 Greer with thePhiladelphia 76ers in 1969 | |
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Born | (1936-06-26)June 26, 1936 |
| Died | April 14, 2018(2018-04-14) (aged 81) Phoenix, Arizona, U.S. |
| Listed height | 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) |
| Listed weight | 175 lb (79 kg) |
| Career information | |
| High school | Douglass (Huntington, West Virginia) |
| College | Marshall (1955–1958) |
| NBA draft | 1958: 2nd round, 13th overall pick |
| Drafted by | Syracuse Nationals |
| Playing career | 1958–1973 |
| Position | Shooting guard /point guard |
| Number | 15 |
| Career history | |
Playing | |
| 1958–1973 | Syracuse Nationals / Philadelphia 76ers |
Coaching | |
| 1974 | Cherry Hill Rookies |
| 1980 | Philadelphia Kings |
| Career highlights | |
| |
| Career statistics | |
| Points | 21,586 (19.2 ppg) |
| Rebounds | 5,665 (5.0 rpg) |
| Assists | 4,540 (4.0 apg) |
Stats at NBA.com  | |
| Stats atBasketball Reference | |
| Basketball Hall of Fame | |
| Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame | |
Harold Everett Greer (/ˈhælˈɡrɪər/HALGREER; June 26, 1936 – April 14, 2018) was an American professionalbasketball player and coach. He played for theSyracuse Nationals / Philadelphia 76ers of theNational Basketball Association (NBA) from 1958 through 1973. Aguard, Greer was a 10-timeNBA All-Star and was named to theAll-NBA Second Team seven times. He was named to the50 Greatest Players in NBA History, theNBA 75th Anniversary Team, and hisuniform number was amongPhiladelphia 76ers retired numbers. Greer is a member of theBasketball Hall of Fame.
Born inHuntington, West Virginia, Greer attendedDouglass Junior and Senior High School in Huntington.[1] Douglass was an all-black school. He played as aguard for Douglass' men's basketball team.[2] He enrolled atMarshall University and playedcollege basketball for theMarshall Thundering Herd'sbasketball team, becoming the first African American to play for a public college in West Virginia.[3]
Hal's attendance atMarshall University (College at the time) did not cause great uproar from the community, but more rumblings and a general uneasiness. The local newspapers gave Hal and his family casual treatment in deference to him and his family. At the first basketball practice in October 1954, all eyes were on Hal who showed out. CoachCam Henderson reportedly told sportswriters in attendance that, "Before that young man is through here he'll become one of the greatest players in Marshall history and one of the greatest in the country."[4]
With the Thundering Herd, Greer scored 1,377 points with a .545field goal percentage, setting a Marshall record. In 1956, Marshall won theMid-American Conference championship,[5] and made their firstNCAA men's basketball tournament appearance.[6] Greer was named All-Mid-American Conference in 1957 and 1958. He was named anAll-American in 1958 as well.[5] Greer finished his Marshall career averaging 19.4points per game and 10.8rebounds per game.[7] In 1958, his senior year, Greer averaged 23.6 points per game.[8] Greer also played for the school'sbaseball team in his sophomore year as afirst baseman.[5][6]
TheSyracuse Nationals selected Greer with the 13th selection in the1958 NBA draft.[5][9] Greer played for Syracuse for five seasons, raising his scoring average to 22.8 points a game in 1961. He was selected for the NBA All-Star team that year.
In 1963, the Syracuse Nationals moved to Philadelphia to become thePhiladelphia 76ers. There, Greer teamed withWilt Chamberlain on the 1966–67 team that won the NBA championship. In the 76ers' 15 playoff games that season, Greer averaged a team-best 27.7 points. Greer had an unusual but highly effectivefree throw technique, shooting ajump shot from the charity stripe.[6] He is usually considered the third-best guard of the 1960s, behindOscar Robertson and fellow West Virginia nativeJerry West.
