Chuck Cooper (basketball) facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
Chuck Cooper

Personal information
Born	(1926-09-29)September 29, 1926 Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Nationality	American
Died	February 5, 1984(1984-02-05) (aged 57) Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
High school	Westinghouse (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania)
Listed height	6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)
Listed weight	208 lb (94 kg)
Career information
College	West Virginia State (1944–1945) Duquesne (1946–1950)
NBA Draft	1950 / Round: 2 / Pick: 14th overall
Selected by the Boston Celtics
Pro career	1950–1956
Career history
1950–1954	Boston Celtics
1954–1956	Milwaukee / St. Louis Hawks
1956	Fort Wayne Pistons
Career highlights and awards
Consensus second-team All-American (1950) No. 15 retired by Duquesne Dukes
Career statistics
Points	2,725 (6.7 ppg)
Rebounds	2,431 (5.9 rpg)
Assists	734 (1.8 apg)

Charles Henry Cooper (September 29, 1926 – February 5, 1984) was an American professional basketball player. He and two others, Nat "Sweetwater" Clifton and Earl Lloyd, became the first African-American players in the National Basketball Association (NBA) in 1950. Cooper was also the first African-American to be drafted by an NBA team, as the first pick of the second round by the Boston Celtics. Cooper was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame on September 9, 2019.

Early life and college career

Cooper was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, the son of Daniel and Emma Cooper. Daniel was a mailman, and Emma was a school teacher. He attended Pittsburgh's Westinghouse High School and graduated in 1944. For his senior year, he averaged more than 13 points per game and was an All-City first-team center. He then attended and played a semester of basketball for West Virginia State College (now University) before being drafted to serve in the United States Navy in the final stages of World War II.

Following his service, he enrolled at Duquesne University where he was an All-American, started all four years, and set the school record for total points with 990 in four seasons. During his time at Duquesne, the team had a 78–19 record and was invited to the then-prestigious National Invitation Tournament twice. He was a captain for the 1949–50 team, which was the first team from the university to be nationally ranked all season, finishing with a 23–6 record and ranked sixth nationally. He was the first African American to participate in a college basketball game south of the Mason–Dixon line.

NBA career

The 1953–54 Boston Celtics basketball team practicing the pick and roll. From left to rightː Bob Donham, Ed Mikan, Bill Sharman and Chuck Cooper.

Coming out of college in 1950, he signed onto the Harlem Globetrotters. On April 25, 1950, he became the first African American drafted into the NBA when the Boston Celtics chose him with the 14th overall pick. Cooper was drafted by Celtics' owner Walter A. Brown, coached by the legendary Red Auerbach and a teammate of the great Bob Cousy. When officials from other teams learned of Boston's interest in Cooper, they suggested he should not be drafted because he was black; however, Brown's famous quote was: "I don't care if he's striped, plaid or polka dot. Boston takes Charles Cooper of Duquesne." Cooper made his NBA debut on November 1, 1950, against the Fort Wayne Pistons.

Cooper 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. After that, he spent a year playing for the Harlem Magicians, before injuring his back in a car crash and leaving basketball. During his NBA career, Cooper played a total of 409 games, scored 2,725 points for an average of 6.66 points per game, had 2,431 rebounds for an average of 5.9 per game, and had 733 assists for an average of 1.79 per game. As some statistics were not kept during that time, it is not known how many blocked shots, steals, or turnovers he had during his career.

After the NBA

After his NBA career, Cooper graduated with a Master of Social Work from the University of Minnesota in 1960. He was married twice, first in 1951, and then in 1957 to Irva Lee, with whom he had four children. He worked to improve his hometown of Pittsburgh, serving on the Pittsburgh school board, and was appointed the director of parks and recreation for the city, becoming the first Black department head. He also helped the Pittsburgh National Bank's affirmative action program as an urban affairs officer until he died in Pittsburgh the age of 57 on February 5, 1984, of liver cancer at Forbes Hospice.

NBA career statistics

Regular season

Playoffs

See also

In Spanish: Chuck Cooper para niños

• Basketball in the United States
• Race and ethnicity in the NBA