 | |
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Born | (1934-07-11)July 11, 1934 Winnsboro, Louisiana, U.S. |
| Died | September 3, 2007(2007-09-03) (aged 73) Baltimore, Maryland, U.S. |
| Listed height | 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) |
| Listed weight | 220 lb (100 kg) |
| Career information | |
| High school | Compton Union (Compton, California) |
| College | Texas Southern (1953–1955) |
| NBA draft | 1957: 8th round, 60th overall pick |
| Drafted by | Philadelphia Warriors |
| Playing career | 1955–1966 |
| Position | Power forward /center |
| Number | 14, 21, 35, 18 |
| Career history | |
| 1955–1957 | Harlem Globetrotters |
| 1957–1960 | Philadelphia Warriors |
| 1960–1961 | St. Louis Hawks |
| 1961–1963 | Chicago Packers / Zephyrs |
| 1963 | St. Louis Hawks |
| 1965 | New Haven Elms |
| 1965–1966 | Boston Celtics |
| Career highlights | |
| Career NBA statistics | |
| Points | 4,930 (10.7 ppg) |
| Rebounds | 3,618 (7.8 rpg) |
| Assists | 498 (1.1 apg) |
Stats at NBA.com  | |
| Stats atBasketball Reference | |
Woodrow Sauldsberry Jr. (July 11, 1934 – September 3, 2007) was an Americanbasketball player. He was theNBA's Rookie of the Year in 1958 and in 1966 he won the NBA championship as a member of theBoston Celtics.
Sauldsberry was born on July 11, 1934, inWinnsboro, Louisiana, and was raised inLos Angeles. He graduated fromCompton Union High School (later Compton High School) in 1953.[1][2][3][4]
Sauldsberry was a 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)center on Compton's basketball team.[4] Under coach Kenny Fagans, Compton's basketball team won theCalifornia Interscholastic Federation (CIF) championship in both the 1950-51 and 1951-52 seasons, including a 32-game winning streak over those two years. Sauldsberry started on the 1951-52 team. The 1952-53 Compton team, led by Sauldsberry, took the three-year winning streak to 53 games. Sauldsberry was the most valuable player in the Compton Tournament, during which the winning streak ended. Compton then won another 17 straight (including four CIF playoff wins) before losing in the 1953 CIF championship game.[5] He was All-Conference two years and All-City as a senior.[6]
Sauldsberry received a basketball scholarship to attendTexas Southern University.[4] He was anNAIAAll-American in 1955, with the 1955 Texas Southern team winning the black college (HBCU) title (NAIA District 29) over three-time championTennessee State, 103–100. The 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) Sauldsberry played a central role in the victory, scoring 31 points, and was the tournament's leading scorer. Texas Southern then went on to reach the semifinals of the NAIA tournament.[7][8][6][9] Sauldsberry left college after two years to join theHarlem Globetrotters.[10]
After Sauldsberry's sophomore year in college,Abe Saperstein of the Harlem Globetrotters pursued Sauldsberry to join the Globetrotters. Sauldsberry left Texas Southern and became part of the Globetrotters for two seasons (1955-57), traveling the country and the world.[11][4][6] He had to wait those two years before he was considered eligible for the NBA draft. He played the role of "straight man" on the Globetrotters, and had lost interest in continuing with them after two years.[10][6][12]
In 1957, the now 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) and 220 pound (99.8 kg) Sauldsberry was drafted by thePhiladelphia Warriors in the eighth round with the 60th overall pick.[13][12][14] After his first season, he was named the league'sRookie of the Year — the secondAfrican American ever to win the award and becoming the lowest overall draft pick ever to win the award, a record he still holds.[15] On January 2, 1959, he scored a career high 41 points against theSyracuse Nationals.[16] The same month, he was selected to play in theNBA All-Star Game.[17] His last season with the Warriors (1959-60) coincided withWilt Chamberlain's rookie season on the team.[18] In three years with the Warriors, he averaged 10.7 points and 7.8 rebounds in nearly 28 minutes per game.[1]
