[Comey]

The Purple Players


FBPB designates the game's elite with a purple rating. Then blue, green, yellow, orange, and red. The purple designation is used very rarely.


Here is a look at the purple (either current rating or potential) throughout history. Please note, this is a little difficult to organize for this medium, and thus, may be a little rough to read.


1950: None


1951:
PG Kelley Myers, Boston (B/P; 1951 draftee out of UCLA)
SF Zachary Kutz, Fort Wayne (B/P; 1951 draftee out of Marquette)
PF Erasmo Nelson, New York (B/P, 1951 draftee out of UCLA)


1952: Myers (B/P), Nelson (B/P)

1953: Myers (B/P), Nelson (B/P)
PF John Hutcherson, Philadelphia (B/P, original player)

1954: Myers (P/P), Kutz (B/P), Nelson (P/P)

1955: Myers (P/P), Kutz (P/P), Nelson (P/P)
SG Emmitt Cornish, Rochester (B/P; drafted #1 overall in '55 draft)
PG Silas Shiflett, Syracuse (B/P; drafted #2 overall in '51, out of Kansas)

1956: Myers (P/P), Kutz (P/P), Nelson (P/P), Cornish (B/P)
PG Gregory Clark, New York (B/P; drafted #3 in '56, out of Baylor)

1957: Myers (P/P), Cornish (B/P), Nelson (P/P), Clark (B/P)

1958: Myers (P/P), Nelson (P/P), Clark (B/P)
SF Joe Lucky, Detroit (B/P; drafted #2 in '58, out of UNC)
SF John Roseman, Syracuse (B/P; drafted #1 in '58, out of New Mexico)

1959: Myers (P/P), Lucky (B/P), Nelson (P/P), Clark (B/P)

1960: Myers (P/P), Nelson (P/P), Clark (P/P), Roseman (B/P)
SF Chris Merritt, New York (B/P; drafted #2 in '60, out of Kansas State)
PG Tad Johnson, New York (B/P; drafted #5 in '58, out of Princeton)
(The Knicks have four purple players on their roster; they went 40-40.)
SF Jackie Davis, St. Louis (B/P; drafted #1 in '60, out of St. Louis)

1961: Clark (P/P), Johnson (B/P)
Myers drops to B/P; Nelson to B/P,
SF Homer Thielen (B/P; drafted #1 in '59, out of Louisville)

1962: Clark (P/P), Nelson (P/P), Merritt (B/P), Johnson (B/P), Thielen (B/P)
All of the above are on the Knicks; they went 61-19, but fell in the semis to Syracuse.
John Roseman (B/P)
SG Boyd Bray (B/P; drafted #6 in 1957, out of Maryland)
SF Rocky Destefano, LA Lakers (B/P; undrafted, signed with Boston, waived countless times by Boston, Philadelphia, and St. Louis; signed with Syracuse, had his option declined, then moved to the Lakers)

1963: Bray (B/P), Destefano (B/P), Clark (P/P), Thielen (P/P), Nelson (P/P), Merritt (P/P) Johnson (B/P) (Clark through Johnson all played for the Knicks, who went 45-35, losing 4-0 to Philly in the semis), Roseman (B/P), Davis (B/P)

1964: Destefano (B/P), Clark (P/P), Thielen (P/P), Merritt (P/P), Johnson (P/P), Roseman (P/P), Davis (B/P)
SG Tim Rogers (B/P; drafted #1 in '61 by STL, out of NC State)

1965: Merritt (P/P), Johnson (P/P), Thielen (P/P), Nelson (B/P), Clark (B/P), Roseman (B/P), Davis (P/P), Destefano (B/P), Roseman (B/P)
SF Edward Wilds (B/P; drafted #1 in '65, out of Missouri)
SG Andres Cary (B/P; drafted #2 in '65, out of Temple)
SG Dana Horton (B/P; undrafted, signed by Boston, waived; signed with Chicago, waived; signed with Cincinnati)

1966: Wilds (B/P), Cary (B/P), Thielen (P/P), Merritt (P/P), Johnson (P/P), Roseman (B/P), Davis (P/P), Rogers (B/P)
PG Clyde Chenoweth, Detroit (B/P; drafted #3 in '65, out of Maryland)

1967: Wilds (B/P), Chenoweth (B/P), Cary (B/P), Thielen (P/P), Merritt (P/P), Johnson (B/P), Davis (B/P)
PF Armand Frederickson (B/P; drafted #3 in '62, out of NC State)
(Boston traded Cary to Detroit for Chenoweth. Talk about a blockbuster...)

