Elbert J. "Al" Butler (July 9, 1938 – July 12, 2000) was an American

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular court, compete with the primary objective of shooting a basketball (approximately in diameter) through the defender's h ...

player who played four seasons in the

National Basketball Association The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball sports league, league in North America. The league is composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada) and is one of the major professional sports leagues i ...

(NBA). Born in

Birmingham, Alabama Birmingham ( ) is a city in the north central region of the U.S. state of Alabama. Birmingham is the seat of Jefferson County, Alabama's most populous county. As of the 2021 census estimates, Birmingham had a population of 197,575, down 1% fr ...

, he played basketball for East High School in

Rochester, New York Rochester () is a city in the U.S. state of New York, the seat of Monroe County, and the fourth-most populous in the state after New York City, Buffalo, and Yonkers, with a population of 211,328 at the 2020 United States census. Located i ...

, before playing collegiately for

Niagara University Niagara University (NU) is a private Catholic university in the Vincentian tradition in Lewiston in Niagara County, New York. It is run by the Congregation of the Mission and has 3,300 undergraduate students in 50 academic programs. Appro ...

. He was named to the

1961 National Invitation Tournament The 1961 National Invitation Tournament was the 1961 edition of the annual NCAA college basketball competition. Selected teams Below is a list of the 12 teams selected for the tournament. * Army * Colorado State * Dayton * DePaul * Detroit * ...

All-Star team by the

Associated Press The Associated Press (AP) is an American non-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association. It produces news reports that are distributed to its members, U.S. n ...

, despite Niagara losing its only game, 68–71 against Providence. He was selected by the

Boston Celtics The Boston Celtics ( ) are an American professional basketball team based in Boston. The Celtics compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Atlantic Division. Founded in 1946 as one of ...

in the second round (17th pick overall) of the

1961 NBA draft The 1961 NBA draft was the 15th annual draft of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The draft was held on March 27, 1961, before the 1961–62 season. In this draft, nine NBA teams took turns selecting amateur U.S. college basketball playe ...

. He played for the Celtics (1961),

New York Knicks The New York Knickerbockers, shortened and more commonly referred to as the New York Knicks, are an American professional basketball team based in the New York City borough of Manhattan. The Knicks compete in the National Basketball Associa ...

(1962–64) and Baltimore Bullets (1964–65) in the NBA for a total of 234 games. He started for the Knicks for

Wilt Chamberlain's 100-point game Wilt Chamberlain set the single-game scoring record in the National Basketball Association (NBA) by scoring 100 points for the Philadelphia Warriors in a 169–147 win over the New York Knicks on March 2, 1962, at Hershey Sports Arena ...

, scoring 8 points. Butler was the last player to ever wear the number 22 for the Celtics, as they would retire it in honor of

Ed Macauley Charles Edward Macauley (March 22, 1928 – November 8, 2011) was a professional basketball player and coach. His playing nickname was "Easy Ed". Early life Macauley spent his prep school days at St. Louis University High School, then went on to ...

in 1963. Butler died of cancer on July 12, 2000. After his death, a scholarship was established in his name at

Monroe Community College Monroe Community College is a public community college in Monroe County, New York. It is part of the State University of New York. The college has two campuses; the main campus in the town of Brighton, and the Downtown Campus in the City of Ro ...

, where he had worked as a guidance counselor.

References

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* 1938 births 2000 deaths American men's basketball players Baltimore Bullets (1963–1973) players Basketball players from New York (state) Boston Celtics draft picks Boston Celtics players Deaths from cancer in the United States Harrisburg Patriots players New York Knicks players Niagara Purple Eagles men's basketball players Parade High School All-Americans (boys' basketball) Point guards Sportspeople from Rochester, New York {{1930s-US-basketball-bio-stub