There are so many things I love about this photo, sent to me by reader N.F. But first, let me transcribe the caption:

MINNEAPOLIS, Jan. 17 — BAYLOR BACK HOME — Rookie professional basketball star Elgin Baylor (right) of the Minneapolis Lakers, is met by club president Bob Short (second from left) on his arrival here today after Baylor refused to play last night in Charleston, W.Va., sitting out the game in protest over a Charleston hotel's refusal to give him and two other Negro players overnight accommodations. Short said the action was "disappointing but understandable" and that he would not be disciplined. At left is Ed Fleming, another Laker Negro who played in last night's game against Cincinnati. Next to Baylor is Rod Huntley, Laker player.

Where to begin?

The first thing that struck me is 1959's genteel northern racism; Short was "disappointed" but knew he couldn't sanction a man of principle. And "Hot Rod" Hundley — home town: Charleston — who knew segregation was wrong, yet "pleaded" with Baylor to play because his buddies were in the stands.

There are the bookends of black experience: Ed Fleming, playing in what would be his last full season, identified as the "negro" who didn't take a stand while Baylor — already a "star" — did.

The Lakers lost the game to Cincinnati, 95-91, and according to the Charleston Gazette-Mail:

The American Business Club of Charleston, which dropped between $800 and $1,000 on the Minneapolis-Cincinnati professional basketball game Friday night at the Civic Center, Saturday filed a protest with the National Basketball Association over the failure of rookie star Elgin Baylor to appear in the Minneapolis lineup.

In a telegram to League President Maurice Podoloff in New York, ABC Promoter H. Thomas Corrie said:

"Urge disciplinary action against Elgin Baylor of Minneapolis club, who refused to play against Cincinnati here Friday night in protest of hotel segregation. Records show Minneapolis club was advised on Dec. 29 that segregation enforced at hotels. His absence from lineup most embarrassing to us and damaged our chances of promoting future NBA games here."

Short went on to lose a race for U.S. Senate in 1978. Baylor, though an NBA Hall of Famer, is better known these days as the hapless general manager of the Los Angeles Clippers; he would eventually sue wacko owner Donald Sterling for age and race discrimination.

As it turns out, the Charleston businessmen had little to worry about; their town changed even faster than they knew. As Baylor told sportswriter Terry Pluto, the town's mayor called an apologized a few days later, and that wasn't the end of his Charleston experience:

Two years later, I was invited to an All-Star Game there, and out of courtesy I went. We stayed at the same hotel that refused us service. We were able to eat anywhere we wanted. They were beginning to integrate the schools. Some black leaders told me that they were able to use what had happened to me and the other black players to bring pressure on the city to make changes, and that made me feel very good. But the indignity of a hotel clerk acting as if you aren't there, or people who won't sell you a sandwich because you're black ... those are the things you never forget."