Please note: our printed catalog states "1958" in the title when in-fact this photo hails from 1952, as reflected in the corrected title in this listing and on the PSA label.

Jackie Robinson famously shattered baseball's color barrier when he took the field for the Brooklyn Dodgers on Opening Day, 1947. Three years later, in 1950, three pioneers would help integrate the National Basketball Association when Chuck Cooper became the first African-American player drafted into the NBA, Nat "Sweetwater" Clifton became the first African American to sign an NBA contract, and Earl Lloyd became the first African-American to appear in an NBA game. Later, all three men would rightfully be enshrined into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. 

On April 25, 1950 Chuck Cooper became the first African-American drafted by an NBA team when the Boston Celtics selected him 13th overall and the first pick of the second round. Cooper would make his NBA debut on Nov. 1, 1950 in a contest against the Fort Wayne Pistons (now residing in Detroit). The presented 5" x 8" borderless photograph depicts Cooper in his mid-20's, posed in his Celtics away uniform while dribbling towards the camera. A credit stamp reading "Boston Garden photo by John Ferguson" appears at the bottom edge with a date stamp of Dec. 13, 1952 at the top. A fresh-to-the-hobby example, hailing directly from the collection of former official NBA historian (1995-02), Mr. Bill Himmelman. Authenticated and encapsulated as a Type 1 photo by PSA/DNA.