Al Butler
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, he played basketball for East High School in Rochester, New York, before playing collegiately for Niagara University. 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. He was selected by the Boston Celtics in the second round (17th pick overall) of the 1961 NBA draft. 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. He started for the Knicks for Wilt Chamberlain's 100-point game, scoring 8 points. 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. Butler played in the Eastern Professional Basketball League (EPBL) for the Trenton Colonials, Harrisburg Patriots and Wilkes-Barre Barons from 1964 to 1970. He won an EPBL championship with the Barons in 1969. Butler was selected to the All-EPBL Second Team in 1966. Butler died of cancer on July 12, 2000. After his death, a scholarship was established in his name at Monroe Community College, where he had worked as a guidance counselor.
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Born | July 9, 1938 Birmingham, Alabama, U.S. |
| Died | July 12, 2000 (aged 62) |
| Listed height | 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) |
| Listed weight | 175 lb (79 kg) |
| Career information | |
| High school | East (Rochester, New York) |
| College | Niagara (1958–1961) |
| NBA draft | 1961: 2nd round, 17th overall pick |
| Drafted by | Boston Celtics |
| Playing career | 1961–1970 |
| Position | Point guard |
| Number | 22, 3, 20 |
| Career history | |
| 1961 | Boston Celtics |
| 1961–1964 | New York Knicks |
| 1964–1965 | Baltimore Bullets |
| 1965–1966 | Trenton Colonials |
| 1966–1967 | Harrisburg Patriots |
| 1967–1970 | Wilkes-Barre Barons |
| Career highlights | |
| |
| Career NBA statistics | |
| Points | 2,282 (9.8 ppg) |
| Rebounds | 696 (3.0 rpg) |
| Assists | 530 (2.3 apg) |
| Stats at NBA.com | |
| Stats at Basketball Reference | |
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 played in the Eastern Professional Basketball League (EPBL) for the Trenton Colonials, Harrisburg Patriots and Wilkes-Barre Barons from 1964 to 1970.[9] He won an EPBL championship with the Barons in 1969.[10] Butler was selected to the All-EPBL Second Team in 1966.[9]
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
[edit]| GP | Games played | GS | Games started | MPG | Minutes per game |
| FG% | Field goal percentage | 3P% | 3-point field goal percentage | FT% | Free throw percentage |
| RPG | Rebounds per game | APG | Assists per game | SPG | Steals per game |
| BPG | Blocks per game | PPG | Points per game | Bold | Career high |
NBA
[edit]Source[1]
Regular season
[edit]| Year | Team | GP | MPG | FG% | FT% | RPG | APG | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1961–62 | Boston | 5 | 9.4 | .448 | .833 | 2.6 | .8 | 6.2 |
| 1961–62 | New York | 54 | 36.5 | .463 | .705 | 6.0 | 3.7 | 14.7 |
| 1962–63 | New York | 74 | 20.1 | .439 | .770 | 2.3 | 2.1 | 10.0 |
| 1963–64 | New York | 76 | 18.1 | .422 | .738 | 2.2 | 2.1 | 8.7 |
| 1964–65 | Baltimore | 25 | 6.9 | .329 | .733 | .8 | .5 | 2.4 |
| Career | 234 | 21.6 | .439 | .739 | 3.0 | 2.3 | 9.8 | |
References
[edit]- ^ 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.
- ^ a b "Al Butler minor league basketball statistics". Stats Crew. Retrieved February 16, 2025.
- ^ "1968-69 Wilkes-Barre Barons Statistics". Stats Crew. Retrieved March 5, 2025.
External links
[edit]- Career statistics from NBA.com · Basketball Reference
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