Woody Sauldsberry

Woodrow Sauldsberry Jr. (July 11, 1934 – September 3, 2007) was an American basketball player. He was the NBA's Rookie of the Year in 1958 and in 1966 he won the NBA championship as a member of the Boston Celtics.

Early life Sauldsberry was born on July 11, 1934, in Winnsboro, Louisiana, and was raised in Los Angeles. He graduated from Compton Union High School (later Compton High School) in 1953.

Sauldsberry was a 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) center on Compton's basketball team. He was All-Conference two years and All-City as a senior.

College Sauldsberry received a basketball scholarship to attend Texas Southern University. Sauldsberry left college after two years to join the Harlem Globetrotters.

Professional career

Harlem Globetrotters 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.

NBA and Eastern League

Philadelphia Warriors In 1957, the now 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) and 220 pound (99.8 kg) Sauldsberry was drafted by the Philadelphia Warriors in the eighth round with the 60th overall pick. After his first season, he was named the league's Rookie of the Year — the second African American ever to win the award and becoming the lowest overall draft pick ever to win the award, a record he still holds. On January 2, 1959, he scored a career high 41 points against the Syracuse Nationals. The same month, he was selected to play in the NBA All-Star Game. His last season with the Warriors (1959–60) coincided with Wilt Chamberlain's rookie season on the team. In three years with the Warriors, he averaged 10.7 points and 7.8 rebounds in nearly 28 minutes per game. Sauldsberry was backup to future Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame forward Bob Pettit, averaging 7.5 points and 7.1 rebounds in 21.6 minutes per game. The Hawks reached the NBA 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.

On October 17, 1961, while still with the Hawks, Sauldsberry was among seven players—the others being Bill Russell, Al Butler, Sam Jones, K. C. Jones, Tom Sanders, and Cleo 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 told Coach Red Auerbach they wanted to return to Boston. Sauldsberry and Hill joined the five in refusing to play the game.

In November 1961, Sauldsberry was traded to the Chicago Packers (now the Washington Wizards) along with Joe Graboski, Si Green and Fred LaCour for Barney Cable, Archie Dees and Ralph Davis. He played in 49 games for the Packers, averaging 11.7 points and 9.5 rebounds in 30.1 minutes per game. He began the 1962–63 season with the Packers, averaging 12.9 points and 6.8 rebounds in nearly 31 minutes per game.

In January 1963, Sauldsberry was traded back to the Hawks for Barney Cable. On March 13, he was suspended by the Hawks for a week following a dispute with head coach Harry Gallatin. He did not return to the team and was left of its playoff roster. In June 1963, he was waived by the Hawks.

After two years away from the NBA, Sauldsberry worked out for the Boston Celtics during the 1965 pre-season before playing for the New Haven Elms in the Eastern League. 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 against J. Walter Kennedy and all the NBA teams, except the Celtics, for a conspiracy to keep him out of the league. In December, the NBA approved the contract when the Celtics and Sauldsberry agreed to conditions laid down to them and the suit was officially dropped in January 1966. He played his last NBA game on March 1, 1966, missing the rest of the regular season and playoffs due to a back injury.

Later life Sometime in the late 90s, Sauldsberry was diagnosed with diabetes and had to have his leg amputated.

Death He died September 3, 2007, aged 73 in Baltimore, Maryland. An article by Dan 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."

NBA career statistics

Regular season

Playoffs