The NBA officially integrated in 1950 after a tight vote by the owners, but there was a light skinned player who passed as white during the NBA's first season, 1949-50. His name was Leroy Chollet, and for two years he played for the Syracuse Nationals, the team that moved to Philly and became the Sixers in 1963.

It's not like no one knew or knows that he was black. His family was forced to move from Louisiana to New York in the 40s when he was in college due to locals figuring out they were black, and today it's easy to find links and info that all recognize that he was black – EXAMPLE1, EXAMPLE2, EXAMPLE3.

Chollet played in the NBA one year before Chuck Cooper, Earl Lloyd, and Sweetwater Clifton–all of whom the league regularly honor–but he's never been acknowledged by the NBA or by the Sixers. I've written to the franchise asking about doing so, and although their contact page specifically says "We will get back to you", I haven't heard back from them.

I just wanted to spread some awareness about Leroy Chollet, even if the NBA won't.

7 comments

  1. I wonder if the Sixers are aware. This is the first I’m hearing of him.

    Now, the NBA tries to create a simple narrative about integration, so it wouldn’t be the first time they don’t acknowledge complexities. This would add to it.

  2. Cool piece of history… wild reading how fucked up it was back then for Leroy to have to hide his black heritage… I don’t know much about American history … but damn that wasn’t long ago … RIP legend .. died in 98’ so got to see decades of change and legends who made the NBA to what it is today … the 80’s/90’s were special… also FTC …

  4. I was not aware. It should be a joint recognition with the league. I don’t know enough about him to say if he was still “passing” while he was playing. Or even if he pushed for his own recognition afterwards. The bright side is that we all know now. Unfortunately it’s another example of how deep the evil of racism goes.

  5. He was 1/8th black. The article says that his great-grandmother was born to a white father and a black mother. Most likely due to all the raping that was happing to black slave women at the time. My very existence is the result of this – however this is all beside the point.

    Anyway, I think the first article is actually mistaken and it is his GRANDmother that was “mixed” meaning that his Great Grandmother was black. And the article goes on to explain that one of her three sons, Alfred, is Leroy’s father. Thus making him 1/8 black.

    Now, I think the reason the NBA and the sixers don’t recognize this is probably because Leroy actually looked and probably identified as white – and most likely did so because, and let’s be frank, who wanted to live as a black man at that time? (And I say that with a sad, dark bit of sarcasm)

    Leroy most likely did not embrace the fact that he was 1/8th black, or, and I would even bet, he probably didn’t even know.

    And so when that college discovered all this, it is absurd because we all know being 1/8 black doesn’t count and honestly who cares? (But I say that as a black man living in 2025) But they chose to make a big deal out of it – which is another example of just how stupid and racist this country was back then.

    But a white person isn’t “black” because they have one black great grandmother. And to claim that, even by today’s standards, is kind of cringy. It better to just state, as the article does that the person has some black heritage, but they aren’t actually black.

    Just like I, as a clear black man rocking an afro, can not claim that I am white because one of my great-great grandfathers was a slave owner of Irish descent.

    But anyway it is probably for this reason that the NBA doesn’t recognize this.

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