Earl Francis Lloyd was born April 3, 1928.  He was the first African American to play in the Nation Basketball Association in the 1950 - 1951 NBA season.  He was a defensive minded forward who played college ball at West Virginia State College.  Lloyd led West Virginia State to two CIAA Conference and Tournament Championships in 1948 and 1949. He was named All-Conference three times and was All-American twice.  He was selected in the 9th round of the 1950 NBA Draft by the Washington Capitols.  On October 31, 1950, Lloyd became the first African-American to play in an NBA game against the Rochester Royals. Lloyd played in only seven games for the Washington Capitols before the team folded on January 9, 1951. He then went into the U.S. Army at Fort Still, Oklahoma, before the Syracuse Nationals picked him up on waivers. He spent six seasons with Syracuse and two with the Detroit Pistons before retiring in 1960. Lloyd retired ranked 43rd in career scoring with 4,682 points. His best year was 1955, when he averaged 10.2 points and 7.7 rebounds for Syracuse, which beat the Fort Wayne Pistons 4-3 for the NBA title.  In 2003, Lloyd was inducted to the Basketball Hall of Fame as a contributor.  On December 1, 2007, the newly-constructed basketball court at T.C Williams High School in Lloyd's home town of Alexandria, Virginia, was named in his honor.