1955 Boston Celtics Don Barksdale 1st Black NBA All-Star Original TYPE I Photo PSA/DNA

Don Barksdale (D 1993) was an American professional basketball player. He was a pioneer as an African-American basketball player, becoming the first to be named NCAA All-American, the first to play on a United States men's Olympic basketball team, and the first to play in an National Basketball Association All-Star Game.

After college, he played for the Oakland AAU team until the NBA began to integrate. While playing professional basketball, he started a career in radio broadcasting. In 1948, he became the first black radio disc jockey in the San Francisco Bay area. He also worked in television and owned a beer distributorship. He became the first African-American beer distributor and the first African-American television host in the Bay area with a show called Sepia Review on KRON-TV.

In 1951, he signed a lucrative contract with the Baltimore Bullets and entered the NBA as a 28-year-old rookie. He would be one of the first African-Americans to play in the NBA after Nathaniel Clifton, Chuck Cooper, Earl Lloyd and Hank DeZonie had joined the league in 1950. While with the Bullets, he became the first African-American to appear in an NBA All-Star Game, in 1953. Shortly afterward, he was traded to the Boston Celtics. Two years later, his playing career was cut short by ankle injuries.

Offered is an original 7” x 9” TYPE I photograph picturing Don Barksdale being fouled by the the New York Knicks’ – Dick McGuire.

Original paper caption attached on the back reads:

“March 10, 1955 -

Madison Square Garden, New York City

Don Barksdale (#17) of the Boston Celtics
and Bob Cousy (behind Barksdale); Dick McGuire
(#15) and Ray Felix (far right) of the NY Knicks.
Barksdale was fouled by McGuire.”

Original photographs picturing Don Barksdale are highly sought after!

Encapsulated Authentic as a TYPE 1 photo by PSA/DNA