Chuck Cooper (basketball)

Chuck Cooper

Personal information
Born	(1926-09-29)September 29, 1926 Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, U.S.
Died	February 5, 1984(1984-02-05) (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]