On this day in Boston Celtics history, former Celtics small forward Chuck Cooper was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania in 1926. Cooper would play his college ball at West Virginia State and then later Duquesne, his tenure at the first interrupted when he was drafted to serve in the Second World War. Cooper was selected by the Celtics from the latter with the 14th overall pick of the 1950 NBA draft.
In and of itself, a player being taken from a respected university in what was then the second round of the draft ought to have been unremarkable save one major detail — Cooper would be the first Black player drafted in NBA history.
This momentous occasion was, as one might expect given the era, questioned by the other team owners in the league when they heard that Celtics General Manager Red Auerbach planned to draft Cooper.