Harold "Happy" Hairston (May 31, 1942 – May 1, 2001) was an American professional basketball player. A 6'7" (200 cm) 225 lb (102 kg) forward, he was best remembered for playing with the Los Angeles Lakers of the National Basketball Association (NBA), and he also played for the Cincinnati Royals and the Detroit Pistons. Hairston was a member of the NBA champion 1971–72 Lakers; that team won 33 games in a row, a record not duplicated in any other American professional sport.
Hairston was born in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, and attended Atkins High School in Winston-Salem.[1] He graduated from New York University, where he played college basketball for coach Lou Rossini from 1962 to 1964. One of his teammates at NYU was Barry Kramer; the two smashed almost every record for the NYU Violets. Hairston averaged 21 points per game, set an all-time rebounding record at NYU, and scored 1,350 total points in his college career. He was inducted into the NYU Hall of Fame in 1981.[2]
Professional careeredit
Drafted by the Cincinnati Royals (now the Sacramento Kings), Hairston played professionally for the Cincinnati Royals and Detroit Pistons before joining the Los Angeles Lakers in 1969. In 1971–72, Hairston grabbed 1,045 rebounds; his teammate Wilt Chamberlain pulled down 1,572. Hairston led the Lakers in both rebounds and field goal percentage during the 1973–74 and 1974–75 seasons. He set an NBA record for most defensive rebounds in a quarter with 13 against the Philadelphia 76ers on November 15, 1974.[3] During his 11 seasons in the NBA, Hairston averaged 14.8 points and 10.3 rebounds per game.[1]
Personal lifeedit
After retiring from the NBA in 1975, Hairston established the Happy Hairston Youth Foundation in Century City, California. With financial help from celebrities such as Kelsey Grammer, the foundation found bright children from broken homes and paid for their college educations. Hairston also hosted a celebrity golf tournament and had a small role in the 1981 Happy Days episode "Tall Story," where he played the father of an epileptic high school basketball player.[4]
Hairston died in Los Angeles in 2001 from respiratory complications brought on by prostate cancer. He was 58 years of age and was survived by a daughter, Amber, and three sisters.[5]
happy, hairston, confused, with, harold, hairston, baseball, this, article, needs, additional, citations, verification, please, help, improve, this, article, adding, citations, reliable, sources, unsourced, material, challenged, removed, find, sources, news, n. Not to be confused with Harold Hairston baseball This article needs additional citations for verification Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources Unsourced material may be challenged and removed Find sources Happy Hairston news newspapers books scholar JSTOR November 2020 Learn how and when to remove this template message Harold Happy Hairston May 31 1942 May 1 2001 was an American professional basketball player A 6 7 200 cm 225 lb 102 kg forward he was best remembered for playing with the Los Angeles Lakers of the National Basketball Association NBA and he also played for the Cincinnati Royals and the Detroit Pistons Hairston was a member of the NBA champion 1971 72 Lakers that team won 33 games in a row a record not duplicated in any other American professional sport Happy HairstonHairston in 1974Personal informationBorn 1942 05 31 May 31 1942Winston Salem North Carolina U S DiedMay 1 2001 2001 05 01 aged 58 Los Angeles California U S NationalityAmericanListed height6 ft 7 in 2 01 m Listed weight225 lb 102 kg Career informationHigh schoolAtkins Winston Salem North Carolina CollegeNYU 1961 1964 NBA draft1964 4th round 33rd overall pickSelected by the Cincinnati RoyalsPlaying career1964 1975PositionForwardNumber22 5 52Career history1964 1968Cincinnati Royals1968 1969Detroit Pistons1969 1975Los Angeles LakersCareer highlights and awardsNBA champion 1972 Career statisticsPoints11 505 14 8 ppg Rebounds8 019 10 3 rpg Assists1 268 1 6 apg Stats at NBA comStats at Basketball Reference com Contents 1 Early life amp College career 2 Professional career 3 Personal life 4 Filmography 5 References 6 External linksEarly life amp College career editHairston was born in Winston Salem North Carolina and attended Atkins High School in Winston Salem 1 He graduated from New York University where he played college basketball for coach Lou Rossini from 1962 to 1964 One of his teammates at NYU was Barry Kramer the two smashed almost every record for the NYU Violets Hairston averaged 21 points per game set an all time rebounding record at NYU and scored 1 350 total points in his college career He was inducted into the NYU Hall of Fame in 1981 2 Professional career editDrafted by the Cincinnati Royals now the Sacramento Kings Hairston played professionally for the Cincinnati Royals and Detroit Pistons before joining the Los Angeles Lakers in 1969 In 1971 72 Hairston grabbed 1 045 rebounds his teammate Wilt Chamberlain pulled down 1 572 Hairston led the Lakers in both rebounds and field goal percentage during the 1973 74 and 1974 75 seasons He set an NBA record for most defensive rebounds in a quarter with 13 against the Philadelphia 76ers on November 15 1974 3 During his 11 seasons in the NBA Hairston averaged 14 8 points and 10 3 rebounds per game 1 Personal life editAfter retiring from the NBA in 1975 Hairston established the Happy Hairston Youth Foundation in Century City California With financial help from celebrities such as Kelsey Grammer the foundation found bright children from broken homes and paid for their college educations Hairston also hosted a celebrity golf tournament and had a small role in the 1981 Happy Days episode Tall Story where he played the father of an epileptic high school basketball player 4 Hairston died in Los Angeles in 2001 from respiratory complications brought on by prostate cancer He was 58 years of age and was survived by a daughter Amber and three sisters 5 Filmography editYear Title Role Notes1972 Columbo The most crucial game Himself1977 Emergency Firehouse Quintet Referee1979 The Concorde Airport 79 American Olympic Team Coach1994 The Paper James Hairston final film role References edit a b Happy Hairston Stats Basketball Reference com Harold Happy Hairston NYU Athletics Hall of Fame gonyuathletics com Retrieved October 9 2021 NBA com Regular Season Records Rebounds Through the 2004 2005 season NBA com Archived from the original on 2014 07 05 Retrieved 2008 06 27 Mayo Michael February 11 1996 Ex Laker Hairston finds fun in golf life Sun Sentinel Retrieved October 9 2021 Wong Edward May 2 2001 Happy Hairston forward on Champion Lakers Team dies at 58 The New York Times Retrieved October 9 2021 External links editHappy Hairston at IMDb Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Happy Hairston amp oldid 1185778360, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
