CHARLIE BLACK
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BLACK, CHARLES BRADFORD 'CHARLIE'
Hometown: Kansas City (Southwest HS)
Transfer from Wisconsin
| CATEGORY | TOTAL | 1942* | 1943* | 1946* | 1947* | |
| YEAR | So. | Jr. | Jr. | Sr. | ||
| POSITION | F/G | F/G | F/G | F/G | ||
| HEIGHT | 6'4 | 6'4 | 6'4 | 6'4 | ||
| WEIGHT | 205 | 205 | 195 | 195 | ||
| JERSEY | #9 | #10 | #10 | #10 | ||
| Games Played/Started | 87/ | 22/ | 18/ | 20/ | 27/ | |
| Points | 1,082 | 245 | 206 | 326 | 305 | |
| Per Game | 12.4 | 11.1 | 11.4 | 16.3 | 11.3 | |
| FG: Attempts | ||||||
| Made | 412 | 101 | 82 | 122 | 107 | |
| Percent | ||||||
| FT: Attempts | 76 | 144 | ||||
| Made | 258 | 43 | 42 | 82 | 91 | |
| Percent | 56.6 | 63.2 |
* Lettered
1942: All Big 6, All-American
1943: All Big 6, All-American
1946: All Big 6, All-American, Conference Scoring Champ
1947: All Big 7, All-American, Conference Scoring Champ, Captain
Born:
June 15, 1921 in Arco,
ID
Died: December 22, 1992
Season Ag Tm Lg G GS MP FG FGA 3P 3PA FT FTA ORB DRB TRB AST STL BLK TO PF PTS
+------------------+----+----+-----+-----+-----+----+----+-----+-----+----+-----+-----+-----+----+----+----+----+-----+
1948-49 27 INJ BAA 41 157 546 123 229 115 183 437
FTW BAA 17 46 145 38 62 25 64 130
TOT BAA 58 203 691 161 291 140 247 567
1949-50 28 FTW NBA 36 125 435 132 209 75 140 382
AND NBA 29 101 378 77 112 88 133 279
TOT NBA 65 226 813 209 321 163 273 661
1951-52 30 MLH NBA 13 117 6 31 5 12 31 9 31 17
+------------------+----+----+-----+-----+-----+----+----+-----+-----+----+-----+-----+-----+----+----+----+----+-----+
1 Season BAA 58 203 691 161 291 140 247 567
2 Seasons NBA 78 117 232 844 214 333 31 172 304 678
+------------------+----+----+-----+-----+-----+----+----+-----+-----+----+-----+-----+-----+----+----+----+----+-----+
3 Seasons 136 117 435 1535 375 624 31 312 551 1245
+------------------+----+----+-----+-----+-----+----+----+-----+-----+----+-----+-----+-----+----+----+----+----+-----+
82-Game Avg 738 262 926 226 376 196 188 332 751
Career High 65 117 226 813 209 321 31 163 273 661
+------------------+----+----+-----+-----+-----+----+----+-----+-----+----+-----+-----+-----+----+----+----+----+-----+
| Pro career: | Anderson Packers (NBL) | 1947-48 |
| Fort Wayne Pistons (NBA) | 1948-49 | |
| Indianapolis Jets | 1949 | |
| Milwaukee Hawks | 1951-52 |
CHARLES BRADFORD 'CHARLIE' BLACK, JR. (Player 1942-43; 1946-47)
Black certainly qualifies as a legend because he is the only four-time All-American in Kansas basketball history. I believe that Tom Gola, who played at LaSalle 1954-57, is the only other player to do so.
Born
in Arco, Idaho, in 1921, Black grew up in Kansas and attended Southwest High
School. After spending a year studying agriculture at the University Of
Wisconsin, Black transferred to KU. During his first year, 6’5 forward Black led
the Jayhawks to a 17-5 overall record and share of the Big Six title. The Hawks
lost in the first round of the NCAA tourney against Colorado.
The next season, Black helped the Jayhawks to a 22-6 overall record and a perfect 10-0 conference mark, averaging 11.4 points per game. He, along with all-conference teammates John Buescher, Ray Evans, and Otto Schnellbacher, combined with Armand Dixon to form the legendary “Iron Five”. At the end of the season, almost all of the team members enlisted in the military services, forgoing any involvement in the NCAA tournament. If it hadn’t been for World War II, KU would have almost certainly won the 1943 NCAA title that Wyoming eventually captured.
Charlie joined the Army Air Corps after the 1943 season and spent the next two years as a P-38 reconnaissance pilot, flying 51 missions with the rank of captain. He won the Distinguished Flying Cross.
Nicknamed the ‘Hawk’ for his defense, Black returned to Mt. Oread in 1946, and picking up where he left off, led the Hawks to another perfect 10-0 conference record, while leading the league in scoring with a 17.3 average. The Jayhawks had an overall record of 19-2 and returned to the NCAA playoffs, where they lost to Oklahoma A&M, which featured 7-foot All-American Bob Kurland. That game also marked the radio play-by-play debut of Max Falkenstien, another KU Legend.
The 1947 season was a difficult one, as Coach Allen missed the end of the 1946-47 season when the university granted him an indefinite leave, allowing him to recuperate from a bout with influenza. He spent his time resting in California. Assistant Coach Howard Engleman led the team while Allen was getting his R&R. But, KU struggled to a 16-11 record, but Charlie still managed to earn all-league and All-American honors.
He was the first KU player to score 1,000 points for his career.
After leaving Kansas, Black spent a year with the Anderson Packers of the National Basketball League, before moving to the NBA, where he played for the Ft. Wayne Pistons, Indianapolis Jets and Milwaukee Hawks.
Black had some success in farming in Kansas and managed a welding supply company before retiring in 1984 to Rogers, Arkansas. Shortly after his #10 jersey was retired, he died at age 71 on December 22, 1992, and the Jayhawk’s locker room in Allen Fieldhouse bears his name.
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