Earl “The Pearl” Monroe, one of the greatest HBCU basketball stars ever, led Winston-Salem State to a national title in 1967. He turns 80 years old Thursday.

Jerry McLeese, who helped frame a small slice of history at Winston-Salem State, was as humble a person as you could find.

Earl 'The Pearl' Monroe was a major part of the golden era of New York Knicks basketball in the 1970's. The No. 2 overall ...

Earl “The Pearl” Monroe helped Winston-Salem State basketball achieve national champion status. He was later inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 1990 and the ...

The documentary airs on Thursday, February 11 at 7 p.m. ET on CBS Sports Network. READ>>> Earl "The Pearl" Monroe Discusses Knicks, NBA Career & Basketball: A Love Story Documentary ...

Among the great ones was Earl "The Pearl" Monroe from the 1970s. Monroe once explained how he got the name while playing college at Winston-Salem State in North Carolina.

Earl Monroe is pictured during a ceremony for the Earl Monroe New Renaissance Basketball School on Sept. 25. Robert Sabo for the NY Post Q: Who was the first person to call you “Pearl”?

To Baltimore basketball fans more than 40 years old, Earl "The Pearl" Monroe will forever remain the glorious guard with the reverse spin, the youthful magician who once spun 56 points on Jerry ...

This was a good week for “The Pearl."Earl Monroe had a good week. NBAE via Getty Images “I can remember what a once-in-a-lifetime experience that was for me — and I was already old ...

Enter Earl “The Pearl” Monroe, born in Philly, whose background is basketball and education. “I didn’t know Earl was an education major (at Winston-Salem State University) until I became a ...

In their book Earl the Pearl: My Story, Monroe and Troupe transport the reader to the streets of Philadelphia, where Monroe’s game was born.