Chuck Cooper

CTL-E-6860 · Person · other · 1926–1984

VERIFIED evidence grade — build store (JSON graph)

Combined Graph record U-07732 · provenance: build store (JSON graph), record CTL-E-6860.

Charles Henry "Chuck" Cooper (September 29, 1926 – February 5, 1984), a forward from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, starred at Duquesne University before the Boston Celtics selected him in the second round of the NBA draft on April 25, 1950 — making him the first Black player drafted by an NBA team, a claim supported here by Duquesne University Athletics and HISTORY. The three-way distinction of 1950 is kept exact in this record: Cooper was the first DRAFTED; Earl Lloyd was the first to PLAY in an NBA game, on October 31, 1950, for the Washington Capitols; and Nat "Sweetwater" Clifton was the first to SIGN an NBA contract, with the New York Knicks. Duquesne preserves Celtics owner Walter Brown's draft-room words — that he did not care if Cooper was "striped or plaid or polka-dot" — and records Cooper's posthumous induction into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2019. Cooper played seven NBA seasons with Boston, Milwaukee/St. Louis, and Fort Wayne.

The record

• Also known as: Charles Henry Cooper

Notes

Sports Encyclopedia roster CTL-SPE-0344. Firsts disposition: 'First Black player drafted by an NBA team' ASSERTED — supported by Duquesne University Athletics and HISTORY. Three-way distinction preserved exactly: Cooper first drafted (Apr 25, 1950); Earl Lloyd first to play (Oct 31, 1950); Nat Clifton first to sign. Curator's Judgment (DRAFT): Cooper's first is the draft-room door opening — the selection that, by Lloyd's own account, made the other 1950 firsts possible. CTL keeps the three firsts separate because the pioneers themselves did. Photo: CLEARED — File:1953–54 Boston Celtics practice.jpeg, Public domain (file description names Cooper). A 2025 Commons file named 'Chuck Cooper' depicts a Broadway actor namesake and was rejected.

Sources

• Duquesne University Athletics. "Chuck Cooper Named to the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame." GoDuquesne.com, April 5, 2019. Accessed 2026-11-03. https://goduquesne.com/news/2019/4/5/mens-basketball-chuck-cooper-named-to-the-naismith-memorial-basketball-hall-of-fame (primary source · build store)
• HISTORY. "9 Black Athletes Who Integrated Professional Sports." History.com. Accessed 2026-11-03. https://www.history.com/articles/black-athletes-who-integrated-their-sports (build store)

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