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

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...

player. Cooper played

college basketball College basketball is basketball that is played by teams of Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. In the Higher education in the United States, United States, colleges and universities are governed by collegiate athle ...

for the

Duquesne Dukes The Duquesne Dukes are the athletic teams of Duquesne University of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The Dukes compete in Division I of the National Collegiate Athletic Association as members of the Atlantic 10 Conference. Football and bowling, however ...

and was named a consensus second-team

All-American The All-America designation is an annual honor bestowed on outstanding athletes in the United States who are considered to be among the best athletes in their respective sport. Individuals receiving this distinction are typically added to an Al ...

in 1950. According to the November 18, 1950 issue of the ''Afro-American'' newspaper, he was the first Black "basketer" ic to be named an All-American college athlete. Cooper was the first African-American to be drafted by an NBA team; he was chosen 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 Atlantic Division (NBA), Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference (NBA), ...

with the first pick of the second round of the 1950 NBA Draft. Cooper and two others--

Nat "Sweetwater" Clifton Nathaniel "Sweetwater" Clifton (born Clifton Nathaniel; October 13, 1922 – August 31, 1990) was an American professional basketball player who was one of the first African Americans to play in the National Basketball Association (NBA). He was ...

and

Earl Lloyd Earl Francis Lloyd (April 3, 1928 – February 26, 2015) was an American professional basketball player and coach. He was the first African American player to play a game in the National Basketball Association (NBA). An All–American player at ...

--became the

first African-American African Americans are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, ethnic group in the United States. The first achievements by African Americans in diverse fields have historically marked footholds, often leading to more widespread cultural chan ...

players in the

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

(NBA), in 1950. In a six-season NBA career, Cooper played for the Celtics, the Milwaukee/St. Louis Hawks, and the

Fort Wayne Pistons The Detroit Pistons are an American professional basketball team based in Detroit. The Pistons compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Central Division of the Eastern Conference. The team plays its home games at ...

, averaging 6.7 points and 5.9 rebounds per game. Cooper was inducted into the

Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame The Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame is an American history museum and hall of fame, located at 1000 Hall of Fame Avenue in Springfield, Massachusetts. It serves as basketball's most complete library, in addition to promoting and pre ...

on September 9, 2019.

Early life and college career

Cooper was born in

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, United States, and its county seat. It is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, second-most populous city in Pennsylvania (after Philadelphia) and the List of Un ...

, the son of Daniel and Emma Cooper. Daniel was a mailman, and Emma was a school teacher. He attended Pittsburgh's Westinghouse High School and graduated in 1944. For his senior year, he averaged more than 13 points per game and was an All-City first-team center. He then attended and played a semester of basketball for

West Virginia State College West Virginia State University (WVSU) is a public historically black, land-grant university in Institute, West Virginia, United States. Founded in 1891 as the West Virginia Colored Institute. It is one of the original 19 land-grant colleges a ...

(University since 2004) before being drafted to serve in the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the naval warfare, maritime military branch, service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest Displacement (ship), displacement, at 4.5 millio ...

in the final stages of World War II. Following his service, he enrolled at

Duquesne University Duquesne University of the Holy Spirit ( ; also known as Duquesne University or Duquesne) is a Private university, private Catholic higher education, Catholic research university in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States. Founded by members of ...

where he was an All-American, started all four years, and set the school record for total points with 990 in four seasons. During his time at Duquesne, the team had a 78–19 record and was invited to the then-prestigious

National Invitation Tournament The National Invitation Tournament (NIT) is an annual men's college basketball tournament operated by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). Since 2023, all rounds of the tournament are played at various sites across the country whi ...

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.

NBA career

Coming out of college in 1950, Cooper signed with the

Harlem Globetrotters The Harlem Globetrotters is an American Exhibition game, exhibition basketball team. They combine athleticism, theater, entertainment, and comedy in their style of play. Over the years, they have played more than 26,000 exhibition games in 124 ...

. 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."1950 NBA Draft".
/ref> Cooper was drafted by Celtics' owner

Walter A. Brown Walter Augustine Brown (February 10, 1905 – September 7, 1964) was an American sports executive. He was the founder and original owner of the Boston Celtics, operated the Boston Garden-Arena Corporation, and served as president of the Bosto ...

, coached by the legendary

Red Auerbach Arnold Jacob "Red" Auerbach (September 20, 1917 – October 28, 2006) was an American professional basketball coach and executive. As a head coach in the National Basketball Association (NBA), he led the Boston Celtics to an unprecedented champio ...

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.Dave Howell
"Six Who Paved the Way"
NBA.com. Cooper played four years with the Celtics, then was traded to the

Milwaukee Hawks The Atlanta Hawks are an American professional basketball team based in Atlanta. The Hawks compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Southeast Division of the Eastern Conference. The team plays its home games at S ...

before ending his career as a member of the Ft. Wayne Pistons. After that, he spent a year playing for the Harlem Magicians, 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 The Master of Social Work (MSW) is a master's degree in the field of social work. It is a professional degree with specializations compared to Bachelor of Social Work (BSW). MSW promotes macro-, mezzo- and micro-aspects of professional social work ...

from the

University of Minnesota The University of Minnesota Twin Cities (historically known as University of Minnesota) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in the Minneapolis–Saint Paul, Twin Cities of Minneapolis and Saint ...

in 1960. He was married twice; first in 1951, and then in 1957 to Irva Lee (with whom he had four children). 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 until he died in Pittsburgh at the age of 57 on February 5, 1984, of liver cancer at Forbes Hospice."Chuck Cooper dead at 57; Duquesne basketball great"
''

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette The ''Pittsburgh Post-Gazette'', also known simply as the PG, is the largest newspaper serving Greater Pittsburgh, metropolitan Pittsburgh in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. Descended from the ''Pittsburgh Gazette'', established in 1786 as the fi ...

'', February 6, 1984.

NBA career statistics

Regular season

Playoffs

References

External links

* from databasketball.com
Biography at answers.com
* * Phil Axelrod
"Duquesne honors legacy of Chuck Cooper"
, ''Pittsburgh Post-Gazette'', December 6, 2009. {{DEFAULTSORT:Cooper, Chuck 1926 births 1984 deaths All-American college men's basketball players American men's basketball players Basketball players from Pittsburgh Boston Celtics draft picks Boston Celtics players Burials at Homewood Cemetery Duquesne Dukes men's basketball players Fort Wayne Pistons players Harlem Globetrotters players Milwaukee Hawks players Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame inductees Shooting guards Small forwards St. Louis Hawks players West Virginia State Yellow Jackets men's basketball players United States Navy personnel of World War II 20th-century African-American sportsmen 20th-century American sportsmen University of Minnesota alumni Deaths from liver cancer in Pennsylvania