Chuck Cooper was a Duquesne University All-American who became the first African American ever drafted by an NBA team when he was selected 13th overall by the Boston Celtics in 1950.
“The owners were at the draft in a smoke filled room in Chicago. Walter Brown, the owner of the Celtics, stands up and says ‘Boston takes Chuck Cooper - the All-American out of Duquesne.’ One of the other owners said ‘you can’t take him he’s colored.’ And Walter Brown said ‘I don’t give a damn if he’s striped, polkodot, or plaid, Boston takes Chuck Cooper,’” Chuck Cooper III, the son of Chuck Cooper, said during the KDKA Radio Morning Show on Friday.
A new special titled “Chuck Cooper: Hall of Famer and Barrier Breaker” aired earlier this week on AT&T Sportsnet and it will continue in the programming through February.
You can listen to the full interview with Cooper below.