A 1941 graduate of Gary Froebel, he gained notice as the first player in Northwest Indiana to develop a jump shot… as a senior captain he led Froebel to their first and only state finals appearance, earning himself all-state honors… at the University of Toledo he averaged 16 points per game and gained 2nd team All-American recognition before World War II service in the U.S. Army… resumed his college career at UCLA, where he was 1947 and 1948 1st team PCC all-conference… a member of the 1949 Oakland Bittners AAU National Champions, a participant in the Pan-American Games in Buenos Aires and played briefly with the Harlem Globetrotters… he made further history in 1951 when he joined the Baltimore Bullets, becoming the first African-American to play for an NBA team south of the Mason-Dixon line, the 1st African-American from Indiana to play in the NBA and one of the first five African-Americans ever to play in the NBA… in two seasons with Baltimore and the Milwaukee Hawks, he totaled 877 points and 527 rebounds in 116 games.
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