BLACK SOCIAL HISTORY : AFRICAN AMERICAN " CHARLES HENRY "CHUCK" COOPER " WAS A PROFESSIONAL BASKETBALL PLAYER WITH TWO OTHERS BECAME THE FIRST AFRICAN AMERICAN PLAYERS IN THE NBA IN THE 1950's : GOES INTO THE " HALL OF BLACK GENIUS "

                              BLACK                  SOCIAL               HISTORY                                                                                                                                                                                                                           Charles Henry "Chuck" Cooper (September 29, 1926 – February 5, 1984) was an American professional basketball player. He and two others, Nat "Sweetwater" Clifton and Earl Lloyd, became the first African American players in the NBA in 1950.^[1] Cooper was also the first African-American to be drafted by an NBA team, as the first pick of the second round by the Boston Celtics.^[1]

Life, death, and education

Cooper was born and died in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. He graduated from Pittsburgh's Westinghouse High School. He then attended and played basketball for West Virginia State College (now University) and then Duquesne University. He died at the age of 57 on February 5, 1984 of liver cancer.

Career

Cooper was signed by Boston Celtics coach Red Auerbach. He played four years with the Celtics, then was traded to theMilwaukee Hawks before ending his career as a member of the Ft. Wayne Pistons. 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 2431 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 era, it is not known how many blocked shots, steals or turnovers he had during his career