1968: Davis (P/P), Wilds (P/P), Chenoweth (P/P), Cary (P/P), Merritt (P/P), Thielen (B/P)
SF Damian Atwood, Philadelphia (B/P, drafted #4 in '65, out of New Mexico)

1969: Wilds (P/P), Chenoweth (P/P), Atwood (P/P)
SF James Williams, Chicago (B/P; drafted #2 in '68, out of Duke)
PF Gregg Kilpatrick, San Diego (B/P; drafted #1 in '69, out of North Carolina)

1970: Wilds (P/P), Chenoweth (B/P), Williams (B/P), Atwood (P/P), Kilpatrick (B/P)
SF Orval Dingess, Buffalo (B/P; drafted #5 in '70, out of Delaware)
C David Williams, Chicago (B/P; drafted #1 in '67, out of Purdue)
SG Andrew Menefee, Chicago (B/P; drafted #2 in '70, out of UTEP)
Chicago has three B/P players at this point.

1971: Wilds (P/P), Chenoweth (P/P), J Williams (B/P), Menefee (B/P), Kilpatrick (B/P), Atwood (B/P)

1972: Wilds (P/P), Chenoweth (B/P), J Williams (P/P), Menefee (B/P), Kilpatrick (B/P), Atwood (B/P)
PF Stephen Ramirez, New York (B/P; drafted #1 in '72, out of North Carolina)
SF Paul Emerick, Philadelphia (B/P; drafted #3 in '72, out of SMU)
SF Michael Haber, Phoenix (B/P; drafted #5 in '68, out of Missouri)

1973: Chenoweth (P/P), Wilds (P/P), J Williams (P/P), Kilpatrick (B/P), Ramirez (B/P), Atwood (B/P), Emerick (B/P), Haber (P/P)
SF John Hidalgo, Golden State (B/P; drafted #2 in '73, out of Missouri)
PF George Huie, Houston (B/P; drafted #6 in '71, out of Kansas State)
SG Jimmie Allen, Kansas City (B/P; drafted #3 in '68, out of Clemson)

1974: Chenoweth (B/P), J Williams (P/P), Menefee (P/P), Hidalgo (B/P), Kilpatrick (P/P), Huie (B/P), Ramirez (P/P), Haber (P/P), Dingess (B/P)
C Danny Smythe, Cleveland (B/P; drafted #5 in '72, out of New Mexico)

1975: Smythe (B/P), Hidalgo (B/P), Kilpatrick (B/P), Huie (B/P), Ramirez (P/P), Dingess (B/P)
SF Morton Ellinger, Atlanta (B/P; drafted #1 in '73, out of North Carolina)

1976: Menefee (B/P), Smythe (B/P), Kilpatrick (P/P), Huie (P/P), Ramirez (P/P), Dingess (B/P)
PG Whitney Gooden (B/P; drafted #1 in '76, out of New Mexico)

1977: Menefee (B/P), Smythe (P/P), Kilpatrick (B/P), Huie (P/P), Allen (B/P), Gooden (P/P), Ramirez (P/P)
SF Jeffrey Parry, Seattle (B/P; drafted #9 in '73, out of Cornell)

1978: Smythe (P/P), Huie (P/P), Gooden (P/P), Ramirez (P/P)
SG Jim Burr, Denver (B/P; drafted #1 in '77, out of TCU)

1979: Smythe (B/P), Burr (B/P), Huie (P/P), Ramirez (P/P), Gooden (B/P)
PG James Anderson, New Jersey (B/P; drafted #7 in '75, by Phoenix; traded to Denver, then New Jersey)

1980: Burr (B/P), Huie (P/P), Anderson (P/P), Ramirez (P/P), Gooden (B/P)
SF Ian Rowland, San Diego (B/P; drafted #2 in '75)

1981: Anderson (P/P), Burr (P/P), Huie (P/P), Ramirez (P/P), Gooden (B/P)
Anderson was dealt to Cleveland for Denny Smythe
SG Domenic Winkler, Boston (B/P; drafted #1 in '80)

1982: Anderson (P/P), Winkler (B/P), Burr (P/P), Gooden (P/P)
C Brian Deese, Boston (B/P; drafted #1 by DAL in '81; traded for Dom Winkler)

1983: Deese (B/P), Anderson (P/P), Winkler (B/P), Burr (P/P), Gooden (P/P)
C Royal Bryant, Portland (B/P; drafted #2 in '80)

1984: Winkler (B/P), Burr (P/P), Gooden (B/P)


Going into this season, there are only:


Jack (P/P), Winkler (B/P), Burr (P/P), Deese (B/P; FA)


Four players in the entire league are looked at is having the potential of being elite; only two are considered there. Over the whole of league history, only 43 players have ever held the designation. Very few held it for multiple years.


That's pretty esteemed company, to be honest.