In October 1960, the Warriors traded Sauldsberry andErnie Beck to the St. Louis Hawks forEd Conlin and cash.[19] Sauldsberry was backup to future Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame forwardBob Pettit, averaging 7.5 points and 7.1 rebounds in 21.6 minutes per game.[20][21] The Hawks reached theNBA Finals, losing four games to one against the Boston Celtics. Sauldsberry played in all five games, averaging 10 points, 9.2 rebounds and 2.6 assists in 32.4 minutes per game.[22]
On October 17, 1961, while still with the Hawks, Sauldsberry was among seven players—the others beingBill Russell,Al Butler,Sam Jones,K. C. Jones,Tom Sanders, andCleo Hill— to refuse to play in an exhibition basketball game over alleged discrimination. The five members of the Boston Celtics said that a hotel coffee shop denied them service, after which they toldCoach Red Auerbach they wanted to return to Boston. Sauldsberry and Hill joined the five in refusing to play the game.[23]
In November 1961, Sauldsberry was traded to theChicago Packers (now the Washington Wizards) along withJoe Graboski,Si Green andFred LaCour forBarney Cable,Archie Dees andRalph Davis.[24] He played in 49 games for the Packers, averaging 11.7 points and 9.5 rebounds in 30.1 minutes per game.[25] He began the 1962-63 season with the Packers, averaging 12.9 points and 6.8 rebounds in nearly 31 minutes per game.[26]
In January 1963, Sauldsberry was traded back to the Hawks for Barney Cable.[27] On March 13, he was suspended by the Hawks for a week following a dispute with head coachHarry Gallatin.[28] He did not return to the team and was left of its playoff roster.[29][30] In June 1963, he was waived by the Hawks.[31]
After two years away from the NBA, Sauldsberry worked out for theBoston Celtics during the1965 pre-season before playing for theNew Haven Elms in theEastern League.[11] In November 1965, he signed with the Celtics for the season. After the NBA refused to accept the contract, Sauldsberry filed a class action suit againstJ. Walter Kennedy and all the NBA teams, except the Celtics, for a conspiracy to keep him out of the league.[32] In December, the NBA approved the contract when the Celtics and Sauldsberry agreed to conditions laid down to them[33] and the suit was officially dropped in January 1966.[34] He played his last NBA game on March 1, 1966, missing the rest of the regular season and playoffs due to a back injury.[35][36]
Sometime in the late 90s, Sauldsberry was diagnosed with diabetes and had to have his leg amputated.[37]
He died September 3, 2007, aged 73 in Baltimore, Maryland.[38] An article byDan Klores alleges that when Sauldsberry died, "he was broke, alone and on the verge of losing his left leg to diabetes, which took his right."[39]
| GP | Games played | GS | Games started | MPG | Minutes per game |
| FG% | Field goal percentage | 3P% | 3-point field goal percentage | FT% | Free throw percentage |
| RPG | Rebounds per game | APG | Assists per game | SPG | Steals per game |
| BPG | Blocks per game | PPG | Points per game | Bold | Career high |
| † | Won anNBA championship |
| Year | Team | GP | MPG | FG% | FT% | RPG | APG | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1957–58 | Philadelphia | 71 | 33.5 | .360 | .615 | 10.3 | .8 | 12.8 |
| 1958–59 | Philadelphia | 72 | 38.1 | .363 | .625 | 11.5 | 1.0 | 15.4 |
| 1959–60 | Philadelphia | 71 | 26.0 | .334 | .534 | 6.3 | 1.6 | 9.9 |
| 1960–61 | St. Louis | 69 | 21.6 | .299 | .560 | 7.1 | 1.1 | 7.5 |
| 1961–62 | St. Louis | 14 | 20.8 | .336 | .655 | 5.1 | 0.9 | 7.2 |
| 1961–62 | Chicago | 49 | 30.1 | .344 | .638 | 9.5 | 1.6 | 11.7 |
| 1961–62 | Totals | 63 | 28.0 | .343 | .642 | 8.5 | 1.4 | 10.7 |
| 1962–63 | Chicago | 54 | 30.8 | .384 | .685 | 6.8 | 1.2 | 12.9 |
| 1962–63 | St. Louis | 23 | 16.1 | .356 | .545 | 3.5 | .5 | 6.2 |
| 1965–66† | Boston | 39 | 13.6 | .321 | .500 | 3.6 | .4 | 4.4 |
| Career | 462 | 27.7 | .348 | .610 | 7.8 | 1.1 | 10.7 | |
| Year | Team | GP | MPG | FG% | FT% | RPG | APG | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1958 | Philadelphia | 8 | 36.3 | .344 | .565 | 10.9 | .8 | 12.9 |
| 1960 | Philadelphia | 9 | 33.1 | .340 | .571 | 7.1 | 1.3 | 12.9 |
| 1961 | St. Louis | 12 | 33.9 | .364 | .560 | 9.0 | 2.8 | 13.7 |
| Career | 29 | 34.3 | .351 | .565 | 8.9 | 1.8 | 13.2 | |
