Hal Greer
Hal Greer | |
|---|---|
| Born | Harold Everett Greer 26 June 1936 Huntington, West Virginia, U.S. |
| Died | 14 April 2018 (aged 81) Phoenix, Arizona, U.S. |
| Occupation(s) | Basketball player, coach |
| Years active | 1958–1973 (player), 1974 (coach), 1980 (coach and GM) |
| Known for | NBA player for Syracuse Nationals / Philadelphia 76ers, 10-time NBA All-Star, NBA champion (1967), NBA All-Star Game MVP (1968) |
Harold Everett Greer (June 26, 1936 – April 14, 2018) was a distinguished American basketball player and coach. He spent his entire NBA career from 1958 to 1973 with the Syracuse Nationals, who later became the Philadelphia 76ers. Playing as a guard, Greer earned 10 NBA All-Star selections and was named to the All-NBA Second Team seven times. Honored among the NBA’s 50 Greatest Players and included in the NBA 75th Anniversary Team, his jersey number was retired by the 76ers. Greer is also enshrined in the Basketball Hall of Fame.
Early life and education
Originating from Huntington, West Virginia, Greer attended Douglass Junior and Senior High School, an all-black institution where he played as a guard. He broke racial barriers by becoming the first African American athlete at a public university in West Virginia when he enrolled at Marshall University.
Although his enrollment caused some discomfort, it did not provoke significant public controversy. At his initial basketball practice in 1954, Coach Cam Henderson predicted that Greer would emerge as one of Marshall’s finest players. Greer set a school record by scoring 1,377 points with a .545 field goal percentage. In 1956, he helped lead Marshall to a Mid-American Conference championship and its inaugural NCAA tournament appearance.
Greer received All-MAC recognition in both 1957 and 1958 and was named an All-American in 1958. Over his collegiate career, he averaged 19.4 points and 10.8 rebounds per game, with his senior year scoring average reaching 23.6 points per contest. Additionally, he played first base for Marshall’s baseball team during his sophomore year.
Syracuse Nationals / Philadelphia 76ers (1958–1973)
Selected as the 13th overall pick in the 1958 NBA draft by the Syracuse Nationals, Greer played five seasons in Syracuse before the franchise moved to Philadelphia in 1963 and became the Philadelphia 76ers. By 1961, he had increased his scoring average to 22.8 points per game and earned his first NBA All-Star nod.
During the 1966–67 season, Greer teamed up with Wilt Chamberlain on the championship-winning squad, leading all players in the playoffs with an average of 27.7 points across 15 games. Famous for his distinctive jump shot free throw style, he is widely regarded as the third-best guard of the 1960s era, following Oscar Robertson and fellow West Virginian Jerry West.
Greer appeared in ten NBA All-Star Games throughout his career and was named MVP of the 1968 NBA All-Star Game after achieving a flawless 8-for-8 shooting performance and setting a record by scoring 19 points in a single quarter. He earned seven selections to the All-NBA Second Team and concluded his playing days with a total of 21,586 points scored. When he retired after the 1972–73 season, he held the record for most games played and ranked within the top ten for total points and field goals made. To this day, he remains Philadelphia’s franchise leader in points scored, field goals made and attempted, games played, and minutes logged.
Post-playing career
Following his retirement in 1973 and after failing to secure another NBA contract despite wanting to continue playing, Greer devoted time to golf. Later that year, he entered negotiations to become head coach of the Cherry Hill Rookies competing in the Eastern Basketball Association. Taking over as head coach in January 1974 when the team had a poor start at 1–8, he guided them to finish with a record of 4–21 before being replaced prior to the next season.
In 1980, Greer joined forces with investors to purchase the Philadelphia Arena with plans to rejuvenate West Philadelphia. The venue was renamed after Martin Luther King Jr., and they relocated Lancaster’s Continental Basketball League franchise there as the Philadelphia Kings, with Greer serving as both coach and general manager. Additionally, he coached basketball at Germantown Academy located in Fort Washington, Pennsylvania.
Legacy
In honor of Greer's accomplishments, his hometown declared "Hal Greer Day" in 1966 and later, in 1978, renamed 16th Street to "Hal Greer Boulevard," a significant thoroughfare linking the university campus with downtown and Interstate 64.
The Philadelphia 76ers retired Greer's No. 15 jersey in 1976, making him the first player in the franchise to be bestowed with this distinction. Likewise, Marshall University's men's basketball team retired his No. 16 jersey, and he was inducted into their Athletics Hall of Fame in 1985 for his contributions to both basketball and baseball.
Greer was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 1982, joining esteemed individuals such as Willis Reed and coach Clarence Gaines. He stands among the earliest African-American athletes from West Virginia to be honored by a major sports hall of fame. In 1996, he earned recognition as one of the 50 Greatest Players in NBA History. The 76ers further commemorated him with a statue unveiled at their training center in 2017.
