November 10, 1971: The New York Knicks trade 2 of the players who helped them win the 1970 NBA Champions, Mike Riordan and Dave Stallworth, to the Baltimore Bullets for Earl Monroe.
At John Bartram High School in Philadelphia (named for a city native who was an early American botanist), Monroe's teammates called him "Thomas Edison," because he seemed to "invent" moves on the court. His performances on the playgrounds of Philadelphia, and New York, 100 miles away, gained him the nicknames "Earl the Pearl" and "Black Jesus." He starred at Winston-Salem State University in North Carolina, and helped the Bullets reach the 1971 NBA Finals, where they lost to the Milwaukee Bucks.
Monroe and the Knicks' Walt "Clyde" Frazier are widely regarded as the 2 best all-around players in the NBA at this point. Frazier once said, "I dreamed of many women, but Pearl was the only man I dreamed about." In other words, Pearl appeared in Clyde's nightmares. What's more, a joke went around that the Knicks would need 2 balls: Both men's egos were such that they would both need the ball at all times.
It didn't work out that way: Riding this "Rolls-Royce Backcourt," the Knicks reached the NBA Finals in 1972, losing to the Los Angeles Lakers; and again in 1973, beating the Lakers, for Monroe's only NBA Championship. Frazier and Monroe remained together in the Knick backcourt until 1977, and Monroe remained a Knick until 1980, the last remaining player who had been on a Knick title winner.
Monroe, Frazier, and teammates Willis Reed, Dave DeBusschere and Jerry Lucas were named to the NBA's 50th Anniversary 50 Greatest Players in 1996, and to its 75th Anniversary 75 Greatest Players in 2021. Each of them was elected to the Basketball Hall of Fame, as was teammate Bill Bradley, and head coach William "Red" Holzman. Cazzie Russell, who played on the Knicks' 1970 title, but not the 1973 team, was also elected to the Hall.
The Bullets, now known as the Washington Wizards, retired Monroe's Number 10. Since Frazier already had Number 10 when Monroe got there, he switched to Number 15, previously worn on the Knicks by Hall-of-Famer Dick McGuire. The Knicks retired Number 15 for both men.
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November 10, 1971 was a Wednesday. Christopher Lee Rios, who became the rapper Big Pun, was born.
Baseball season was over. Football was in midweek. There were 6 games played in the NBA:
* The Knicks lost to the Cincinnati Royals, 99-85 at the Cincinnati Gardens. The trade hadn't yet taken effect, and Stallworth, going to the Bullets, played for the Knicks.
* The Bullets lost to the Chicago Bulls, 125-106 at the Baltimore Civic Center (now the CFG Bank Arena). Monroe did not play for either the Bullets or the Knicks on the night. Future Utah Jazz coach Jerry Sloan played for the Bulls in this game, and scored 35 points.
* The Los Angeles Lakers beat the Philadelphia 76ers, 143-103 at The Spectrum in Philadelphia.
* The Milwaukee Bucks beat the Atlanta Hawks, 116-110 at the Alexander Memorial Coliseum on the Georgia Tech campus in Atlanta. The building is now named the Hank McCamish Pavilion.
* The Detroit Pistons beat the Portland Trail Blazers, 139-122 at Cobo Hall (now Huntington Place) in Detroit.
* And the Boston Celtics beat the Houston Rockets, 142-103 at the Astrodome in Houston.
There were 4 games in the American Basketball Association:
* The New York Nets lost to the Utah Stars, 127-110 at the Salt Palace in Salt Lake City, Utah. Bill Melchionni scored 34 in defeat for the Nets.
* The Virginia Squires beat the Miami Floridians, 119-116 at the Bayfront Arena in St. Petersburg, Florida. Charlie Scott scored 35 points for the Squires, and rookie Julius Erving, already known as "Dr. J," scored 20. (The Tampa Bay region has never had a permanent NBA, ABA or WNBA team. Due to COVID restrictions, the Toronto Raptors played their 2020-21 "home games" at Amalie Arena in Tampa.)
* The Kentucky Colonels beat the Dallas Chaparrals, 115-89 at Freedom Hall in Louisville, Kentucky.
* And the Indiana Pacers beat the Pittsburgh Condors, 154-125 at the Indiana State Fairgrounds Coliseum (now the Corteva Coliseum) in Indianapolis. George Thompson led all scorers on the night, scoring 36 in defeat for the Condors, formerly the Pittsburgh Pipers. That team folded in 1972, and, in spite of the 1979 film The Fish That Saved Pittsburgh, the Steel City hasn't had an NBA, ABA or WNBA team since.
There were 5 games played in the NHL:
* The New York Rangers beat the Los Angeles Kings, 7-1. Rod Gilbert and Vic Hadfield each scored 2 goals.
* The Montreal Canadiens beat the Toronto Maple Leafs, 5-2 at Maple Leaf Gardens in Toronto.
* The Pittsburgh Penguins beat the Vancouver Canucks, 3-1 at the Civic Arena in Pittsburgh.
* The Chicago Black Hawks beat the Boston Bruins, 3-1 at the Chicago Stadium.
* The Detroit Red Wings beat the Minnesota North Stars, 2-1 at the Metropolitan Sports Center in the Minneapolis suburb of Bloomington, Minnesota.
* And the Philadelphia Flyers, the St. Louis Blues, the California Golden Seals and the Buffalo Sabres were not scheduled.
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