Earl Lloyd, First Black NBA Player, To Get Historical Marker In Alexandria

ALEXANDRIA, VA — Earl Lloyd, the first African American person to play in the NBA, will be honored with a state historical marker at his childhood home in Alexandria.

The unveiling of the historical marker will be held Saturday from 11 a.m. to 12 p.m. at 1020 Montgomery Street. The event will feature remarks from Lloyd's son Kevin Lloyd, Mayor Justin Wilson and others. An RSVP to HistoricAlexandria@alexandriava.gov is requested to attend.

Lloyd was born in Alexandria in 1928 and attended the former Parker-Gray High School, a once-segregated school for African Americans that later became the Charles Houston Recreation Center and home to the Alexandria African American Hall of Fame. At Parker-Gray, Lloyd played basketball and earned All-South Atlantic Conference honors three times and All-State Virginia Interscholastic Conference honors two times. His size and ability to block shots earned the nickname "Moon Fixer."

After graduating from Parker-Gray in 1946, he earned a scholarship in 1946 to West Virginia State, where he led the team to the Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association championships and made the Pittsburgh Courier's All-American team in 1949 and 1950. After his graduation in 1950, Earl was drafted by the Washington Capitols, becoming one of four black players drafted to the NBA that year. He became the first African American player in an NBA game on Oct. 31, 1950. That milestone came days before other African American players made their debuts — "Chuck" Cooper on the Boston Celtics and Nat Clifton on the New York Knicks.

After playing seven NBA games, Lloyd was drafted into the army during the Korean War. After two years, he returned to the NBA in 1952 with the Syracuse Nationals. Earl played six seasons with the Nationals and won the championship in 1955. Lloyd and Jim Tucker were the first African Americans to win an NBA championship.

Once his playing career concluded in 1960, Lloyd became the first Black coach in the NBA and was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2003. He died in 2015.

Lloyd has also been honored in his hometown with a statue at the Charles Houston Recreation Center. City Council approved an honorary street name called Earl F. Lloyd Way in the 1000 block of Montgomery Street where his childhood home is located.