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Tuesday, April 25, 2000 By Paul Zeise, Post-Gazette Sports Writer
Chuck Cooper should have returned to Pittsburgh in 1956 to a hero's welcome.
There probably should have been a parade, a key to the city, a day in his honor or something, anything to acknowledge the fact that Cooper, a 1944 graduate of Westinghouse High School, had just completed what was perhaps the most important career in NBA history.
He should have been a local icon, but he was not.
Instead, he couldn't even find a someone willing to give him a job.
"That hurt him more than anything else, I think," said Cooper's widow, Irva Cooper. "When he broke the color barrier, a lot of people told him how great they thought it was, but when he came home, despite everything he had accomplished and even though he had a college degree, nobody wanted to hire him. It was tough on him."
Cooper, who went to Duquesne University and died of cancer in 1984 at age 57, worked as a mail sorter for the U.S. post office for awhile before leaving town again to tour with the Harlem Magicians. After a year of traveling, he decided he needed a masters degree in order to have a better chance of breaking into the job market, and, in 1961, he earned his masters at the University of Minnesota. When he returned to Pittsburgh, he began a long, successful career in public service. And in 1970, Cooper achieved another first when he became Pittsburgh's first black director of a city operating office, heading the Department of Parks and Recreation.
Today marks the 50th anniversary of the day Cooper was drafted by the Boston Celtics. It was a stunning development for two reasons -- one, no African American had ever been drafted by an NBA team, and two, Boston was notoriously a tough place for blacks.
Still, as the story goes (first told by George Sullivan of The Boston Globe), Celtics owner Walter Brown chose Cooper and, when he was confronted by another owner for choosing a "colored boy," he replied, "I don't give a damn if he's striped or plaid or polka dot, Boston takes Charles Cooper of Duquesne."
Cooper was the first black drafted player, but two other African-American players are recognized with significant firsts. Nat "Sweetwater" Clifton was the first black player to sign a contract and, because of scheduling quirk, Earl Lloyd is recognized as the first to play in a game. Despite those technicalities, it was Brown's pick that opened the doors for others.
Red Manning, a teammate of Cooper's at Duquesne, said Cooper's ability as well as his temperament made him an ideal candidate to integrate the NBA, but he added that it was tougher on him than most people know.
Manning cited a 1946 game when the University of Tennessee came to play against Duquesne. When the Volunteers saw Cooper in uniform, they refused to play unless he was benched. Charles "Chick" Davies, the Dukes' coach at the time, told them to go home, and the Volunteers forfeited the game. Cooper, however, didn't lose his temper and handled the situation with poise.
"My father always taught me to stand up for what you believe in," Chuck Cooper III said, "and he did it in the toughest of times. So I have always tried to incorporate that into my life."
Chuck Cooper III also pointed out that, although his father was very proud of being recognized as the first, he also felt it was a dubious honor because so many other guys, who were much more athletically gifted, never got the opportunity.
"Plus, he always said it should have happened much earlier than it did," Irva Cooper said.
One amazing thing, however, is the fact that on the 50th anniversary of what should be one of the proudest moments in NBA history, there are no ceremonies planned, no parades and no official celebrations.
Unlike baseball, who celebrated Jackie Robinson's 50th anniversary by retiring his number for the entire league, the NBA is quiet about Cooper. League officials did not make any formal statement about the anniversary.
Chuck Cooper III said he hopes to change that and would like to put together a proposal to get his father, along with Clifton, Brown and Lloyd honored during the All-Star game next year.
"Maybe because there is three guys who entered the same year instead of one, it is a little different," Cooper III said. "I'm not sure, but I would say that Brown had a lot of courage to draft my dad, so he was a pioneer as well. I'd like to see all these guys get some recognition next season since it is the 50th anniversary of their first season in the NBA."
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