Nat Sweetwater Clifton NY Knicks Circa 1950-53 TYPE I Original Photo Snapshot

Nat Sweetwater Clifton (D. 1990) joined the NBA in 1950 as one of the league's first African American players. The six-foot eight, 225 pound forward played seven years with the New York Knicks and one with the Detroit Pistons, averaging a solid 10 points and 8.2 rebounds a game for his career. Clifton also played for the New York Rens, Harlem Globetrotters, Chicago Majors of the American Basketball League, and Chicago American Giants of Negro League Baseball. He was elected to the Naismith Basketball HOF in 2014, twenty-four years after his death.

Offered is a 5” x 3” deckle edged original TYPE I snapshot photo on Kodak Velox Paper (period photograph paper) of Nat Sweetwater Clifton standing in his warmups during a pre-game with other players in the background.  You can also see the scorekeeper/radio table to the left.  It was most likely taken during the pre-game shootaround, as there’s no smoke in the air.

*NOTE* we’ve enhanced the third picture so you can view the Kodak markings.