• Twitter
  • Facebook
  • Rss
Alan Paul
  • Home
  • About Me
    • About Alan
    • Press
    • China Photos
    • China Videos
  • One Way Out
    • Praise for One Way Out
  • Big In China
    • Excerpts
    • Reviews
    • What They’re Saying
    • 告别信
  • Woodie Alan
    • The CD
    • Videos
    • Photos
  • Blog
  • Panda Dad
  • ORDER
  • Contact
  • Menu
  • Home
  • About Me
    • About Alan
    • Press
    • China Photos
    • China Videos
  • One Way Out
    • Praise for One Way Out
  • Big In China
    • Excerpts
    • Reviews
    • What They’re Saying
    • 告别信
  • Woodie Alan
    • The CD
    • Videos
    • Photos
  • Blog
  • Panda Dad
  • ORDER
  • Contact
AlanPaul
Uncategorized

The Trail He Blazed: RIP Earl Lloyd

Original Old School: The Trail He Blazed

 I was very sad to hear about the death of Earl Lloyd yesterday. He broke the NBA’s color barrier over 60 years ago. I spoke to him years ago, for  SLAM Issue 94.  He came into the league in 1950, with Nat “Sweetwater” Clifton and Chuck Cooper. I went to high school with Chuck’s kids – all great people. Now all three pioneers are gone. Rest in peace.
Please take a few moments to read the thoughts of this bright, thoughtful man who left the world a better place than he found, a goal to which we can all aspire.

earl-lloyd-op-spread

 

“You can’t compare what Jackie did to what I did!” says the 77-year-old Earl Lloyd, his deep, gravelly voice booming with emotion over the phone from his Tennessee home. “Jackie is my hero, and his path was so much rougher than mine that any comparisons are trite.”

But facts are facts. And the fact is, Lloyd broke the NBA’s color barrier when he took the floor for the Washington Capitals on October 31, 1950 against the Rochester Royals. One key difference between desegregation in basketball and baseball was that Lloyd had two fellow pioneers; the Celtics’ Chuck Cooper and the Knicks’ Nat “Sweetwater” Clifton, both of whom also joined the League in 1950. Lloyd is the last survivor of the trio; Cooper died in 1984, while Clifton passed in ’90.

Lloyd, nicknamed “The Big Cat,” was picked by the Caps in the ninth round after a terrific career at West Virginia State. He played just seven games in Washington before being drafted again-into the Army. The Caps folded, but after a year in the service, Lloyd joined the Syracuse Nationals. In six seasons there, the 6-6, 220-pound forward set picks, grabbed boards and played tough D, and he averaged 10.2 ppg and 7.7 rpg in ’54-55 when he and teammate Jim Tucker became the first African-American players to win an NBA title. In ’58, he was traded to Detroit, where he played two more seasons. In ’68, he became the first African-American assistant coach with the Pistons, and he blazed more trails when he took over as Pistons’ head coach in 1970. After 40-plus years in Motown, Lloyd and his wife retired to Tennessee a couple of years ago. He was elected to the Hall of Fame as a contributor in 2003.

SLAM: Jackie Robinson was chosen specifically to break the color barrier. Were you three as well?

EL: I really have no idea-and I had no idea I was going to be drafted. In those days, if a team wanted to know something about a player they called the coach, and that was that. Looking back, the only indication that my coach may have known something is that at the end of the season, my teammate Bob Wilson and I were invited to travel with the Globetrotters for a week, but our coach was quite emphatic about not signing anything. I just accepted that without wondering why. I come from a time and place where people had welfare at heart, so that wasn’t hard to do.

Given the racial climate in Washington in 1950, I have a hard time believing the Capitals would have selected me if the Celtics had not drafted Chuck Cooper. Clearly, they were in no hurry to get to me. There’s nothing scientific about taking a guy in the ninth round; it’s a dartboard. I can’t think of another ninth-round pick in NBA history who made the team.

SLAM: Given that and your situation, did you think you had a chance when camp started?

EL: Not really. Playing in a real competitive conference [the then-mighty CIAA] gave me some confidence. In ’46, when I started college, most of the black talent found its way to my conference because the white schools were largely not available, and the few that were were only interested in the best players. I knew I could play, but I doubted myself when I arrived at camp. Of course I did. How can you not when you’ve been treated as inferior all your life? Most of the people who touched me during my formative years assured me about my worth. That’s nice, but then you get on the bus and see the sign, “For Coloreds,” and you keep walking to the back.

When I got to training camp, I saw guys I had read about, like Bill Sharman from UCLA and Dick Schnittker, the Player of the Year from Ohio State, and wondered if I belonged. Then your competitive juices kick in, and after three or four days, you realize that you do belong-and that is a very defining moment for a young black kid from a Southern state, whose supposed inferiority has been branded into his head since he was born. Everyone else is white and from bigger, more glamorous places, but you realize you can stand your own. Wow! It’s a new world from that day onward. And remember that from kindergarten to college graduation I had never had a white teammate or classmate. This was truly virgin territory for me.

SLAM: Most of the first black players were solid, tough role players rather than stars. Do you think that was intentional?