In 2021, Marshall University unveiled a bronze statue of Greer near the Cam Henderson Center, accompanied by a ceremony attended by his family. Shortly thereafter, he was named to the NBA 75th Anniversary Team. To celebrate this achievement, The Athletic ranked him as the 70th greatest player in NBA history.
Accolades
- Led the 76ers to an NBA Championship by averaging 22 points per game (1967)
- Selected for 10 straight NBA All-Star Games (1961–70)
- Awarded NBA All-Star Game MVP (1968)
- Established an All-Star Game record with 19 points scored in a single quarter (1968)
- Earned All-NBA Second Team honors seven times (1963–69)
- Amassed 21,586 career points (ranking 40th all-time), including a career-high 50 points against the Boston Celtics
- Scored a total of 1,876 points across 92 playoff games and added 120 points in 10 All-Star appearances
- Jersey numbers retired by both Marshall University (#16) and Philadelphia 76ers (#15)
Personal life
Greer and his wife, Mayme, were parents to one son and two daughters. He passed away on April 14, 2018, in Phoenix, Arizona following a brief illness. The Philadelphia 76ers announced his passing on April 16 and paid tribute to him before Game 2 of the 2018 NBA Playoffs versus the Miami Heat. Throughout the remainder of the playoffs, the team wore black armbands featuring a small patch with his number 15.
Regular season
| Year | Team | GP | MPG | FG% | FT% | RPG | APG | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1958–59 | Syracuse | 68 | 23.9 | .454 | .778 | 2.9 | 1.5 | 11.1 |
| 1959–60 | Syracuse | 70 | 28.3 | .476 | .783 | 4.3 | 2.7 | 13.2 |
| 1960–61 | Syracuse | 79 | 35.0 | .451 | .774 | 5.8 | 3.8 | 19.6 |
| 1961–62 | Syracuse | 71 | 38.1 | .447 | .819 | 7.4 | 4.4 | 22.8 |
| 1962–63 | Syracuse | 80 | 32.9 | .464 | .834 | 5.7 | 3.4 | 19.5 |
| 1963–64 | Philadelphia | 80 | 39.5 | .444 | .829 | 6.1 | 4.7 | 23.3 |
| 1964–65 | Philadelphia | 70 | 37.1 | .433 | .811 | 5.1 | 4.5 | 20.2 |
| 1965–66 | Philadelphia | 80 | '41.6' | ' .445' | ' .804' | '5.9' | '4.8' | '22.7' |
| 'Philadelphia' | '80' | '38.6' | ' .459' | ' .788' | '5.3' | '3.8' | '22.1' | |
| '1967–68' | 'Philadelphia' | '82' | '39.8' | " .478" | " .769" | '5.4' | '4.5' | "24.1" |
| '1968–69' | 'Philadelphia' | '82' | '40.4' | " .459" | " .796" | '5.3' | '5.0' | "23.1" |
| '1969–70' | 'Philadelphia' | '80' | '37.8' | " .455" | " .815" | '4.7' | '5.1' | "22.0" |
| '1970–71' | 'Philadelphia' | '81' | '37.8' | " .431" | " .805" | '4.5' | '4.6' | "18.6" |
| '1971–72' | 'Philadelphia' | '81' | '29.8' | " .449" | " .774" | '3.3' | '3.9' | "11.8" |
| '1972–73' | 'Philadelphia' | '38' | '22.3' | " .392" | " .821" | '2.8' | '2.9' | "5.6" |
| Career | 1122 | 35.5 | .452 | .801 | 5.0 | 4.0 | 19.2 | |
| All-Star | 10 | 20.7 | .461 | .703 | 4.5 | 2.8 | 12.0 | |
Playoffs
0.0| Year | Team | GP | MPG | FG% | FT% | RPG | APG | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1959 | Syracuse | 9 | 30.8 | .419 | .813 | 5.2 | 2.2 | 11.6 |
| 1960 | Syracuse | 3 | 28.0 | .512 | .750 | 4.7 | 3.3 | 15.7 |
| 1961 | Syracuse | 8 | 29.0 | .387 | .825 | 4.1 | 2.4 | 14.4 |
| 1962 | Syracuse | 1 | 5.0 | |||||
| 0.0 | 0.0 | |||||||
| 1963 | Syracuse | 5 | 42.8 | .506 | .829 | 5.4 | 4.2 | 23.4 |
| 1964 | Philadelphia | 5 | 42.2 | .389 | .846 | 5.6 | '\'6.0\ | 21.4 |
| 1965 | Philadelphia | 11 | '45.9' | ' .455' | ' .793' | '7.4' | '5.0' | '24.6' |
| '66' | '66' | '66' | '66' | '66' | '66' | '66' | ||
| '67' | '67' | '67' | '67' | '67' | '67' | '67' | ||
| '68' | '68' | '68' | '68' | '68' | '68' | '68' | ||
| '69' | '69' | '69' | '69' | '69' | '69' | '69' | ||
| Career | 92 | 39.6 | .425 | .812 | 5.5 | 4.3 | 20.4 | |