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#1
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The first black player in the NBA
It's Earl Lloyd. Lloyd was one of three black players to enter the NBA at the same time. It was because of the order in which the team's season openers fell that Lloyd was the first to actually play in a game in the NBA, scoring six points on Halloween night for the Washington Capitols.
The date was October 31, 1950, one day ahead of Chuck Cooper of the Boston Celtics and four days before Nat "Sweetwater" Clifton of the New York Knicks. (Below) is his 1957 Topps card. |
#2
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Very cool history, I always thought Sweetwater Clifton was the first. Can’t believe these guys aren’t more celebrated.
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#3
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Quote:
It would have been interesting whether Jackie would be as celebrated if guys in other sports had integrated first. Who knows.
__________________
My avatar is a sketch by my son who is an art school graduate. Some of his sketches and paintings are at https://www.jamesspaethartwork.com/ He is available to do custom drawings in graphite, charcoal and other media. He also sells some of his works as note cards/greeting cards on Etsy under JamesSpaethArt. |
#4
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Yahoo had this write up this morning - On This Day:
73 years ago today, Earl Lloyd made his debut for the now-defunct Washington Capitols, becoming the first* Black player in NBA history, Jeff writes. * Three trailblazers: Lloyd was the first of three Black players to suit up that season, followed by Chuck Cooper and Nat "Sweetwater" Clifton, who both debuted days later. Lloyd, a Hall of Famer, played 560 games across nine seasons and won the 1955 title with the Syracuse Nationals. * * 1994: Venus Williams made her professional debut at age 14 with a straight-sets victory. Almost exactly one year later, her sister Serena debuted, also at age 14. ⛳️ 2010: Tiger Woods' reign as world No. 1 ended after a record 281 consecutive weeks, breaking his own previous record of 264. Greg Norman is the next closest at 96 straight. *Another first: Lloyd coached the Pistons in 1971-72, becoming the NBA's first "coach-only" Black head coach (Bill Russell and Lenny Wilkens had previously pulled double duty as player-coaches). Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk |
#5
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Lloyd was from one town over, Alexandria, VA. He was the honored guest during the St. Patrick's Day parade in the early 2010's. There is also a street named in his honor: Lloyd Way.
__________________
'Integrity is what you do when no one is looking' "The man who can keep a secret may be wise, but he is not half as wise as the man with no secrets to keep” |
#6
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Old postcard featuring Lloyd. I am pretty sure I got it here on Net54.
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#7
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In 2007, the newly constructed basketball court at T.C. Williams High School in Lloyd’s home town of Alexandria was named in his honor.
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#8
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Hey Al, is that one of the McCarthy Pistons PCs?
As long as we're talking Nat Clifton, here is a 1951-52 Knicks schedule card: 1952-53: I am guessing he was an impact player right off the bat if they put him on these cards.
__________________
Read my blog; it will make all your dreams come true. https://adamstevenwarshaw.substack.com/ Or not... Last edited by Exhibitman; 11-01-2023 at 04:33 PM. |
#9
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Here's a Cooper GPC.
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#10
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Adam, it is indeed. Did I get it from you then?
Sent from my SM-S906U using Tapatalk Last edited by Gorditadogg; 11-03-2023 at 09:28 PM. |
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Nope. I have a few other players and was curious.
__________________
Read my blog; it will make all your dreams come true. https://adamstevenwarshaw.substack.com/ Or not... |
#12
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As a matter of fact most all of the information spoke about Sweetwater Clifton is incorrect in that movie and in common sports lexicon. He was neither the first african-american to play, nor the first to sign a contract. Harold Hunter was the first to sign a contract after being drafted by the Capitols in 1950. However, he was cut in camp and never played in the regular season.
__________________
- Justin D. Player collecting - Lance Parrish, Jim Davenport, John Norlander. Successful B/S/T with - Highstep74, Northviewcats, pencil1974, T2069bk, tjenkins, wilkiebaby11, baez578, Bocabirdman, maddux31, Leon, Just-Collect, bigfish, quinnsryche...and a whole bunch more, I stopped keeping track, lol. |
#13
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I bought the 57 Lloyd and Clifton for around 20 a piece, and my Kenny Washington 48 Leaf would likely grade a 4-5 and if I paid 25 I would be shocked. These have all jumped astronomically in the past 5-6 years from those prices. The only one of the barrier breakers that has not moved much is Willie O'Ree. I have 3 BeeHives, but I think the non-traditional format of those holds them back. I see high ebay museum list prices, but I likely paid between 5-10 bucks for mine on auction listings.
