Wilbur Kirkland also known as Willie Kirkland, (born 1947) is an American former professional

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...

player. After a college career at

Cheyney University of Pennsylvania Cheyney University of Pennsylvania is a public historically black university in Cheyney, Pennsylvania. Founded in 1837, it is the oldest university out of all historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs) in the United States. It is a mem ...

, Kirkland played in two games for the

Pittsburgh Pipers Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Western Pennsylvania, the second-most populous city in Pennsylv ...

in the

American Basketball Association The American Basketball Association (ABA) was a major men's professional basketball league from 1967 to 1976. The ABA ceased to exist with the ABA–NBA merger, American Basketball Association–National Basketball Association merger in 1976, ...

. He was then drafted into the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cla ...

and, after serving for 18 months in the armed forces, he returned to basketball. Kirkland spent the next eight years playing for teams in Greece, Italy, and Switzerland, retiring from professional basketball in 1978. Wilbur is also the older brother of

Thaddeus Kirkland Thaddeus Kirkland (born January 12, 1955) is an American politician who is the Mayor of Chester, Pennsylvania since 2016. A Democrat, he served as a member of the 159th district from 1993 to 2016. Early life and education Born in Chester, Kirk ...

, a Democratic member of the

Pennsylvania House of Representatives The Pennsylvania House of Representatives is the lower house of the bicameral Pennsylvania General Assembly, the legislature of the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. There are 203 members, elected for two-year terms from single member districts. It ...

References

1947 births Living people American expatriate basketball people in Greece American expatriate basketball people in Italy American expatriate basketball people in Switzerland American men's basketball players Chester High School alumni Cheyney Wolves men's basketball players Forwards (basketball) Pittsburgh Pipers draft picks Pittsburgh Pipers players Sportspeople from Chester, Pennsylvania Basketball players from Delaware County, Pennsylvania {{1940s-US-basketball-bio-stub