[Congressional Record Volume 146, Number 140 (Monday, October 30, 2000)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E2027-E2028]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                          SALUTING EARL LLOYD

                                 ______
                                 

                            HON. JOHN LEWIS

                               of georgia

                    in the house of representatives

                        Monday, October 30, 2000

  Mr. LEWIS of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, on Tuesday, October 31, 2000, the 
New York Knicks of the National Basketball Association will commemorate 
50 years of integration in the NBA. The Knick's special guest in 
Madison Square Garden on this historical evening will be Mr. Earl 
Lloyd. Mr. Lloyd was the first African American player to participate 
in an NBA game. Drafted by the Washington Capitols, Mr. Lloyd made his 
NBA debut against the Rochester Royals on October 31, 1950. There were 
two other players making their debuts the following day. Chuck Copper 
was the first choice of Red Auerbach and the Boston Celtics. Nat 
``Sweetwater'' Clifton's contract was bought by the New York Knicks 
from the Harlem Globe Trotters. Earl Lloyd grew up on the other side of 
the 14th Street Bridge in the shadows of the White House in Alexandria, 
Virginia. He was an all around athlete at Parker Gray High School. He 
excelled in football, basketball and baseball. It was on the Banneker 
and Park View playgrounds in Washington, D.C. that he developed his 
game. Mr. Lloyd and his friend the legendary running back of Parker 
Gray and West Virginia State Bubba Ellis would make regular walks 
across the 14th Street bridge into the Nation's Capital for pickup 
basketball, D.C. playground style--no holds barred!
  Mr. Lloyd would graduate from high school with honors and as one of 
the school's greatest athletes. He would matriculate to West Virginia 
State on a basketball scholarship. In college he was named to the All-
American team and here he would leave a lasting impression on his 
opponents. Hall of Fame
  In 1950 Mr. Lloyd was also drafted by another team the United States 
Army! On Halloween night after serving his military time Mr. Lloyd 
returned to make professional basketball history. The Washington 
Capitols would play the Rochester Royals. In the stands that night 
would be Mr. Lloyd's proud mother. Mrs. Lloyd was sitting directly in 
front of two fans who acknowledged that Mr. Lloyd was the first

[[Page E2028]]

black, but could the Nigger play? Without missing a beat Mrs. Lloyd 
turned and looked the two fans directly in their eyes and said ``Take 
my word for it, the Nigger can play.''
  NBA legendary coach Arnold ``Red'' Auerbach of the Boston Celtics 
says, ``Earl blocked shots and played defense like there was no 
tomorrow.'' Red should know. Earl Lloyd led the Syracuse Nationals team 
that eliminated the Boston Celtics from the 1955 playoffs. The 
Nationals would go on to capture their one and only NBA Championship. 
1955 was a good year. Mr. Lloyd and teammate Jim Tucker would become 
the first African Americans to play on an NBA Championship team.
  A 1994 Sports Illustrated Magazine article read, ``In the NBA Mr. 
Lloyd was
  In May 1993 he was inducted into the Virginia Sports Hall of Fame in 
Portsmouth, Virginia. In 1998 twenty-eight years after being selected 
to the 25th Anniversary All-Time Great CIAA Team Mr. Lloyd was inducted 
into the CIAA Hall of Fame.
  Earl Lloyd has always made it clear where the credit belongs for his 
NBA success story. He says, ``If it had not been for Red Auerbach and 
the Boston Celtics, we may still be trying to get into the NBA. The 
Celtics were the first to draft a Black player, the first to put five 
Black players on the floor at the same time, the first to hire a Black 
coach and the first to hire a Black General Manager.'' The Boston 
Celtics are truly equal opportunity employers in professional sports.
  Halloween night in the NBA would be great if the N.Y. Knicks were 
hosting the rest of the league's players. They all could learn a little 
history and then be treated and introduced to a man who does not have a 
problem with being called a role model. Mr. Lloyd made it all possible 
for today's NBA black players and thousands of others like them. Earl 
Lloyd was Number One in 1950 and he is still Number One in the New 
Millennium 2000.

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