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- Justin D. Player collecting - Lance Parrish, Jim Davenport, John Norlander. Successful B/S/T with - Highstep74, Northviewcats, pencil1974, T2069bk, tjenkins, wilkiebaby11, baez578, Bocabirdman, maddux31, Leon, Just-Collect, bigfish, quinnsryche...and a whole bunch more, I stopped keeping track, lol. Last edited by JustinD; 11-07-2023 at 10:53 AM. |
#14
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O'Rea if memory serves has a virtually non-existent minor league card or exhibit?
__________________
My avatar is a sketch by my son who is an art school graduate. Some of his sketches and paintings are at https://www.jamesspaethartwork.com/ He is available to do custom drawings in graphite, charcoal and other media. He also sells some of his works as note cards/greeting cards on Etsy under JamesSpaethArt. |
#15
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It was from me.
__________________
My avatar is a sketch by my son who is an art school graduate. Some of his sketches and paintings are at https://www.jamesspaethartwork.com/ He is available to do custom drawings in graphite, charcoal and other media. He also sells some of his works as note cards/greeting cards on Etsy under JamesSpaethArt. |
#16
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Quote:
__________________
- Justin D. Player collecting - Lance Parrish, Jim Davenport, John Norlander. Successful B/S/T with - Highstep74, Northviewcats, pencil1974, T2069bk, tjenkins, wilkiebaby11, baez578, Bocabirdman, maddux31, Leon, Just-Collect, bigfish, quinnsryche...and a whole bunch more, I stopped keeping track, lol. |
#17
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__________________
My avatar is a sketch by my son who is an art school graduate. Some of his sketches and paintings are at https://www.jamesspaethartwork.com/ He is available to do custom drawings in graphite, charcoal and other media. He also sells some of his works as note cards/greeting cards on Etsy under JamesSpaethArt. |
#18
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Quote:
I wouldn't consider the QHL card as the RC, although some may. Honestly though, I would agree that's a needle in a haystack. I have never seen one outside of a book or on the net.
__________________
- Justin D. Player collecting - Lance Parrish, Jim Davenport, John Norlander. Successful B/S/T with - Highstep74, Northviewcats, pencil1974, T2069bk, tjenkins, wilkiebaby11, baez578, Bocabirdman, maddux31, Leon, Just-Collect, bigfish, quinnsryche...and a whole bunch more, I stopped keeping track, lol. |
#19
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Willie O'Ree
Willie O'Ree has a card that is earlier than the Beehive Photo. It is from a 1956-57 Quebec Aces Team Issue set issued by Pollack. One of my favorite cards in my collection.
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#20
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Very cool Andy, indeed a very hard issue!
__________________
- Justin D. Player collecting - Lance Parrish, Jim Davenport, John Norlander. Successful B/S/T with - Highstep74, Northviewcats, pencil1974, T2069bk, tjenkins, wilkiebaby11, baez578, Bocabirdman, maddux31, Leon, Just-Collect, bigfish, quinnsryche...and a whole bunch more, I stopped keeping track, lol. |
#21
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Pretty neat
Very cool pieces of history y'all have here. So fascinating how Jackie Robinson
is the face of breaking the color barrier in sports yet these guys seem to get no attention. Thanks so much for sharing and spreading their stories! |
#22
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Major League Baseball celebrates Robinson every year on April 15 -- the date in 1947 when he broke baseball's longstanding color barrier. But March 21 comes and goes every year without anyone pausing to remember that Washington broke the NFL's modern-era color barrier as a member of the Los Angeles Rams on that date in 1946 -- a full year before Robinson's milestone. https://www.nfl.com/news/forgotten-h...000d5d827061c3 |
#23
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If you are talking black sports groundbreakers, don't forget The Brown Bomber. Heavyweight champ 1937-1949:
Or The Galveston Giant, whose title reign (1909-15) led to the de facto color barrier that Louis broke: Wendell Scott integrated NASCAR
__________________
Read my blog; it will make all your dreams come true. https://adamstevenwarshaw.substack.com/ Or not... |
#24
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How about the first black football player to be drafted by the NFL, George Taliaferro. Here are my autographed cards from each year of his career.
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