Published: April 23, 2008 06:33 pm         

Lloyd elected to WV Sports Hall of Fame

WHEELING, WV — Fairfield Glade resident Earl Lloyd, who left West Virginia State College to make history in the National Basketball Association, has been elected to the West Virginia Sports Hall of Fame.

Lloyd will be inducted on May 4 at the 62nd annual Victory Awards Dinner at Lakeview Resort near Morgantown, WV. The event is sponsored by the West Virginia Sports Writers Association.

Lloyd, a standout on three of the most successful basketball teams in West Virginia State history, made history when he became the first African-American to play in the NBA on Oct. 31, 1950. Three years earlier, in 1947, Jackie Robinson broke the modern "color barrier" in major league baseball.

The 6-foot-5 forward was selected in the ninth round of the NBA Draft by the Washington Capitols and the first game, against the Rochester Royals, was days before the debut of two other African-Americans who helped integrate the NBA — Chuck Cooper of the Boston Celtics, the first African-American draftee, and Nat (Sweetwater) Clifton of the New York Knickerbockers, the first African-American to sign an NBA contract.

Nicknamed "The Big Cat," Lloyd played in over 560 NBA games in nine seasons and averaged 8.4 points and 6.4 rebounds a game while being known for his defensive play.

Lloyd played in only seven games for the Capitols before the team folded on Jan. 7, 1951. He then joined the U.S. Army before the Syracuse Nationals picked him up on waivers. He played six seasons in Syracuse and two with the Detroit Pistons before retiring in 1960.

He retired with 4,682 points, then 43rd in career scoring. His best year was 1955 when he averaged 10.2 points and 7.7 rebounds for Syracuse, which beat Fort Wayne for the NBA title. Lloyd and teammate Jim Tucker became the first African-Americans to play on an NBA championship team. Lloyd competed eight seasons in the NBA playoffs.

In 1965, the Pistons considered hiring Lloyd as the head coach but instead selected Dave DeBusschere as a player-coach. It would have made Lloyd the first African-American head coach in U.S. professional sports. Later, for two seasons in 1972-'73, Lloyd did coach the Pistons and was a scout for five seasons.

Lloyd was born April 3, 1928 and attended segregated Parker-Gray High School in Alexandria, VA, which was one of the schools merged into T.C. Williams High School featured in the movie, "Remember The Titans."

He enrolled at West Virginia State and helped the team win two CIAA Conference and Tournament championships in 1948 and 1949. He was named all-conference three times and was All-American twice as named by the Pittsburgh Courier. In 1947-'48, West Virginia State (30-0) was the only undefeated team in the United States and proclaimed national champions for segregated colleges.

In 2003, he was inducted, as a contributor, into the National Basketball Hall of Fame in Springfield, MA. Lloyd currently resides in Fairfield Glade.