On October 31, 1950, Earl Lloyd became the first black player in the NBA

His name may not mean anything to you, yet 75 years ago, on October 31, 1950. Earl Lloyd made sports history by becoming the first black basketball player to play in a regular NBA game.

Like baseball’s Jackie Robinson, he was a basketball pioneer who died on February 26, 2015, even if Earl Lloyd refused to be put on the same level as the Brooklyn Dodgers’ No. 42.

“In 1950, basketball was classified and didn’t have the notoriety of baseball”he reminded. “I don’t think my situation can be compared to that of Jackie Robinson, who played in a hostile environment, with teammates who didn’t want to be with him. In basketball, guys are used to being integrated from university. There was a different mentality.”

Accidental pioneer

It was the serendipity of the regular season schedule that allowed Earl Lloyd to etch his name into great sports history. Because on April 25, 1950, during the first real NBA draft, Chuck Cooper was the first black basketball player to be drafted in history.

Moments later, Earl Lloyd was the 100th pick in this draft, selected by the Washington Capitols.

Pioneers Chuck Cooper and Earl Lloyd were, on the same day, April 25, 1950, accompanied by Nat Clifton. The one nicknamed “Sweetwater” just spent a few years with the Harlem Globetrotters. Hired by the Knicks, he became the first black player to sign an NBA contract.

But the strongest date is that of the first match. This famous October 31, 1950 meeting, then, pitted the Washington Capitols, the team coached by Red Auerbach from 1946 to 1949, against the Rochester Royals (the future Sacramento Kings). It happened in Rochester. Earl Lloyd (1m96 and 102 kg) played wing for the Capitols. The league was only four years old and obviously did not look like it does today.

Earl Lloyd, nicknamed “The Big Cat”, would break a very symbolic barrier, as well as collect 6 points and 5 assists in this match.

“I imagine people expected to see members of the Ku Klux Klan show up with their ropes and robes. Nothing happened. When I got out of college, I had to show everyone that the guys in my conference were capable of playing in the NBA, not just me.”

1955 NBA Champion

His adventure with the Capitols ended after seven games. Cut off in January 1951, he joined the Army before being picked up by the Nationals. With them, he had the best season in the league, 1954-55 (10.2 points and 7.7 rebounds on average) and was the NBA champion in the same year. With Jim Tucker, the “Big Cat” became the first black basketball player to play on an NBA championship team.

In his autobiography published in November 2009. « Moonfiker: Earl Lloyd’s Basketball Journey »said he had never had a conversation worthy of the name with a white person his age before arriving at Capitols training camp. His integration into the team went normally. Bill Sharman, a white rookie from South Carolina and future Hall of Famer, took him under his wing.

Every day he drove him to practice and then brought him back. In Horace McKinney, a native of the South, Earl Lloyd found a coach with great understanding and concern. An anecdote on this subject is reported: During the trip, the hotel accepted Earl Lloyd but refused to allow him access to the restaurant. The basketball player called the room service to bring food to his room. Horace McKinney refused to let him eat lunch alone.

The first black assistant in the NBA

Born April 3, 1928, Earl Lloyd was honored in the Hall of Fame in 2003 as a pioneer in the fight against racial segregation. After graduating from West Virginia State College, an all-black college, he spent a decade in the NBA: a few weeks in Washington, six seasons in Syracuse and two in Detroit.

After finishing his playing career in Detroit, he also tried his hand at coaching, first as an assistant, and he was the first black assistant in 1968.

Three years later, he even became the “head coach” of the Pistons (77 games between 1971 and 1972). He also worked as a scout there for five years, and is said to have discovered players such as Earl Monroe and Willis Reed.

https://vvv.youtube.com/vatch?v=3mVAnkkj484