Happy Hairston

Harold "Happy" Hairston (May 31, 1942 – May 1, 2001) was an American professional basketball player. A , forward, he was best remembered for playing with the Los Angeles Lakers of the National Basketball Association (NBA), and he also played for the Cincinnati Royals and the Detroit Pistons. Hairston was a member of the NBA champion 1971–72 Lakers; that team won 33 games in a row, a record not duplicated in any other American professional sport.

Early life and college career Hairston was born in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, and attended Atkins High School in Winston-Salem. He graduated from New York University, where he played college basketball for coach Lou Rossini from 1962 to 1964. One of his teammates at NYU was Barry Kramer; the two smashed almost every record for the NYU Violets. Hairston averaged 21 points per game, set an all-time rebounding record at NYU, and scored 1,350 total points in his college career. He was inducted into the NYU Hall of Fame in 1981.

Professional career Drafted by the Cincinnati Royals (now the Sacramento Kings), Hairston played professionally for the Cincinnati Royals and Detroit Pistons before joining the Los Angeles Lakers in 1969. In 1971–72, Hairston grabbed 1,045 rebounds; his teammate Wilt Chamberlain pulled down 1,572. Hairston led the Lakers in both rebounds and field goal percentage during the 1973–74 and 1974–75 seasons. He set an NBA record for most defensive rebounds in a quarter with 13 against the Philadelphia 76ers on November 15, 1974. During his 11 seasons in the NBA, Hairston averaged 14.8 points and 10.3 rebounds per game.

Hairston died in Los Angeles in 2001 from respiratory complications brought on by prostate cancer. He was 58 years of age and was survived by a daughter, Amber, and three sisters.

Career statistics

NBA Source

Regular season Year Team GP MPG FG% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG Cincinnati 61 12.1 .373 .667 4.8 .4 6.1 Cincinnati 72 24.9 .489 .685 7.6 .6 14.1 Cincinnati 79 30.9 .479 .660 8.0 .8 14.9 Cincinnati 48 33.9 .503 .686 7.4 1.2 17.4 Detroit 26 34.3 .459 .717 10.1 1.4 18.8 Detroit 81 35.7 .469 .731 11.8 1.3 18.1 Detroit 15 18.8 .553 .714 5.9 .7 10.6 L.A. Lakers 55 39.0 .490 .803 12.5 2.0 20.6 L.A. Lakers 80 36.5 .466 .782 10.0 2.1 18.6 † L.A. Lakers 80 34.4 .461 .779 13.1 2.4 13.1 L.A. Lakers 28 33.5 .482 .787 13.2 2.4 16.3 L.A. Lakers 77 34.2 .507 .771 13.5 2.7 .8 .2 14.5 L.A. Lakers 74 30.9 .506 .801 12.8 2.3 .7 .1 10.3Career 776 31.4 .478 .741 10.3 1.6 .8 .2 14.8

Playoffs Year Team GP MPG FG% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG 1965 Cincinnati 3 13.0 .278 .667 6.7 1.0 4.0 1966 Cincinnati 5 30.0 .403 .711 7.4 .0 15.4 1967 Cincinnati 4 35.0 .519 .533 6.8 1.5 16.0 1968 Detroit 6 24.8 .408 .600 6.2 1.2 11.7 1970 L.A. Lakers 16 18.5 .435 .686 4.8 1.3 7.4 1971 L.A. Lakers 12 39.3 .506 .760 9.1 2.8 17.0 1972† L.A. Lakers 15 38.5 .440 .794 13.1 2.1 13.5 1973 L.A. Lakers 3 8.7 .111 .750 1.3 .3 2.7 1974 L.A. Lakers 5 34.4 .417 .889 10.4 3.8 1.0 .2 9.2Career 69 29.3 .445 .733 8.1 1.8 1.0 .2 11.6

Filmography Year Title Role Notes1972 Columbo : The most crucial game Himself 1977 Emergency! : Firehouse Quintet Referee 1979 The Concorde ... Airport '79 American Olympic Team Coach 1994 The Paper James Hairston (final film role)