The real ‘Sweetwater’ story has a Detroit angle
Nat ‘Sweetwater’ Clifton in Detroit
Winston and Boring did try to upgrade the team during the season. To their credit, the owners and player-coach Freddie Campbell did not concern themselves with the race of the player, they were looking for talent.
In January, 1947, the Gems signed Wilbert King, a forward who had played for the Globetrotters.
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Shortly thereafter, it was announced that Sonny Boswell and Nat ‘Sweetwater’ Clifton had left the Dayton Metropolitans, an independent club, to play for the Gems.
Things started out great, as Clifton scored 19 points for Detroit in a 59-48 victory over Dow Chemical’s company team in an exhibition game. However, this is the only game Clifton would play for the Gems.
According to the January 27, 1947 edition of the New York paper ‘The People Voice’, Clifton was supposed to be paid $1,700 a game by the Gems, but he left to return to Dayton after the one game.
Why he played just once for Detroit has been lost to history. Boswell also only played in the Dow Chemical game, although he did not go back to the Metropolitans.
However, King played the rest of the season with the Gems.
Clifton would go to play for the Globetrotters, where he got the attention of the Knicks, and history began to be made.
You can say things came full circle for Clifton. Turning 35-years-old, he played his final NBA season in 1957-58 for the Detroit Pistons, averaging 7.7 points and 4.9 rebounds.