American basketball player (1938–2000)
Elbert J. "Al" Butler (July 9, 1938 – July 12, 2000) was an American basketball player who played four seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA).
Born in Birmingham, Alabama ,[ 1] he played basketball for East High School in Rochester, New York , before playing collegiately for Niagara University .[ 2] He was named to the 1961 National Invitation Tournament All-Star team by the Associated Press , despite Niagara losing its only game, 68–71 against Providence .[ 3] [ 4]
He was selected by the Boston Celtics in the second round (17th pick overall) of the 1961 NBA draft .[ 5] He played for the Celtics (1961), New York Knicks (1962–64) and Baltimore Bullets (1964–65) in the NBA for a total of 234 games.[ 1] He started for the Knicks for Wilt Chamberlain's 100-point game , scoring 8 points.[ 6]
Butler was the last player to ever wear the number 22 for the Celtics, as they would retire it in honor of Ed Macauley in 1963.[ 7] [ 8]
Butler died of cancer on July 12, 2000.[ 6] After his death, a scholarship was established in his name at Monroe Community College , where he had worked as a guidance counselor.[ 2]
Career statistics
NBA
Source[ 1]
Regular season
References
^ a b c "Al Butler NBA Stats" . Basketball Reference . Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved February 3, 2024 .
^ a b "Butler honored" . Business & Sports. Democrat and Chronicle . October 19, 2000. p. D1. Retrieved June 4, 2022 – via Newspapers.com .
^ Fullerton, Hugh Jr. (March 27, 1961). "NIT's 'Most Outstanding' – Ernst Selected for Award" . The Shreveport Times . Associated Press . p. 13. Retrieved June 4, 2022 – via Newspapers.com . Joining with them on the team were ... Al Butler of Niagara, who gave a brilliant individual performance though his team lost its only tournament game.
^ "Tournament Results (1960's)" . NIT.org . Archived from the original on May 2, 2006. Retrieved June 4, 2022 .
^ "Draft History | Stats" . NBA.com . Retrieved June 4, 2022 .
^ a b "Deaths Elsewhere – Al Butler" . Daily Chronicle . DeKalb, Illinois. Associated Press . July 15, 2000. p. A4. Retrieved June 4, 2022 – via Newspapers.com .
^ "Boston Celtics Uniform Numbers" . Basketball-Reference.com . Sports Reference . Retrieved June 4, 2022 .
^ "Retired Numbers | Boston Celtics" . NBA.com . Retrieved June 4, 2022 .
External links