Alton Byrd

{{Short description|American basketball player (born 1957)}}

{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}}

{{Infobox basketball biography

| name = Alton Byrd

| image =

| image_size =

| caption =

| position = Chief executive officer

| team = Chattanooga FC

| birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1957|3|11}}

| birth_place = San Francisco, California, U.S.

| nationality = American / British

| height_ft = 5

| height_in = 9

| weight_lb =

| high_school = Archbishop Riordan
(San Francisco, California)

| college = Columbia (1976–1979)

| draft_year = 1979

| draft_round = 10

| draft_pick = 186

| draft_team = Boston Celtics

| career_start = 1979

| career_end = 1997

| career_position = Point guard

| years1 = 1979–1982

| team1 = Crystal Palace

| years2 = 1983–1987

| team2 = Murray International

| years3 = 1987–1988

| team3 = Manchester United

| years4 = 1988–1989-Injured

| years5 = 1989–1992

| team5 =Kingston Kings

| years6 = 1992–1994

| team6 =Guildford Kings

| years7 = 1994–1997

| team7 = Crystal Palace

| highlights =

• 5× Scottish League champion
• 4 xBBL MVP (1980, 1981, 1991, 1992)
• Frances Pomeroy Naismith Award (1979)
• 3× First Team All-Ivy League (1977–1979)

}}

Joseph Alton Byrd (born November 3, 1957) is an American-British former professional basketball player who is the former chief executive officer of Chattanooga FC of the MLS Next Pro.

He grew up in the San Francisco area, where he was a high school basketball star. He continued to be a basketball star at Columbia University, where he was one of the best point guards in the country in spite of his small stature. His height was usually officially listed as {{convert|5|ft|9|in|m|2}}. He holds the school records for career assists (526) and assists in a single season (210).

After receiving his bachelor's degree from Columbia College in 1979, he attended the Boston Celtics rookie camp, but, suffering with a foot injury, he did not get a contract and joined Crystal Palace of the British Basketball League. During his rookie season, he led Palace to a 50–5 record. He later started for teams in Edinburgh, Manchester, Guildford and Kingston.{{cite web |url=https://memim.com/alton-byrd.html |title=Alton Byrd |website=memim.com |access-date=6 June 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181101135851/https://memim.com/alton-byrd.html |archive-date=1 November 2018 |url-status=dead}} In 1984 he became a British citizen and made his debut for England.{{cite web |url=https://memim.com/alton-byrd.html |title=Alton Byrd |website=memim.com |access-date=6 June 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181101135851/https://memim.com/alton-byrd.html |archive-date=1 November 2018 |url-status=dead}}

Off the court, he pursued a variety of broadcasting and business ventures, including a weekly show on BBC Radio 5 Live dedicated to American sports. From 1997 to 1999, he was the general manager of the London Monarchs of NFL Europe, while there he guided the team to rebrand as the England Monarchs, before ultimately transitioning the team to Berlin after a 1998 season that ended with a 3–7 record, after three straight 4–6 tallies.{{cite web|url=http://www.worldleagueofamericanfootball.com/id86.html |title=London Monarchs History |access-date=2012-10-15 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160517005335/http://www.worldleagueofamericanfootball.com/id86.html |archive-date=2016-05-17 }}

In 1999, he returned to the United States to be a vice president of strategic alliances for the Sacramento Kings. In 2002, he then founded a management consulting company, Clear Focus Consulting. In September 2013, the Atlanta Dream hired him as the chief revenue officer.{{cite web|url=http://www.wnba.com/archive/wnba/dream/news/dreamhiresaltonbyrd.html |title=DREAM: Dream Hires Alton Byrd as Chief Revenue Officer |access-date=2016-04-21 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161130141201/http://www.wnba.com/archive/wnba/dream/news/dreamhiresaltonbyrd.html |archive-date=2016-11-30 }} On March 24, 2016, the Brooklyn Nets hired Alton Byrd as the vice president of business operations.{{cite web|url=http://www.nba.com/nets/news/2016/03/24/long-island-nets-unveil-logo-and-uniform-inaugural-season |title=Long Island Nets Unveil Logo and Uniform for Inaugural Season |website=NBA.com |access-date=2016-04-21 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161130193701/http://www.nba.com/nets/news/2016/03/24/long-island-nets-unveil-logo-and-uniform-inaugural-season |archive-date=2016-11-30 }}

Byrd continued with the Nets organization through July 2023 as the Senior Vice President-Growth Properties/Community Relations for BSE Global Long Island Nets of the NBA G League and Nets Gaming of NBA 2K League.

Byrd was the chief executive officer of Chattanooga FC from July 2023 to December 2024.https://www.chattanoogafc.com/news_article/show/1279676 Chattanooga FC taps global sports executive Alton Byrd as next CEO