Elbert J. "Al" Butler (July 9, 1938 – July 12, 2000) was an American basketball player who played four seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA).
Born in Birmingham, Alabama,[1] he played basketball for East High School in Rochester, New York, before playing collegiately for Niagara University.[2] He was named to the 1961 National Invitation Tournament All-Star team by the Associated Press, despite Niagara losing its only game, 68–71 against Providence.[3][4]
He was selected by the Boston Celtics in the second round (17th pick overall) of the 1961 NBA draft.[5] He played for the Celtics (1961), New York Knicks (1962–64) and Baltimore Bullets (1964–65) in the NBA for a total of 234 games.[1] He started for the Knicks for Wilt Chamberlain's 100-point game, scoring 8 points.[6]
Butler was the last player to ever wear the number 22 for the Celtics, as they would retire it in honor of Ed Macauley in 1963.[7][8]
Butler played in the Eastern Professional Basketball League (EPBL) for the Trenton Colonials, Harrisburg Patriots and Wilkes-Barre Barons from 1964 to 1970.[9] He was selected to the All-EPBL Second Team in 1966.[9]
Butler died of cancer on July 12, 2000.[6] After his death, a scholarship was established in his name at Monroe Community College, where he had worked as a guidance counselor.[2]
Career statistics
| GP | Games played | GS | Games started | MPG | Minutes per game |
| FG% | Field goal percentage | 3P% | 3-point field goal percentage | FT% | Free throw percentage |
| RPG | Rebounds per game | APG | Assists per game | SPG | Steals per game |
| BPG | Blocks per game | PPG | Points per game | Bold | Career high |
NBA
Source[1]
Regular season
| Year | Team | GP | MPG | FG% | FT% | RPG | APG | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1961–62 | Boston | 5 | 9.4 | .448 | .833 | 2.6 | .8 | 6.2 |
| 1961–62 | New York | 54 | 36.5 | .463 | .705 | 6.0 | 3.7 | 14.7 |
| 1962–63 | New York | 74 | 20.1 | .439 | .770 | 2.3 | 2.1 | 10.0 |
| 1963–64 | New York | 76 | 18.1 | .422 | .738 | 2.2 | 2.1 | 8.7 |
| 1964–65 | Baltimore | 25 | 6.9 | .329 | .733 | .8 | .5 | 2.4 |
| Career | 234 | 21.6 | .439 | .739 | 3.0 | 2.3 | 9.8 | |
References
- ^ a b c "Al Butler NBA Stats". Basketball Reference. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved February 3, 2024.
- ^ a b "Butler honored". Business & Sports. Democrat and Chronicle. October 19, 2000. p. D1. Retrieved June 4, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ Fullerton, Hugh Jr. (March 27, 1961). "NIT's 'Most Outstanding' – Ernst Selected for Award". The Shreveport Times. Associated Press. p. 13. Retrieved June 4, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
Joining with them on the team were ... Al Butler of Niagara, who gave a brilliant individual performance though his team lost its only tournament game.
- ^ "Tournament Results (1960's)". NIT.org. Archived from the original on May 2, 2006. Retrieved June 4, 2022.
- ^ "Draft History | Stats". NBA.com. Retrieved June 4, 2022.
- ^ a b "Deaths Elsewhere – Al Butler". Daily Chronicle. DeKalb, Illinois. Associated Press. July 15, 2000. p. A4. Retrieved June 4, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Boston Celtics Uniform Numbers". Basketball-Reference.com. Sports Reference. Retrieved June 4, 2022.
- ^ "Retired Numbers | Boston Celtics". NBA.com. Retrieved June 4, 2022.
- ^ a b "Al Butler minor league basketball statistics". Stats Crew. Retrieved February 16, 2025.
External links
- Career statistics from NBA.com and Basketball Reference
