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Publication: THE CHARLESTON DAILY MAIL
Published: Tuesday, April 08, 2003
Page: P1B
Byline: FROM STAFF, WIRE REPORTS
On Oct. 31, 1950, Earl Lloyd became the first black player to play in a National Basketball Association game.
More than 50 years later, the former West Virginia State star is receiving the ultimate honor in basketball - induction into the Basketball Hall of Fame in Springfield, Mass.
A native of Alexandria, Va., Lloyd, 75, will be added to the prestigious Hall in September along with NBA stars Robert Parish and James Worthy; Italian star Dino Meneghin; longtime Louisiana Tech women's coach Leon Barmore; Harlem Globetrotter Meadowlark Lemon and Chick Hearn, the Lakers' late broadcaster.
Lloyd played at West Virginia State from 1947-50 and led the Yellow Jackets to Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association regular season and tournament titles. He was named all-conference three times and was a two-time all-American.
As a senior he averaged 14 points and eight rebounds per game.
In 1947-48, the Yellow Jackets did not lose a game and were CIAAnational champs.
A 6-foot-6 forward, Lloyd, who earned his degree from State, played nine seasons in the NBA with Washington, Syracuse and Detroit.
His best season as a pro came in 1955 when he helped the Syracuse Nationals win the NBA title by averaging 10.2 points.
In 1968, Lloyd became the NBA's first black assistant coach with Detroit and in 1971 became the second black head coach. Bill Russell of Boston was the first.
Boston's Chuck Cooper was the first black player drafted by an NBA team and Sweetheart Clifton the first to sign with an NBA team.
Because of the order in which the teams' season openers fell, Lloyd was the first of the trio to play in a game.
He retired as a player in 1960 after playing in over 560 games. Lloyd scored 4,682 points.
"I am happy for my family," Lloyd told the Detroit Free Press, "and there have been a lot of people along the way who have paved the way for this small-town boy from Virginia to make it to Springfield, Mass." Lloyd was elected in the veterans category.
He said his parents were at his first game and recalled his mother answering hecklers who wondered if a black could play in the league.
"She said, 'Trust me, he can play.' " Parish and Worthy played against each other during the fierce Celtics-Lakers rivalry of the 1980s and were among the 50 greatest players in NBA history.
"I'm still floating, trying to grasp the impact," Parish said. "When I'm inducted I'll think of all my teammates."
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