Clifford Oldham Hagan (born December 9, 1931)[1] is an American former professional basketball player. A 6′ 4″ forward[1] who excelled with the hook shot,[2] Hagan, nicknamed "Li’l Abner",[1] played his entire 10-year NBA career (1956–1966) with the St. Louis Hawks. He was also a player-coach for the Dallas Chaparrals in the first two-plus years of the American Basketball Association's existence (1967–1970).[3] Hagan is a five-time NBA All-Star and an ABA All-Star. He won an NCAA basketball championship in 1951 as a member of the Kentucky Wildcats, and he won an NBA championship with the Hawks in 1958.
In the fall of 1952, a point shaving scandal involving three Kentucky players forced Kentucky to forfeit Hagan's senior season. Hagan graduated from Kentucky in 1953 and, as a result, became eligible for the NBA draft. Despite having graduated, and despite being drafted by the Boston Celtics, he returned to play at Kentucky for the 1953–1954 season. On December 5, 1953, Hagan set a Kentucky single-game record of 51 points; this performance would not be surpassed until 1970. After finishing the regular season with a perfect 25–0 record and a #1 ranking in the Associated Press, Kentucky was offered a bid into the NCAA tournament. However, then-existing NCAA rules prohibited graduate students from participating in post-season play; the Wildcats declined the bid because their participation would have forced them to play without Hagan and two of his teammates. Hagan averaged 24 points per game that season.
At Kentucky, Hagan had scored 1,475 points,[4] which ranked him third in school history. He also grabbed 1,035 rebounds, which placed him second. In 1952 and 1954, he was named an All-American and was named First Team All-Southeastern Conference. His uniform number 6 was retired by the University of Kentucky.
U.S. Air Force
Hagan served in the U.S. military for two years after being drafted. In both of his years in the military (1954 and 1955), Hagan, stationed at Andrews Air Force Base, won Worldwide Air Force basketball championships.
Professional career
National Basketball Association (NBA)
After his military service, Hagan and Ed Macauley were traded to the St. Louis Hawks for the draft rights to Bill Russell.[5] In 1958, the Hawks won the NBA championship, defeating the Boston Celtics 4–2 in the NBA Finals.[6] The Hawks won four Western Conference titles during Hagan's tenure with them.[citation needed] Hagan was named to five consecutive NBA All-Star Games from 1958 to 1962.[1]
In The Breaks of the Game,[full citation needed]David Halberstam wrote that Hagan was the only white star on the Hawks who welcomed African American teammates like Lenny Wilkens to the team and did not treat them with prejudice.
Hagan played 745 games over 10 NBA seasons. He scored 13,447 points for an 18.0 points per game average.[1]
American Basketball Association (ABA)
In 1967, the Dallas Chaparrals of the newly formed ABA hired Hagan as a player-coach. He scored 40 points in his team's first game. He also played in the first ABA All-Star Game that season, becoming the first player to play in all-star games in both the NBA and ABA. He retired as a player three games into the 1969–70 season and remained as coach of the Chaparrals until midway into the season.
Hagan played in 94 ABA games and scored 1,423 points for a 15.1 points per game average.[1]
In 1972, Hagan returned to the University of Kentucky as the school's assistant athletic director and took over the top job in 1975. He was forced to resign due to recruiting and eligibility violations in November 1988 and was replaced by one-time Kentucky teammate C. M. Newton, the head basketball coach at Vanderbilt University the year before.
