Oscar Robertson

Basketball Hall of Fame as player]

Oscar Palmer Robertson (born November 24, 1938 in Charlotte, Tennessee), nicknamed "The Big O" or O-Train, is a former American NBA player with the Cincinnati Royals and the Milwaukee Bucks.^[1] The 6-foot-5, 220-pound ^[2] Robertson played the shooting guard/point guard position, and was a twelve-time All-Star, eleven-time member of the All-NBA Team, and one-time winner of the MVP award in fourteen professional seasons. He is the only player in NBA history to average a triple-double for an entire season.^[3] He was a key player on the team which brought the Bucks their only NBA championship in the 1970-71 NBA season. His playing career, especially during high school and college, was plagued by racism.^[3]

For his outstanding achievements, Robertson was inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame in 1980, and was voted one of the 50 Greatest Players in NBA History in 1996.^[4] The United States Basketball Writers Association renamed their college Player of the Year Award the Oscar Robertson Trophy in his honor in 1998, and he was one of five people chosen to represent the inaugural National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame class in 2006.^[5]

Robertson was also an integral part of the Oscar Robertson suit^[6] of 1970. The landmark NBA antitrust suit, named after the then-president of the NBA Players' Association, led to an extensive reform of the league's strict free agency and draft rules and, subsequently, to higher salaries for all players.^[3]

Early years

Robertson was born in poverty and grew up in a segregated housing project in Indianapolis. In contrast to many other boys who preferred to play baseball, he was drawn to basketball because it was "a poor kids' game." Because his family could not afford a basketball, he learned how to shoot by tossing tennis balls and rags bound with rubber bands into a peach basket behind his family's home.^[3] Robertson attended Crispus Attucks High School, a segregated all-black school.

High school career

At Crispus Attucks, Robertson's coach was Ray Crowe, whose emphasis on a fundamentally sound game had a positive effect on Robertson's style of play. In 1954, as a sophomore, he starred on an Attucks team that lost in the semi-state finals (state quarterfinals) to eventual state champions Milan, whose story would later be the basis of the 1986 movie classic Hoosiers. But with Robertson leading the team, Crispus Attucks proceeded to dominate its opposition, going 31–1 in 1955 and winning the first state championship for any all-black school in the nation. The following year the team finished with a perfect 31–0 record and won a second straight state title, becoming the first team in Indiana to secure a perfect season along the way to a state-record 45 straight victories. The state championships won by the all-black school were the first-ever for Indianapolis. However, the celebrations were cut short by the city's leaders. The players were driven outside of town to hold their party because, said Robertson in the Indianapolis Star, "They said the blacks are gonna tear up downtown." Robertson was also named Indiana "Mr. Basketball" in 1956, after scoring 24.0 points per game during his senior season.^[3] After his graduation that year, Robertson enrolled at the University of Cincinnati.

College career

Robertson continued to dominate his opponents while at the University of Cincinnati, recording an incredible scoring average of 33.8 points per game, the third highest in college history. In each of his three years, he won the national scoring title, was named an All-American, and was chosen College Player of the Year, while setting 14 NCAA and 19 school records.^[4] Robertson's stellar play led the University of Cincinnati Bearcats to a 79–9 overall record during his three varsity seasons, including two Final Four appearances. However, a championship eluded Robertson, a phenomenon which would become a repeated occurrence in his later career. When Robertson left college he was the all-time leading NCAA scorer until fellow Hall of Fame player Pete Maravich topped him in 1970.^[3]

Despite his success on the courts, Robertson's college career was soured by racism. He was the University of Cincinnati's fifth black player, preceded by Chester Smith (1932), London Gant (1936), Willard Stargel (1942), and Tom Overton (1951). Road trips to segregated cities were especially difficult, with Robertson often sleeping in college dorms instead of hotels. "I'll never forgive them," he told the Indianapolis Star years later.^[3] Decades after his college days, Robertson's stellar NCAA career was rewarded by the United States Basketball Writers Association when, in 1998, they renamed the trophy awarded to the NCAA Division I Player of the Year the Oscar Robertson Trophy. This honor brought the award full circle for Robertson since he had won the first two awards ever presented.^[7]