Tom Hawkins

Thomas (Tom or Tommy) Jerome Hawkins (born December 22, 1936 in Chicago, Illinois) is a retired American professional basketball player. A 6'5" (1.96 m) forward, Hawkins starred at Chicago's Parker High School before playing at the University of Notre Dame, where he became the school's first African American basketball star and gained national recognition in 1958 for his 43-point game against the United States Air Force Academy . He was then sele... more

Thomas (Tom or Tommy) Jerome Hawkins (born December 22, 1936 in Chicago, Illinois) is a retired American professional basketball player. A 6'5" (1.96 m) forward, Hawkins starred at Chicago's Parker High School before playing at the University of Notre Dame, where he became the school's first African American basketball star and gained national recognition in 1958 for his 43-point game against the United States Air Force Academy . He was then selected by the Minneapolis (later Los Angeles) Lakers in the first round of the 1959 NBA Draft, and he would have a productive ten-year career in the league, playing for the Lakers as well as the Cincinnati Royals as he registered 6,672 career points and 4,607 career rebounds. He served as the Los Angeles Lakers player representative and was a member of the NBA players' labor negotiation team. One of the Nation's leading eclectics, Tommy Hawkins recently (this was entered on 7/2007) completed 18 years with the Los Angeles Dodgers serving as both... less