Greer played in 10NBA All-Star Games and was the MVP of the1968 game when he went 8-for-8 from the field and scored 21 points, a record-breaking 19 in one quarter. He also was chosen to theAll-NBA Second Team seven times, and scored 21,586 points during his NBA career. When he retired after the 1972–73 season, he ranked as the all-time leader in games played and was in the top ten in both points scored and field goals made.[2] As of his death, Greer is the franchise record holder for points scored, field goals, field goal attempts, games played, and minutes played.[10]
In the offseason of 1973, Greer was not signed by the 76ers nor any other team despite not wishing to retire.[11] He spent his subsequent spare time playing golf.[11] In December 1973, Greer entered discussions with theCherry Hill Rookies of theEastern Basketball Association (EBA) to join the team as head coach.[12] On January 4, 1974, Greer was announced as head coach and joined the team with a 1–8 record.[11] The Rookies finished the season with a 4–21 record.[13] Greer was replaced as head coach by Pete Monska before the 1974–75 season.[14]
In 1980, Greer coached thePhiladelphia Kings of theContinental Basketball League.[15] He also coached the basketball team forGermantown Academy inFort Washington, Pennsylvania.[8]
Greer's hometown has honored his success by holding "Hal Greer Day" in 1966, and by renaming 16th Street, which carriesWest Virginia Route 10 as the main artery between the campus/downtown area andInterstate 64, as "Hal Greer Boulevard" in 1978.[8][16]
In 1976, thePhiladelphia 76ers retired Greer'suniform number, No. 15; he was the first 76ers' player in franchise history to have his jersey number retired.[10] Marshall's men's basketball team retired Greer's No. 16.[6] Marshall University inducted Greer into its Athletics Hall of Fame for his career in basketball and baseball in 1985.[17]
In 1982, Greer was inducted into theNaismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame along withSlater Martin,Frank Ramsey,Willis Reed, coachClarence Gaines, and contributorAlva Duer.[18] Greer is recognized as one of the first African-American athletes enshrined in a major sports hall of fame from West Virginia.[citation needed] He was named one of the50 Greatest Players in NBA History in 1996.[10] The 76ers installed a statue of Greer at their training complex in 2017.[19]
In 2021, Greer was honored atMarshall University with the dedication of a bronze statue created in his likeness and an unveiling ceremony with many of his family members in attendance. The statue is located adjacent to theCam Henderson Center, the home of Marshall basketball, and was placed on a marble base surrounded by four benches and newly planted trees.[20] Two weeks later, he was announced as part of theNBA 75th Anniversary Team.[21] To commemorate the NBA's 75th AnniversaryThe Athletic ranked their top 75 players of all time, and named Greer as the 70th greatest player in NBA history.[22]
Greer and his wife, Mayme, had a son and two daughters.[24] Greer died on April 14, 2018, inPhoenix, Arizona, following a brief illness. The 76ers announced his death on April 16.[9] They honored Greer prior to Game 2 of the2018 NBA Playoffs against theMiami Heat.[10] For the remainder of the playoffs, the Sixers wore ablack armband on the sleeve of their jersey with a small patch with the number 15.[25]
| 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1958–59 | Syracuse | 68 | 23.9 | .454 | .778 | 2.9 | 1.5 | 11.1 |
| 1959–60 | Syracuse | 70 | 28.3 | .476 | .783 | 4.3 | 2.7 | 13.2 |
| 1960–61 | Syracuse | 79 | 35.0 | .451 | .774 | 5.8 | 3.8 | 19.6 |
| 1961–62 | Syracuse | 71 | 38.1 | .447 | .819 | 7.4 | 4.4 | 22.8 |
| 1962–63 | Syracuse | 80 | 32.9 | .464 | .834 | 5.7 | 3.4 | 19.5 |
| 1963–64 | Philadelphia | 80 | 39.5 | .444 | .829 | 6.1 | 4.7 | 23.3 |
| 1964–65 | Philadelphia | 70 | 37.1 | .433 | .811 | 5.1 | 4.5 | 20.2 |
| 1965–66 | Philadelphia | 80 | 41.6 | .445 | .804 | 5.9 | 4.8 | 22.7 |
| 1966–67† | Philadelphia | 80 | 38.6 | .459 | .788 | 5.3 | 3.8 | 22.1 |
| 1967–68 | Philadelphia | 82 | 39.8 | .478 | .769 | 5.4 | 4.5 | 24.1 |
| 1968–69 | Philadelphia | 82 | 40.4 | .459 | .796 | 5.3 | 5.0 | 23.1 |
| 1969–70 | Philadelphia | 80 | 37.8 | .455 | .815 | 4.7 | 5.1 | 22.0 |
| 1970–71 | Philadelphia | 81 | 37.8 | .431 | .805 | 4.5 | 4.6 | 18.6 |
| 1971–72 | Philadelphia | 81 | 29.8 | .449 | .774 | 3.3 | 3.9 | 11.8 |
| 1972–73 | Philadelphia | 38 | 22.3 | .392 | .821 | 2.8 | 2.9 | 5.6 |
| Career | 1122 | 35.5 | .452 | .801 | 5.0 | 4.0 | 19.2 | |
| All-Star | 10 | 20.7 | .461 | .703 | 4.5 | 2.8 | 12.0 | |
| Year | Team | GP | MPG | FG% | FT% | RPG | APG | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1959 | Syracuse | 9 | 30.8 | .419 | .813 | 5.2 | 2.2 | 11.6 |
| 1960 | Syracuse | 3 | 28.0 | .512 | .750 | 4.7 | 3.3 | 15.7 |
| 1961 | Syracuse | 8 | 29.0 | .387 | .825 | 4.1 | 2.4 | 14.4 |
| 1962 | Syracuse | 1 | 5.0 | — | — | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| 1963 | Syracuse | 5 | 42.8 | .506 | .829 | 5.4 | 4.2 | 23.4 |
| 1964 | Philadelphia | 5 | 42.2 | .389 | .846 | 5.6 | 6.0 | 21.4 |
| 1965 | Philadelphia | 11 | 45.9 | .455 | .793 | 7.4 | 5.0 | 24.6 |
| 1966 | Philadelphia | 5 | 45.2 | .352 | .783 | 7.2 | 4.2 | 16.4 |
| 1967† | Philadelphia | 15 | 45.9 | .429 | .797 | 5.9 | 5.3 | 27.7 |
| 1968 | Philadelphia | 13 | 42.5 | .432 | .856 | 6.1 | 4.2 | 25.8 |
| 1969 | Philadelphia | 5 | 40.8 | .321 | .778 | 6.0 | 4.6 | 16.0 |
| 1970 | Philadelphia | 5 | 35.6 | .446 | .846 | 3.4 | 5.4 | 15.4 |
| 1971 | Philadelphia | 7 | 37.9 | .438 | .750 | 3.6 | 4.7 | 17.9 |
| Career | 92 | 39.6 | .425 | .812 | 5.5 | 4.3 | 20.4 | |
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