Nat Sweetwater Clifton 1st Black NBA player Walter Dukes Original TYPE I Photo

Description: In the grand theater of American sports, where legends are forged and barriers crumble like cheap clay, basketball's integration was less a whisper and more a thunderclap. While Jackie Robinson had already redrawn baseball's color lines with the sweat of his brow and the fire in his soul, the hardwood was about to get its own revolution. Three men. Not saints, not supermen, just ballplayers with more courage than the entire front offices of the league combined. Chuck Cooper, the first black player drafted - a selection that must've made some team executives sweat through their starched collars. Nat "Sweetwater" Clifton, signed with a contract that was probably more precious than the Hope Diamond to a generation of young Black athletes watching and hoping. And Earl Lloyd - oh, Earl Lloyd - who didn't just walk onto a basketball court, he strutted into history. Nat Sweetwater Clifton (joined the NBA in 1950 became the first African-American to sign an NBA contract as one of the league's first African American players. The six-foot eight, 225 pound forward played seven years with the New York Knicks and one with the Detroit Pistons, averaging a solid 10 points and 8.2 rebounds a game for his career. Clifton also played for the New York Rens, Harlem Globetrotters, Chicago Majors of the American Basketball League, and Chicago American Giants of Negro League Baseball. He was elected to the Naismith Basketball HOF in 2014, twenty-four years after his death. Walter Dukes was a center for the New York Knicks (1955–1956), Minneapolis Lakers (1956–1957) and Detroit Pistons (1957–1963). He played college basketball for the Seton Hall Pirates. He was the Number 1 overall pick of the 1953 NBA Draft by the New York Knicks, but was offered more money by the Harlem Globetrotters, so he opted to sign with the Globies and played with them until 1955, when he finally signed with the Knicks. Born in Rochester, New York, Dukes moved to South Orange, New Jersey, and played high school basketball at Seton Hall Preparatory School, before attending Seton Hall University. He graduated from New York Law School in 1960. Dukes helped the Lakers win the 1956–57 NBA Western Division in his second season. While with the Pistons, he was named to the 1960 and 1961 NBA All-Star West Teams. Dukes averaged double figures in rebounds in six of his eight seasons in the NBA, and had career averages of 11.3 rebounds per game and 10.4 points per game. Offered is an original TYPE I photo from 1957 that measures 7” x 9” in size which features a copy of the original paper caption attached on back, dated 2-16-57 of Walter Dukes (then playing for the Lakers – his only season in Minneapolis) shotting, but blocked by Clifton of the Knicks at a game played at the 69th Regiment Armory in New York. Original TYPE I photos of Clifton are rarely seen. This is the first one that we’ve seen of Clifton going head to head with Walter Dukes. Also featured in the photo are Knicks – Kenny Sears (far left), Jim Paxson (Lakers), and far right – Jim Baechtold. Encapsulated Authentic as a TYPE 1 photo by PSA/DNA Normal 0 false false false EN-US X-NONE X-NONE

Price: 1995 USD

Location: Tustin, California

End Time: 2025-01-11T15:18:10.000Z

Shipping Cost: 7.99 USD