Happy Hairston

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Not to be confused with Harold Hairston (baseball).
Happy Hairston
Happy Hairston 1974.jpg
Hairston in 1974
Personal information
Born(1942-05-31)May 31, 1942
Winston-Salem, North Carolina
DiedMay 1, 2001(2001-05-01) (aged 58)
Los Angeles, California
NationalityAmerican
Listed height6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)
Listed weight225 lb (102 kg)
Career information
High schoolAtkins
(Winston-Salem, North Carolina)
CollegeNYU (1961–1964)
NBA draft1964 / Round: 4 / Pick: 33rd overall
Selected by the Cincinnati Royals
Playing career1964–1975
PositionForward
Number22, 5, 52
Career history
1964–1968Cincinnati Royals
1968–1969Detroit Pistons
1969–1975Los Angeles Lakers
Career highlights and awards
Career statistics
Points11,505 (14.8 ppg)
Rebounds8,019 (10.3 rpg)
Assists1,268 (1.6 apg)
Stats Edit this at Wikidata at NBA.com
Stats at Basketball-Reference.com

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.

Early life & College career[]

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 career[]

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 life[]

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]

Filmography[]

Year Title Role Notes
1979 The Concorde ... Airport '79 American Olympic Team Coach
1994 The Paper James Hairston (final film role)

References[]

  1. ^ a b "Happy Hairston Stats". Basketball-Reference.com.
  2. ^ "Harold 'Happy' Hairston: NYU Athletics Hall of Fame". gonyuathletics.com. Retrieved October 9, 2021.
  3. ^ "NBA.com: Regular Season Records: Rebounds (Through the 2004-2005 season)". Archived from the original on 2014-07-05. Retrieved 2008-06-27.
  4. ^ Mayo, Michael (February 11, 1996). "Ex–Laker Hairston finds fun in golf, life". Sun-Sentinel. Retrieved October 9, 2021.
  5. ^ 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[]

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