It was great sadness that we learned that Basketball Hall of Famer Hal Greer passed away. He was 81 years old.
From Huntington, West Virginia, Greer made history as the first African American to play for Marshall, which was also made him the first black collegiate basketball player in the state of West Virginia. Greer would dominate for the Thundering Herd and would named First Team All-MAC in 1958. He would then be drafted 13th overall by the Syracuse Nationals that year.
As a professional Hal Greer would enjoy steady improvement and in 1961 he would be named to his first of 10 straight All Star Games. Prior to the 1963-64 season the Nationals would relocate to Philadelphia and become the 76ers and Greer was the team’s star and would be joined two years later by Wilt Chamberlain. In his first seven seasons in Philadelphia Greer would average more than 20 Points per Game and from 1963 to 1969 he was named to the All-NBA Second Team. He would continue to play for Philadelphia until 1973.
Greer is the all-time leader in Philadelphia 76ers franchise history in Games Played, 2 Point Field Goals and Points Scored. In 1976 Greer would become the first former Sixer to have his number retired by the team. He was also named to the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame in 1982 and to the College Basketball Hall of Fame in 2006.
We here at Notinhalloffame.com would like to offer our condolences to the friends and family of Hal Greer at this time.
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