Happy Hairston
Harold "Happy" Hairston was an American professional basketball player. He was best remembered for playing with the Los Angeles Lakers of the National Basketball Association, along with stints with the Cincinnati Royals and the Detroit Pistons. He was a member of the 1971-72 NBA championship Lakers, a team that won 33 games in a row, a record not duplicated in any other American professional sport. Hairston was a 6'7" 225 lb forward. He was born in Winston-Salem, North Carolina.
Hairston attended Atkins High School in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. He played college basketball for coach Lou Rossini at New York University from 1962 to 1964 where he graduated. One of his teammates was Barry Kramer. The two smashed almost every record for the NYU Violets. Hairston averaged 21 pts per game led NYU on all time rebounding and totalled 1350 pts
in his college career for which he was inducted into NYU hall of fame in 1981. Drafted by the Cincinnati Royals, he played professionally for the Cincinnati Royals and Detroit Pistons before joining the Lakers in 1969.
In 1971-72, Hairston grabbed 1,045 rebounds; his teammate Wilt Chamberlain pulled down 1,572. Hairston astoundingly led the Lakers in both rebounds and field goal percentage during the 1973–74 and 1974-75 seasons, and set an NBA record for most defensive rebounds in a quarter with 13.
During his 11 seasons in the NBA, Hairston averaged 14.8 points and 10.3 rebounds.
After his retirement in 1975, Hairston established the Happy Hairston Youth Foundation in Century City. With financial help from celebrities such as Kelsey Grammer, the foundation found bright children from broken homes and paid for their college education. He also hosted a celebrity golf tournament and had a small role in the 1981 Happy Days episode "Tall Story," where he played the father of an epileptic high school basketball player.
Hairston died in Los Angeles in 2001 from respiratory complications brought on by prostate cancer. He was 58 and was survived by a daughter, Amber, and three sisters.Filmography
