Chuck Cooper (basketball)

Chuck Cooper
Personal information
Born	September 29, 1926; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, U.S.
Died	February 5, 1984 (aged 57); Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, U.S.
Listed height	6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)
Listed weight	208 lb (94 kg)
Career information
High school	Westinghouse (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania)
College	West Virginia State (1944–1945); Duquesne (1946–1950);
NBA draft	1950: 2nd round, 14th overall pick
	Selected by the Boston Celtics
Playing career	1950–1956
Position	Small forward / shooting guard
Number	11, 15, 6
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)
	Stats at NBA.com
	Stats at Basketball-Reference.com
	Basketball Hall of Fame as player

Charles Henry Cooper (September 29, 1926 – February 5, 1984) was an American professional basketball player.

Cooper played college basketball for Duquesne University and was named an All-American. He was the first African-American to play in a college basketball game south of the Mason-Dixon line. In 1950, Cooper and two others--Nat "Sweetwater" Clifton and Earl Lloyd--became the first African-American players in the National Basketball Association (NBA).^[1] Cooper was also the first African-American to be drafted by an NBA team; he was chosen by the Boston Celtics with the first pick of the second round of the 1950 NBA Draft.^[1] In a six-season NBA career, Cooper played for the Celtics, the Milwaukee/St. Louis Hawks, and the Fort Wayne Pistons, averaging 6.7 points and 5.9 rebounds per game.

Cooper was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame on September 9, 2019.^[2]

Early life and college career

Cooper was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, the son of Daniel and Emma Cooper.^[3] Daniel was a mailman, and Emma was a school teacher.^{[citation needed]} He attended Pittsburgh's Westinghouse High School and graduated in 1944.^[4] For his senior year, he averaged more than 13 points per game and was an All-City first-team center.^{[citation needed]} 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.^[3]

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.^{[citation needed]} 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.^[5] He was the first African American to participate in a college basketball game south of the Mason–Dixon line.^[6]

NBA career

Coming out of college in 1950, Cooper signed with 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.^[7] 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 give a damn 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.^[4]

Cooper played four years with the Celtics,^[3] 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,^{[citation needed]} 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).^{[citation needed]} 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^[8] until he died in Pittsburgh at the age of 57 on February 5, 1984,^[3] of liver cancer at Forbes Hospice.^[6]

NBA career statistics

Legend
GP	Games played	GS	Games started	MPG	Minutes per game
FG%	Field goal percentage	3P%	3-point field goal percentage	FT%	Free throw percentage
RPG	Rebounds per game	APG	Assists per game	SPG	Steals per game
BPG	Blocks per game	PPG	Points per game	Bold	Career high

Regular season

Year	Team	GP	MPG	FG%	FT%	RPG	APG	PPG
1950–51	Boston	66	–	.344	.753	8.5	2.6	9.3
1951–52	Boston	66	29.9	.361	.741	7.6	2.0	8.2
1952–53	Boston	70	28.5	.337	.758	6.3	1.6	6.5
1953–54	Boston	70	15.7	.299	.672	4.3	1.1	3.3
1954–55	Milwaukee	70	25.0	.339	.751	5.5	2.2	8.2
1955–56	St. Louis	35	16.4	.337	.738	3.9	1.7	5.1
1955–56	Fort Wayne	32	17.8	.316	.776	3.2	0.9	3.9
Career		409	23.2	.339	.743	5.9	1.8	6.7

Playoffs

Year	Team	GP	MPG	FG%	FT%	RPG	APG	PPG
1951	Boston	2	–	.339	.400	6.5	1.5	5.0
1952	Boston	3	42.7	.320	.895	5.3	1.3	11.0
1953	Boston	6	32.5	.396	.815	6.5	2.3	10.0
1954	Boston	6	18.0	.500	.727	5.2	0.7	4.0
1956	Fort Wayne	9	6.6	.192	.667	1.9	0.2	1.3
Career		26	20.4	.346	.785	4.5	1.0	5.3