• Born in Little Rock, Ark., on Oct. 13, 1922.

• Dubbed “Sweetwater,” his nickname for life, because he loved soft drinks or, failing that, water with sugar.

• Moved with his family to Chicago, attending DuSable High.

• Starred at Xavier College of Louisiana, growing to 6-foot-8 and 225 pounds.

• Served three years in the U.S. Army, rising to the rank of sergeant and serving in World War II.

• Joined the New York Rens in 1945, an all-black professional team that toured the country.

• Invited to join the Harlem Globetrotters in 1948, barnstorming with that famous all-black, entertainment-plus-basketball team for two seasons.

• Played first base for the Chicago American Giants in the Negro Leagues in the summer of 1949.

• Recruited by the NBA’s New York Knicks, who purchased his contract from the Globetrotters. Clifton signed his Knicks contract in May 1950, earning him the distinction of first African-American to sign an NBA deal. Boston’s Chuck Cooper had been the first black player drafted in April, and Washington’s Earl Lloyd became the first black player to actually appear in an NBA game on Oct. 31, 1950.

• Scored 16 points with 12 rebounds in his debut on Nov. 4, 1950. Averaged 8.6 points, 7.6 rebounds and 2.5 assists per game in 65 games as a 28-year-old rookie.

• Helped New York to three straight NBA Finals in his first three seasons. Averaged 9.3 ppg, 10.5 rpg and 3.1 apg in 39 playoff games in those three seasons.

• Chosen to play in the 1957 All-Star Game, his lone appearance, at age 34. At the time he was the oldest player to be named to his first All-Star team.

• Traded in April 1957 to the Pistons with Harry Gallatin and Dick Atha for Mel Hutchins and Charlie Tyra. The Pistons moved from Fort Wayne, Ind., to Detroit before Clifton’s lone season with them.

• Retired in 1958 at age 35 with averages of 10.0 ppg, 8.2 rpg and 2.5 apg. Appeared in 544 games, 476 for the Knicks, scoring 5,444 points.

• Two more athletic stints called him: In 1958, he played with the Detroit Clowns baseball team. Three years later, he signed up with the Chicago Majors of the short-lived American Basketball League.

• Drove a taxi in Chicago for his post-sports livelihood. He earned a spot in that city’s unique 16-inch Softball Hall of Fame for his play in the Daddy-O Daylie League.

•  Died on Aug. 31, 1990, at age 67 in Chicago.

•  Inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2014, named in the Contributor category.

* * *

Steve Aschburner has written about the NBA since 1980. You can e-mail him here, find his archive here and follow him on Twitter.

The views on this page do not necessarily reflect the views of the NBA, its clubs or Warner Bros. Discovery Sports.