Pioneer Reflects On History

NEW YORK - Martin Luther King Jr. Day will be celebrated across the NBA today, including at the Celtics-Knicks game. And while the nation commemorates the slain leader of the civil rights movement, Hall of Famer Earl Lloyd will surely reflect on his belief that the Celtics ultimately opened the door for him to be the first African-American to play in an NBA game.

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"I truly believe this, that if the Celtics did not draft Chuck [Cooper] in the second round, you could not tell me that the Washington Capitols in 1950 were going to make me the first black player to play in this league. No way . . . The Boston Celtics had a tremendous influence on my acceptance in the NBA," said Lloyd in a recent phone interview.

Lloyd, Cooper, and the Knicks' Nat "Sweetwater" Clifton became the first African-Americans to play in the NBA during the 1950-51 season. Boston made Cooper, a former Duquesne star, the first black ever drafted. After being reminded Cooper was black, then-Celtics owner Walter Brown reportedly said: "I don't care if he's striped, plaid or polka dot!"

Clifton, a former Harlem Globetrotter, was the first African-American player to sign a contract with an NBA team when he signed with the Knicks in 1950. Lloyd was drafted in the ninth round by the Capitols after playing at all-black West Virginia State. The Alexandria, Va., native had never interacted with whites until he made the Capitols at 22 and he signed a contract for $4,500.

"I don't think they purposely picked the three of us," Lloyd said. "They didn't do an extensive look into your background and all that to make sure we were the right kind of people. But they picked three good people.

"They picked three guys who were decent enough guys to play in this league and we [comported] ourselves as gentlemen and decent human beings. There was never any worry to my knowledge about "Sweets" or Chuck or me, none."

Lloyd became the first African-American to play in an NBA game Oct. 31, 1950, in Rochester, N.Y., when the Capitols played the Royals. Cooper made his debut the next day, while Clifton's bow came four days later. Lloyd scored 6 points and grabbed a game-high 10 rebounds in the Capitols' 78-70 loss to Rochester.

Lloyd's NBA debut paled in significance to the arrival of Jackie Robinson in major league baseball in 1947. At that time, the NBA had about as much fanfare as the Arena Football League today. The next day, the Rochester Democrat & Chronicle didn't mention Lloyd in its game story while the Rochester Times-Union only wrote: "Bones McKinney, the Caps' new coach, injected big Earl Lloyd, Negro Star of West Virginia State, into the lineup (after halftime) and he took most of the rebounds."

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source : boston.com