page_title: Chris Harris (basketball)
section_title: Professional career
hierarchical_section_title: Chris Harris (basketball) / Professional career
caption_attribution_description: English: Chris Harris of the St. Louis Hawks, 1955-56, the first British-born person to play in the NBA.
context_page_description: Christopher R. Harris is a British retired sports broadcaster and professional basketball player. A 6'3" shooting guard, he was the first player from England to compete in the American National Basketball Association, as well as the first undrafted foreign-born player to play in the league's history.
context_section_description: After graduating from college, Harris spent one season in the NBA. He originally signed with the St. Louis Hawks, but after 15 games they traded him and Dick Ricketts to the Rochester Royals for Jack Coleman and Jack McMahon. In 41 total games with the Hawks and Royals, Harris averaged 2.5 points per game on 24.8% shooting and made $4,800. He decided to end his NBA career after that season, since his wife was pregnant and he was planning a new business.
  Harris developed a close friendship with Chuck Cooper of the Boston Celtics, the first black player drafted by the NBA.  "He was a huge jazz buff and I loved jazz music", said Harris. "I was a huge fan. So any time we’d got to the big towns, he’d go look for the jazz club and take me with him. We had a wonderful time. He was a gentleman."
  Harris had a chance to return to the NBA the following summer, after joining a group of Dayton alumni in an informal game against the Hawks. He played well enough that Hawks coach Alex Hannum asked him to be his fourth guard, but Harris declined. The Hawks would win the NBA championship that year.
caption: Harris with the St. Louis Hawks during the 1955–56 season
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