Charles Halbert was born in Albany, Texas, and by the time he graduated from high school in tiny House, N.M., he had already grown to 6'9".
Basketball was the primary sport he played and he was recruited in 1938 to West Texas State by Coach Al Baggett. By the time he finished his three-year varsity career the Buffs had compiled a phenomenal 76-18 record, including a 1942 trip to the National Invitational Tournament in New York City where WT fell to Creighton, 59-58. During that time, Halbert was billed as "the tallest player on the world's tallest team," and he was nicknamed "Shorty."
He and his wife Jean, a fellow WT student from Tulia, Texas, were married April 25th, 1942, in Tucumcari, N.M., and they moved to Wichita, Kan., where both worked at Boeing Aircraft during World War II. Halbert enlisted in the U.S. Army, but he was deemed too tall for military regulations. His original paperwork mistakenly listed his height at 5-9. So, he was inducted and discharged in the same day.
He played basketball for the Boeing, Phillips 66'ers, and Lee Tire Co. teams from 1942-45.
Halbert started his professional basketball careers for the Chicago Stags of the Basketball Association of America, which became the National Basketball Association (NBA). His team lost to the Philadelphia Warriors, 4-1, in the 1947 BAA finals, and he was selected All-BAA Second Honor. The next year he was traded to Philadelphia and averaged 9.8 points per game in 46 games and 11.5 in 13 playoff games. He also played for the Boston Celtics, Providence Steamrollers, Washington Capitols, and the Baltimore Bullets. During his five year professional career he averaged 8.8 points and 7.9 rebounds per game.
One of Halbert's most memorable moments when his Boston Celtics beat the Minneapolis Lakers in the first game of the 1948-49 season and their NBA Hall of Fame center, George Mikan.
Meanwhile, Jean and "Shorty" came back to WT and graduated in 1948, with his Bachelor of Science degree in Physical Education. They eventually moved to Washington State and he received his Master's degree in Guidance and Counseling from Eastern Washington University in 1967. His life work has been as truancy officer in Moses Lake, Wash., and a vocational technical counselor at Columbia Basin College in Pasco, Wash. He also sold insurance and real estate, retiring in 1986.
