Nathaniel Clifton

Nat Clifton
Player information
Full name	Nathaniel Clifton
Nickname	Nat, Nate, Sweets, Sweetwater
birthday	October 13, 1922
place of birth	England , Arkansas , United States
date of death	August 31, 1990
Place of death	Chicago , Illinois , United States
size	198 cm
position	Center / Power Forward
High school	DuSable High School (Chicago)
college	Xavier
Clubs as active
1945-1947 Dayton Metropolitans 1946-1947 New York Rens 1947-1950 Harlem Globetrotters 1950 - 1957 New York Knickerbockers 1957 - 1958 Detroit Pistons 1958-1961 Harlem Stars 1961-1962 Chicago Majors 1961-1963 Harlem Globetrotters 1963-1965 Harlem Magicians

Nathaniel "Nat" Clifton (born October 13, 1922 as Clifton Nathaniel in England , Arkansas , † August 31, 1990 in Chicago , Illinois ) was an American basketball player with the Detroit Pistons and the New York Knickerbockers in the National Basketball Association (NBA ). The "Sweetwater" named Clifton was 1.98 meters tall, played the positions of power forward and center , and was the first black player to ever sign a professional contract in the NBA.

Career

The African Clifton spent his childhood as an only child with his mother and aunt in Chicago in the area of Washington Park, near 49th Street and Vincennes Avenue, and completed his education at the DuSable High School in 1942. He then went to New Orleans for a year and became a star player at the local Xavier University . Clifton scored 10.5 points per game and was voted into the All-African team of the best black college players. Since World War II was not yet over at this time , Clifton was drafted into the Army and stayed in Europe from 1943 to 1946.

But since the Basketball Association of America (BAA), the forerunner of the NBA, was racially segregated at the time, Clifton was unable to sign a professional basketball contract after his return and instead joined the African-American basketball traveling troops of the New York Renaissance and Harlem Globetrotters . In 1948 he was elected to the All-Tournament First Team as a forward at the World Professional Basketball Tournament , in which he lost to the Minneapolis Lakers in the finals with the Renaissance . In 1949 and 1950 he played baseball in the Negro Leagues .

In 1950, Clifton became the first black man to sign with the New York Knicks at the age of 28 and integrated the NBA along with Chuck Cooper , Hank DeZonie, Earl Lloyd and Harold Hunter, who, however, was the second African American on his team to not make the cut. Clifton's nickname was "Sweetwater" because Clifton liked to drink lemonade . At the side of the white stars Harry Gallatin (center) and Max Zaslofsky (guard; had experienced discrimination himself as a Jew), Clifton played in those teams that failed three times in the finals in 1950, 1952 and 1953 at the Minneapolis Lakers under superstar George Mikan . Clifton distinguished himself by scoring 10 points and 10 rebounds per game. He became one of the first blacks to be elected to the All-Star Team in 1957. In the fall of his career, Clifton was transferred to the Detroit Pistons , where he played one season as a 35-year-old and then retired.

After his career, Clifton went to Chicago and became a taxi driver . He was forced to do this job because the NBA didn't pay out a pension back then. Although he was very popular in Chicago and had many job offers, he stayed with that job for a lifetime. Clifton died behind the wheel of his cab near Chicago's Union Station in 1990.

Nat "Sweetwater" Clifton was as a promoter ( Contributor ) 2014 in the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame added.

See also

• List of members of the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame
• Jackie Robinson , first African American to incorporate Major League Baseball under the Gentlemen's Agreement of the 1880s.

Web links

• Nat Clifton in the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame At: Hoophall website; Springfield, MA, 2018. Retrieved March 1, 2018 (in English).
• Nat Clifton player profile on Basketball Reference website; Philadelphia, PA, 2000-2018. Retrieved March 1, 2018 (in English).
• Nathaniel Clifton player profile on Baseball Reference website; Philadelphia, PA, 2000-2018. Retrieved March 1, 2018 (in English).
• Sweetwater Clifton in the Pro Basketball Encyclopedia. On: Pro Basketball Encyclopedia website; 2018. Accessed March 1, 2018 (in English).

Individual evidence

1. ^ John W. Fountain: 'Sweetwater' Clifton, Former Globetrotter. On: Chicago Tribune website; Chicago, IL, September 2, 1990. Retrieved March 1, 2018.
2. ↑ NN: 1950-51 Season Overview. NBA's Color Line Is Broken. ( Memento of the original from March 20, 2015 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. On: NBA website; New York, NY, 2018. Retrieved March 1, 2018. 
3. ^ Dave Howell: Six Who Paved the Way. Pistons Celebrate Black History Month. On: NBA website; New York, NY, 2014-2018. Retrieved March 1, 2018 (in English).
4. ↑ James M. Manheim: Nathaniel "Sweetwater" Clifton Biography. On: Net Industries website; 2002-2018. Retrieved March 1, 2018 (in English).