Sports
Earl Lloyd
1928–2015 · basketball player, head coach, scout
The first African American to play in the NBA, Lloyd closed his playing career with the Pistons and in 1971 became the league's first non-playing Black head coach, leading Detroit.
- Born
Alexandria, Virginia- Died
Crossville, Tennessee
aged 86- Birth name
- Earl Francis Lloyd
- Detroit years
- 1958–1960, 1971–1976
- Field
- Sports
01 / The Detroit story
The Detroit story
Lloyd broke the NBA's color line in 1950 and won a championship with Syracuse in 1955 before Detroit picked him up for the final two seasons of his career, 1958 to 1960. He stayed with the organization afterward as a scout, and in 1971 the Pistons hired him as head coach, making him the first African American to become an NBA head coach without also playing for the team, and the league's fourth Black head coach overall. He led Detroit for a season and a half before being replaced, then continued scouting for the Pistons for several more years. After basketball, Lloyd worked as a job-placement administrator for Detroit's public schools and later as community relations director for a Detroit manufacturing company. He was inducted into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame in 2003 and the Michigan Sports Hall of Fame in 2012.
Highlights
- Broke the NBA color line in 1950; closed his playing career with the Pistons, 1958–1960
- Hired as Pistons head coach in 1971, the first Black non-playing head coach in NBA history
- Worked as a Pistons scout for several seasons
- Later worked for the Detroit public school system and a Detroit manufacturing company
- Inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2003
02 / Their Detroit places
Their Detroit places 2
Where they lived, worked, performed and liked to hang out. Closed and demolished places stay here too, because they are part of the city's history.
Played here · 1958–1960
Olympia Stadium
Demolished · 1927–1979
The Pistons' Detroit home in Lloyd's playing years; the arena was demolished in 1987.
Worked here · 1971–1972
Cobo Arena
Where Lloyd coached the Pistons for a season and a half; the building still stands as a convention center, Huntington Place.