks, was paid $7,500 for the 1950-51 season. Aside from Lloyd, Cooper and Clifton, a fourth black player, 6-foot-6 Henry (Hank) DeZonie, joined the NBA later during the 1950-51 wars but he appeared in just five games with the Tri-Cities Blackhawks.
Lloyd, an Alexandria, Virginia native who was monikered “The Big Cat,” scored six points and grabbed a game-high 10 rebounds in a losing effort for Washington as Rochester claimed a 78-70 home decision over the Capitols.
Cooper, the NBA’s first African-American draftee, contributed seven points in his league debut on November 1, 1950, a 107-84 setback by the Boston Celtics against the Fort Wayne Pistons in Fort Wayne, Indiana.
The rub of the NBA schedule made Cooper only the second African-American to play in an official NBA game – or 24 hours after Lloyd, whose Caps opened their schedule one day earlier, became the first.
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