Nathaniel "Sweetwater" Clifton (born Clifton Nathaniel; October 13, 1922 – August 31, 1990) was an American 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 (appro ...

player who was one of the first

African American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...

s to play in the

National Basketball Association The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada). The NBA is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Ca ...

(NBA). He was also a professional

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball sport played between two team sport, teams of nine players each, taking turns batting (baseball), batting and Fielding (baseball), fielding. The game occurs over the course of several Pitch ...

player.

Biography

Early life

Born in England, Arkansas, as Clifton Nathaniel, he was given the "Sweetwater" nickname as a boy because of his love of

soft drink A soft drink (see #Terminology, § Terminology for other names) is a class of non-alcoholic drink, usually (but not necessarily) Carbonated water, carbonated, and typically including added Sweetness, sweetener. Flavors used to be Natural flav ...

s and his easy disposition. His family moved to

Chicago, Illinois Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

, when he was eight. Clifton became an outstanding basketball and baseball player at DuSable High School. He reversed his two names when sportswriters complained that his last name, Nathaniel, was too long to fit in their headlines. He graduated in 1942. Clifton attended

Xavier University of Louisiana Xavier University of Louisiana (XULA) is a Private university, private Historically black colleges and universities, historically black Roman Catholic, Catholic university in New Orleans, Louisiana. It is the only Catholic Historically black c ...

New Orleans New Orleans (commonly known as NOLA or The Big Easy among other nicknames) is a Consolidated city-county, consolidated city-parish located along the Mississippi River in the U.S. state of Louisiana. With a population of 383,997 at the 2020 ...

and then served with the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary Land warfare, land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of th ...

for three years, fighting in

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during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

Early career

After the war, Clifton joined the

New York Rens The New York Renaissance, also known as the Renaissance Big R Five and as the Rens, were the first black-owned, all-black, fully-professional basketball team in history, established in October 1923, by Robert "Bob" Douglas. They were named after t ...

, an all-black professional basketball team that toured throughout the United States. Noted for his large hands, which required a size 14 glove, he was invited to join the

Harlem Globetrotters The Harlem Globetrotters is an American Exhibition game, exhibition basketball team. They combine athleticism, theater, entertainment, and comedy in their style of play. Over the years, they have played more than 26,000 exhibition games in 124 ...

, for whom he played from the summer of 1948 to the spring of 1950. Still a talented baseball

first baseman A first baseman, abbreviated 1B, is the player on a baseball or softball team who fields the area nearest first base, the first of four bases a baserunner must touch in succession to score a run. The first baseman is responsible for the majori ...

, during the basketball off-season in 1949 Clifton played for the

Chicago American Giants The Chicago American Giants were a Chicago-based Negro league baseball team. From 1910 until the mid-1930s, the American Giants were the most dominant team in black baseball. Owned and managed from 1911 to 1926 by player-manager Andrew "Rube" F ...

Negro league baseball The Negro leagues were United States professional baseball leagues comprising teams of African Americans. The term may be used broadly to include professional black teams outside the leagues and it may be used narrowly for the seven relativel ...

. By 1950, his performance with the Globetrotters, in particular his exceptional ball-handling ability, led to his signing a contract with an NBA team.

NBA career

On May 24, 1950, Clifton became the second African-American player to sign an NBA contract. He played his first game for the

New York Knicks The New York Knickerbockers, shortened and more commonly referred to as the New York Knicks, are an American professional basketball team based in the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of Manhattan. The Knicks compete in the Na ...

on November 4, four days after the debut of Washington Capitols player Earl Lloyd, the first black player to appear in an NBA game. Already 27 years old when he made his debut, Clifton in his first season helped lead the team to its first-ever appearance in the NBA finals, losing in game seven. During his eight seasons in the NBA, Clifton averaged 10 points and 9 rebounds per game. He was named to the 1957 NBA All-Star team, scoring 8 points in 23 minutes in the game. At age 34, he became the oldest player in NBA history to be named a first time All-Star. In 1957, Clifton was part of a multi-player trade between the Knicks and the Fort Wayne Pistons, but after one season in

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he retired from basketball. In the summer of 1958, he joined the Detroit Stars baseball team in the Negro leagues, along with his former Harlem Globetrotters teammate Reece "Goose" Tatum. In 1961, he was coaxed out of retirement by the Chicago Majors of the fledgling American Basketball League (ABL). After the league folded at the end of 1962, the 40-year-old Clifton retired permanently. Clifton died at age 67 on August 31, 1990, in

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

. He was interred in the Restvale Cemetery in the Chicago suburb of Alsip.

Legacy

Clifton's contributions to his community during his sporting career and after his playing days, have been recognized by the Associated Black Charities of

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

. They have honored him by naming one of the Black History Maker Awards the Nathaniel 'Sweetwater' Clifton Award. In 2005, the New York Knicks basketball team renamed their monthly City Spirit Award in his honor. The Sweetwater Clifton City Spirit Award is given to a member of the community who goes above and beyond his or her normal duties to make the lives of others in the

tri-state area Tri-state area is an informal term in the United States which can refer to any of multiple areas that lie across three states. When referring to populated areas, the term implies a shared economy or culture among the area's residents, typically c ...

better. Clifton, who played softball for the Brown Bombers and Capitol Records team of the Daddy-O Daylie League, was also inducted into Chicago 16-inch softball Hall of Fame. On February 14, 2014, Clifton was announced as a 2014 inductee by the

Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame The Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame is an American history museum and hall of fame, located at 1000 Hall of Fame Avenue in Springfield, Massachusetts. It serves as basketball's most complete library, in addition to promoting and pre ...

. He formally entered the Hall as a contributor on August 8. '' Sweetwater'', a film on Clifton's life, had been in planning with Sunset Pictures since 2007 and was released on April 14, 2023.

NBA career statistics

Regular season

Playoffs

Notes

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Clifton, Nathaniel 1922 births 1990 deaths 20th-century African-American sportsmen 20th-century American sportsmen American men's basketball players Baseball players from Arkansas Basketball players from Arkansas Basketball players from Chicago Centers (basketball) Chicago American Giants players Chicago Majors players Detroit Pistons players Harlem Globetrotters players Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame inductees NBA All-Stars New York Knicks players Power forwards Undrafted NBA players United States Army personnel of World War II Xavier Gold Rush basketball players