On this day in Boston Celtics history, champion point and shooting guard Charles Thomas Scott was born in New York City in 1948. Better known as “Charlie” to many Celtics fans, the New Yorker broke the color barrier at the University of North Carolina as that famed school’s first Black scholarship athlete. He was drafted by Boston with the 106th pick of the 1970 NBA draft (there were many more rounds in that era).
Before he finished his NCAA playing days, he won a gold medal in the 1968 Olympics held in Mexico City, Mexico, along with future teammate Jo Jo White.
Though drafted by Boston, Scott instead signed with the American Basketball Association’s (ABA — a competing league that later merged with the NBA) Virginia Squires for most of two seasons.