NBA legend Kareem Abdul-Jabbar was born in New York City. Born Ferdinand Lewis Alcindor Jr., he converted to Islam in 1968 and took the name Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. The Naismith Basketball Hall of Famer first found success on the court in high school and continued that streak at the University of California Los Angeles, where he was twice named Player of the Year, in 1967 and 1969. Abdul-Jabbar spent 20 years in the NBA, playing for the Milwaukee Bucks and the Los Angeles Lakers. His accomplishments include six NBA championships and six Most Valuable Player awards. In 1989, at age 42, he retired as the NBA’s top scorer with 38,387 points; his numbers have yet to be beaten. He was recently appointed U.S. cultural ambassador by Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton.
Also, on this day in 1962, Archbishop Joseph Rummel of New Orleans excommunicated three Catholic segregationists who tried to impede his plan to integrate Catholic schools. The 1962-1963 school year was the first integrated school year in the history of the Archdiocese.

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