Follow. The First Black Player to Be Drafted Into the NBA. While NBA pioneer Charles Cooper — better known as “Chuck”– may no longer be with us, the impact he left on the game is indelible. This was historic because Charles Cooper was the first person to be drafted into the NBA as an African American. On this day in 1926, former Boston Celtics small forward Chuck Cooper was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Chuck Cooper played his first NBA game on November 1st, 1950. SB Nation is the largest independent sports media brand, consisting of SBNation.com, MMAFighting.com and over 300 fan-centric team communities. Michael Cooper - Career stats, game logs, biographical info, awards, and achievements for the NBA and NCAA. Charles Cooper may refer to: . That impact … Cooper, who played basketball at Duquesne, after all saw a college game flat-out canceled at the last minute when Tennessee learned of his presence. He and two others, Nat "Sweetwater" Clifton and Earl Lloyd, became the first African-American players in the NBA in 1950. Cooper was also the first African American to be drafted by a National Basketball Association (NBA) team, as the first pick of the second round by the Boston Celtics. Cooper was also the first African American to be drafted by a National Basketball Association (NBA) team, as the first pick of the second round by the Boston Celtics. After scoring 27 points to open the game against Thomasville on … Charles Henry Cooper (September 29, 1926 – February 5, 1984) was an American professional basketball player. Each satisfied a different condition of being "first": Cooper was the first black player to be drafted by an NBA team, in 1950. “I don’t give a damn if he’s striped or plaid or polka-dot, Boston takes Charles Cooper of Duquesne,” Brown retorted in an unusual civil rights speech. Cooper returned to school after his NBA career fizzled, got his master's degree in social work, and later became a Pittsburgh businessman and the city's Parks and Recreation director. Charles Barkley was 'pissed' at Kenny Smith for walking off set as NBA players protested Jacob Blake shooting Barkley made his comments on a podcast earlier this week Ben Kageyama. He then played for a year with the all-black Harlem Magicians squad before leaving basketball for good after suffering a back injury in a car crash. Chuck Cooper broke the NBA color barrier — and he did it right here in Boston. In the NBA draft of 1950, Charles Cooper was selected in the second round by the Boston Celtics. Read up on Charles Cooper's biography, career, awards and more on ESPN. Cooper was traded to the Milwaukee Hawks for the 1954-55 season and to the Fort Wayne (Indiana) Pistons the following year. Charles Harrison 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. He played for Fort Wayne in the 1956 NBA championships but remained frustrated. He was joined by Charles Cooper and Nat "Sweetwater" Clifton in the 1950-51 season. Louis Hawks and Fort Wayne Pistons, broke the NBA… Mission. Reflecting on his career in the NBA, and on hisfrustrations with the role he was asked to play, Co… “(Fans) would say stuff like, ‘Go back to Africa,'” Lloyd told NBA.com before his death. Chuck Cooper, along with Earl Lloyd and Nat “Sweetwater” Clifton, broke the color barrier by becoming the first African-Americans to play in the NBA in 1950. Cooper was the first to be drafted into the NBA, Lloyd was the first to play in an NBA game, and Clifton was the first to sign an NBA contract. These moves rejuvenated Cooper's career temporarily. On April 25, 1950, the Boston Celtics drafted Charles “Chuck” Cooper, followed by the May 24 signing of Nathaniel “Sweetwater” Clifton by the New York Knicks and the debut of the Washington Capitols’ Earl Lloyd who was the first Black player in an NBA game on October 31. NBA legend Charles Barkley talks to Anderson Cooper about The Match II between Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson, as well as sport's role in society. Thus began the odyssey of Chuck Cooper as the Jackie Robinson of the NBA, as he was the first African American that the league drafted. Cooper would play his college ball at West Virginia State and Duquesne, drafted from the latter with the 14th overall pick of the 1950 NBA Draft. Houston Rockets (via Thunder): Sharife Cooper (Auburn, PG, Freshman) Finally ruled eligible, Cooper debuted with 26 points and nine assists against Alabama on … Cooper joined an NBA that was comparatively more diverse than other sports leagues, and began to form relationships with his teammates. Cooper, who went on to play four seasons in Boston and another three with the Milwaukee/St. He averaged 9.6 points and 8.5 rebounds in 66 games that season. Charles D. Cooper (1769–1831), New York Secretary of State, 1817–1818; Charles Purton Cooper (1793–1873), English lawyer and antiquary; Charles Cooper (judge) (1795–1887), first Chief Justice of South Australia, 1856–1861 Charles Henry Cooper (1808–1866), English antiquarian; Charles Alfred Cooper (1829–1916), British newspaper editor and author The Vikettes overcame early offensive struggles to cement two victories in the Charles Cooper Invitational. Charles “Chuck” Cooper officially broke the NBA’s color barrier on April 25, 1950 when the Boston Celtics selected him with the 13th overall pick of the NBA draft. The man who officially integrated professional basketball when he was drafted by the Boston Celtics of the National Basketball Association (NBA) in April of 1950, Chuck Cooper was a modest figure who specialized in offensive team play and generally stayed away from the spotlight. Hall-of-Famer Earl Lloyd, the first black player to play in the Charles Henry Cooper was an American professional basketball player. The mission of The Chuck Cooper Foundation is to continue the legacy of Charles ""Chuck"" Cooper, the first African-American drafted into the National Basketball Association, by awarding graduate-level scholarships and by providing comprehensive leadership development, professional skills, and opportunities to underserved students. Jun 23, 2016 - Charles Cooper went undrafted in the 2016 NBA Draft making him an Unrestricted FA. 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