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Athletes - Chuck Cooper


Charles H. Cooper (September 29, 1926 - February 5, 1984), better known as Chuck Cooper, was one of three players with legitimate claims to be the first African American basketball player in the NBA. Each satisfied a different condition of being "first":

  • Cooper was the first black player to be drafted by an NBA team, in 1950.
  • Shortly afterwards, Nat Clifton
    was the first black player to sign a contract with an NBA team.
  • Finally, at the start of the 1950-51 season, Earl Lloyd
    was the first black to play in an NBA game, as his team started its season a day before either Cooper's or Clifton's.
Cooper was signed by Boston Celtics coach Red Auerbach
, after playing for the Westinghouse high school in Pittsburgh, and the NCAA teams at Duquesne University and West Virginia State College.

Cooper went on to have a fair NBA career. He played four years with the Celtics, then was traded to the Milwaukee Hawks before ending his career as a member of the Ft. Wayne Pistons. As some statistics were not kept during that era, it is not known how many blocked shots, steals or turnovers he had during his career. He did not take any three point shots; three point shots were not instituted in the NBA until about 20 years after Cooper stopped playing.

As the NBA progressed, other Black players, such as Oscar Robertson
, Dave Bing
, Darryl Dawkins
, Julius Erving
, Magic Johnson
, Michael Jordan
, Scottie Pippen
, Reggie Miller
and, more recently, Kobe Bryant
, Shaquille O'Neal
and Allen Iverson
, among others, have dazzled crowds, making many fans forget about Cooper, Clifton and Lloyd. Miller, however, said in a 1990 interview that he recognized their names and their indirect importance in the careers of modern Black basketball players.

[ Visit the complete Wikipedia entry for Chuck Cooper ]



Some related entries: Tommy Davis | Scott Lost | Vinny Del Negro | Elmer Ripley | Bob Gansler | Steve Buechele | K. C. Jones | Jerry Tuite | Dave DeBusschere | Pat Dupre | Freak Nastty

This page is based on the copyrighted Wikipedia article Chuck Cooper; it is used under the GNU Free Documentation License. You may redistribute it, verbatim or modified, providing that you comply with the terms of the GFDL.

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