EL: The key to getting a job is you have to be good at what they need, and everyone needs rebounders and defenders and team players that are unselfish. There was always the fear that we were not smart enough to handle anything considered a skill position, and it was a long time before we got any shortstops in baseball and black centers, and quarterbacks were unknown until very recently. Of course, those rumors have been dashed on the rocks, but they were certainly alive and well in 1950.

SLAM: Was life on the road difficult?

EL: Well, it wasn’t a picnic, but the whole thing was a lot harder on Chuck Cooper. He was a dynamite guy who grew up in Pittsburgh and had never been denied access to a hotel or a dining room. This was nothing shocking to me – the folks in Virginia made my transition an awful lot easier. [Laughs] They got me ready to be called names and denied things, and they made the hecklers in NBA arenas look like amateurs. Those people in Virginia were very good at treating folks as less than human. The whole thing was less of an issue for Sweets, because he had toured the world with the ‘Trotters and nothing was going to surprise him. Plus, he was playing in New York, with everything you can think of at his fingertips.

SLAM: St. Louis is usually acknowledged as the worst city for black players at the time. Was that your experience?

EL: St. Louis was tough, but Indianapolis was the worst. In ’55, when we played the Fort Wayne Pistons for the championship, the American Bowling Congress booked their building, so they moved to Indianapolis. Those people were tough, man. Killers. But I realized that they only hurled vile names at you when you played well, and I worked through it by telling myself if I didn’t hear any names, I wasn’t playing hard enough.

SLAM: Why do you think Jackie Robinson had it so much worse than you?

EL: So many reasons! First of all, the public generally didn’t care about basketball, while baseball was the grand old game and he was considered an invader, a threat. I was lucky that we were under the radar and lucky that my first game was in Rochester, where high school teams had been integrated. No one thought twice about seeing black and white players together. I checked into the game and that was that. Most importantly, my teammates largely embraced me and other players ignored me at worst. They were trying to maim Jackie. Any black kid who needs inspiration should look up Jackie Robinson in the encyclopedia.

SLAM: So your teammates and coaches fully accepted you from the start?

EL: I can truthfully say this-in all my years in the NBA I never had a blatant racist comment directed at me by another player. Of course, there were some who would have preferred to not play against a black man, but they just played. That’s why I say it is a disservice to Jackie Robinson to compare me to him. I was lucky to end up in Syracuse, where I was welcomed and where I had great teammates. If you polled that team and asked who their favorite teammate was, half of them might say me. I really think they appreciated how I went about my business.

The stars were Dolph Schayes and Johnny “Red” Kerr, and they were both great guys. I have as much respect for Dolph on and off the court as anyone. To really appreciate him, you had to see him every day, because he was relentless. His work ethic had no peer. He was not fleet of foot or a great leaper, and he compensated by never, ever stopping or pulling back off the throttle. The guy that guarded him caught hold of hell.

SLAM: There was an unspoken quota of black players for years. At what point did race cease to be an issue in terms of making a roster?

EL: Even when there was a known quota, no one talked about it. No one ever said, “We can’t have but two blacks.” Who admits they’re racist? It was like a secret society, and it was understood. What really changed the landscape was the advent of the Players Association. Suddenly there was an organized manner to speak up against unfairness. I always laugh when people asked me if playing in the NBA was a goal of mine. How the hell you gonna plan a career where there’s no predecessor?

SLAM: You have participated in NBA rookie transitional programs. Do the players treat you with proper respect once they know who you are?

EL: Very much so. You should see the moment they find out who I am. They see this tall old black dude and figured you played, but then they introduce you and their eyes get wide. Then I got ‘em and I just let them know: I don’t want a thing from you, I want something for you-the very, very best. One kid said, “Mr. Lloyd, we owe you big time.” I said, “No one owes me anything. You owe the people coming up behind you to leave this thing a little better than you got it.”

It’s obvious that guys like Chuck and myself, we left it a better place.

February 27, 2015/0 Comments/by AlanPaul
Tags: Black History, desgregation, Earl Lloyd, Jackie robinson, NBA
Share this entry
  • Share on Facebook
  • Share on Twitter
  • Share on Google+
  • Share on Pinterest
  • Share on Linkedin
  • Share on Tumblr
  • Share on Vk
  • Share on Reddit
  • Share by Mail
http://alanpaul.net/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/alan-imus-300x158.jpg 0 0 AlanPaul http://alanpaul.net/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/alan-imus-300x158.jpg AlanPaul2015-02-27 19:59:082015-02-27 19:59:08The Trail He Blazed: RIP Earl Lloyd
You might also like
RIP Dolph Schayes - an interview with the big man
RIP Moses Malone
0 replies

Leave a Reply

Want to join the discussion?
Feel free to contribute!

