Alexandria Street Name Sought For Earl Lloyd, Historic NBA Player

ALEXANDRIA, VA — On Saturday, Alexandria City Council will consider an honorary street name proposal for a groundbreaking athlete who hailed from the city. The Alexandria African American Hall of Fame proposed naming a section of Montgomery Street for the late Earl Lloyd, an Alexandria resident who was the first African American athlete to play an NBA game.

The name "Earl F. Lloyd Way" in the 1000 block of Montgomery Street would honor Lloyd and recognize his legacy in the community, according to a city staff report. This block of Montgomery Street between North Henry Street and North Patrick Street is the site of his childhood home in the Parker-Gray area.

In the application, the Alexandria African American Hall of Fame described Lloyd as a pioneer who came before Michael Jordan, Magic Johnson Julius Erving, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Bill Russell, and Wilt Chamberlain. He is credited with helping to "knock down the barriers of racism in the NBA, showing the rest of the world that African Americans know how to play the game of basketball on the highest level."

Lloyd grew up attending segregated public schools in Alexandria and graduating with honors. As one of Parker-Gray's most celebrated student athletes, he went on to West Virginia State with a basketball scholarship and helped his team win two CIAA Championships. In 1950, he was selected by the former Washington Capitols, one of three African Americans drafted into the NBA that year. After his playing career ended in 1960, he became the first Black coach in the NBA and was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2003. Lloyd died in 2015.

The Alexandria Planning Commission unanimously recommended approval of the name. The property owner on both sides of the Montgomery Street block, the Alexandria Redevelopment and Housing Authority, endorsed the request.

The honorary name would result in signage but would not change mailing addresses on the block.