Portrait of Oscar Robertson

Birthday profile

Oscar Robertson

Oscar Robertson, American basketball player and sportscaster

Born
November 24, 1938
Age in 2026
88
Zodiac sign
Sagittarius
Birth year
1938

About Oscar Robertson

Oscar Palmer Robertson (born November 24, 1938), nicknamed "the Big O", is an American former professional basketball player who played for the Cincinnati Royals and Milwaukee Bucks in the National Basketball Association (NBA). As a 12-time All-Star, 11-time member of the All-NBA Team, and winner of the 1964 MVP, Robertson is considered to be one of the greatest point guards of all time. In 1962, he became the first player in NBA history to average a triple-double for a season (the only player in history besides Russell Westbrook and Nikola Jokić). In the 1970–71 NBA season, he was a key player on the team that brought the Bucks their first NBA title. His playing career, especially during high school and college, was plagued by racism. Robertson is a two-time Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame inductee, having been inducted in 1980 for his individual career, and in 2010 as a member of the 1960 United States men's Olympic basketball team and president of the National Basketball Players Association. Also in 1980, Robertson was named to the NBA 35th Anniversary Team. He was again voted as one of the 50 Greatest Players in NBA History in 1996. The United States Basketball Writers Association (USBWA) renamed their College Player of the Year Award the Oscar Robertson Trophy in his honor in 1998, and he was one of five people chosen to represent the inaugural National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame class in 2006. He was ranked as the 36th best American athlete of the 20th century by ESPN. In October 2021, Robertson was honored as one of the league's greatest players of all time by being named to the NBA 75th Anniversary Team. Robertson was also an integral part of Robertson v. National Basketball Ass'n of 1970. The landmark NBA antitrust suit, which was filed when Robertson was the president of the NBA Players' Association, led to an extensive reform of the league's strict free agency and draft rules and, subsequently, to higher salaries for all players. He was inducted into the FIBA Hall of Fame in 2009.

Biography source: Wikipedia. The profile adds birthday-specific historical context from the Celebs Birthday Today editorial database.

Career and life highlights

Oscar Robertson timeline

  1. In 1962, he became the first player in NBA history to average a triple-double for a season (the only player in history besides Russell Westbrook and Nikola Jokić).
  2. In 1962, he became the first player in NBA history to average a triple-double for a season (the only playe).
  3. As a 12-time All-Star, 11-time member of the All-NBA Team, and winner of the 1964 MVP, Robertson is considered to be one of the greatest point guards of all time.
  4. In the 1970–71 NBA season, he was a key player on the team that brought the Bucks their first NBA title.

The world when Oscar Robertson was born

Oscar Robertson was born in 1938. The year snapshot below places that birthday in its cultural and historical setting: the music and films people were following, the headlines shaping public life, and the everyday prices families encountered.

Culture in 1938

  • #1 song"A-Tisket, A-Tasket" – Ella Fitzgerald
  • Top movieThe Adventures of Robin Hood
  • Best-selling bookRebecca – Daphne du Maurier

Headlines and milestones

  • Major sports momentJoe Louis knocks out Max Schmeling in round 1
  • Top headlineWar of the Worlds broadcast causes nationwide panic
  • Technology milestoneNuclear fission discovered
  • Defining fadSuperman debuts in Action Comics #1
  • Notable inventionInstant coffee (Nescafé)
  • World population2.30 billion

United States snapshot

  • U.S. leaderFranklin D. Roosevelt
  • Sports championNew York Yankees (World Series)
  • U.S. population129.8M

1938 versus 2026

These figures put everyday life in Oscar Robertson's birth year beside the site's latest United States snapshot.

Measure19382026
Gas$0.20$3.45/gal
Average home$5,100$435,000
Average income$2,800$67,500
Minimum wage$0.25$7.25/hr (federal)
Movie ticket$0.25$11.95
Postage stamp$0.03$0.73
Population129.8M341 million

Sources and editorial standards

This profile combines a biographical source with structured birthday and historical context. Sources recorded for this profile: Wikipedia, NBA. See our editorial policy for sourcing, corrections, and review standards.

Read the source biography on Wikipedia. Wikipedia text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License.