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Pages

  • About Me
  • Appearances
  • Big In China
  • Blog
  • Buy The Book – One Way Out
  • China Photos
  • China Videos
  • Contact
  • Excerpts
  • Home
  • One Way Out
  • One Way Out
  • ORDER
  • Panda Dad
  • Photos
  • Praise for One Way Out
  • Press
  • Reviews
  • test template
  • Texas Flood
  • The CD
  • Videos
  • What They’re Saying
  • widgettest
  • Woodie Alan
  • 告别信
  • #1460 (no title)
  • Current Band: Big In China

Categories

  • Alan Paul
  • Alan Paul performances
  • Allman Brothers Band
  • Ann Arbor
  • beijing
  • Beijing blog
  • Beijing blues
  • Big in China book
  • Big In China excerpts
  • Blues Greats
  • Bob Dylan
  • Bob Weir
  • Butch Trucks
  • China
  • Chinese basketball
  • Chinese food
  • Chinese Jews
  • Classic Rock
  • Derek Trucks
  • Dickey Betts
  • Dixie Doc
  • Duane Allman
  • Duane Allman's 57 Les Paul goldtop
  • Expat Life
  • Family Life and Refelections
  • Friends of the Brothers
  • Furthur
  • Govt Mule
  • Gregg Allman
  • Guitar World
  • Jaimoe
  • Jerry Garcia
  • JImmie Vaughan
  • Kirk West
  • Lynyrd skynyrd
  • One Way Out praise
  • One Way Out: The Inside History of the Allman Brothers Band
  • Oteil Burbridge
  • Panda dad
  • Phil Lesh
  • Phish
  • Pittsburgh
  • Pittsburgh Pirates
  • Ratdog
  • Rebecca Blumenstein – my wife
  • Slam
  • Slam Old School
  • Steelers nation
  • Stevie Ray Vaughan
  • Stevie Ray Vaughan
  • Texas Flood
  • the Dead
  • The Expat Life column
  • The Grateful Dead
  • The Great Wall
  • Tiger Mom
  • Tom Dowd
  • Travel with Kids
  • Uncategorized
  • Wall Street Journal
  • Warren Haynes
  • Woodie Alan band

Archive

  • January 2021
  • December 2020
  • November 2020
  • October 2020
  • September 2020
  • August 2020
  • July 2020
  • June 2020
  • May 2020
  • April 2020
  • March 2020
  • February 2020
  • January 2020
  • December 2019
  • October 2019
  • September 2019
  • August 2019
  • June 2019
  • April 2019
  • March 2019
  • February 2019
  • January 2019
  • October 2018
  • September 2018
  • August 2018
  • June 2018
  • May 2018
  • April 2018
  • March 2018
  • January 2018
  • November 2017
  • October 2017
  • September 2017
  • August 2017
  • July 2017
  • June 2017
  • May 2017
  • April 2017
  • March 2017
  • February 2017
  • January 2017
  • December 2016
  • November 2016
  • October 2016
  • September 2016
  • August 2016
  • July 2016
  • June 2016
  • May 2016
  • February 2016
  • January 2016
  • December 2015
  • November 2015
  • October 2015
  • September 2015
  • August 2015
  • July 2015
  • June 2015
  • May 2015
  • April 2015
  • March 2015
  • February 2015
  • January 2015
  • December 2014
  • November 2014
  • October 2014
  • September 2014
  • August 2014
  • July 2014
  • June 2014
  • May 2014
  • April 2014
  • March 2014
  • February 2014
  • January 2014
  • December 2013
  • November 2013
  • October 2013
  • September 2013
  • August 2013
  • June 2013
  • April 2013
  • March 2013
  • February 2013
  • January 2013
  • November 2012
  • October 2012
  • September 2012
  • August 2012
  • July 2012
  • June 2012
  • May 2012
  • April 2012
  • March 2012
  • February 2012
  • January 2012
  • December 2011
  • November 2011
  • October 2011
  • September 2011
  • August 2011
  • July 2011
  • June 2011
  • May 2011
  • April 2011
  • March 2011
  • February 2011
  • January 2011
  • December 2010
  • November 2010
  • October 2010
  • August 2010
  • July 2010
  • March 2010
  • February 2010
  • January 2010
  • December 2009
  • November 2009
  • October 2009
  • September 2009
  • August 2009
  • July 2009
  • June 2009
  • May 2009
  • April 2009
  • March 2009
  • February 2009
  • January 2009
  • December 2008
  • November 2008
  • October 2008
  • September 2008
  • August 2008
  • July 2008
  • June 2008
  • May 2008
  • April 2008
  • March 2008
  • February 2008
  • January 2008
  • December 2007
  • November 2007
  • October 2007
  • September 2007
  • August 2007
  • July 2007
  • June 2007
  • May 2007
  • April 2007
  • March 2007
  • February 2007
  • January 2007
  • December 2006
  • November 2006
  • October 2006
  • September 2006
  • August 2006
  • July 2006
  • June 2006
  • May 2006
  • April 2006
  • March 2006
  • February 2006
  • January 2006
  • December 2005
  • November 2005
  • October 2005
  • September 2005
  • August 2005
  • July 2005
  • June 2005
© Copyright 2016 - Alan Paul - Web Design EnigmaImage
  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • Rss
  • Contact
  • Buy The Book – One Way Out
Layla vocals and lead guitar only – Wow Win this photo!
Scroll to top