Warren Ajax (1921-2004)
![Picture](/uploads/1/3/5/2/135250581/published/screen-shot-2020-12-25-at-8-08-28-am.png?1636034272)
Guard/Forward—(Minnesota) Great Lakes Naval Training Center Bluejackets 1944-45, Minneapolis Lakers (NBL) 1947-48 [3 games, 0.3 avg (NBL)]
Ernie Beck (1931- )
![Picture](/uploads/1/3/5/2/135250581/published/screen-shot-2020-12-27-at-11-39-32-am.png?1636034346)
Guard—(Pennsylvania) Philadelphia Warriors 1953-60, St. Louis Hawks 1960-61 [All-American 1953; 6.3 avg]
The transition to the Warriors and the pros was not easy for me.
Ernie Beck
Ernie Beck
Gene Berce (1926-2018)
![Picture](/uploads/1/3/5/2/135250581/published/screen-shot-2020-12-27-at-11-45-26-am.png?1636034463)
Guard—(Cornell/Marquette) Oshkosh All-Stars (NBL) 1948-49, Tri-Cities Blackhawks (NBA) 1949-50, St. Paul Lights (NPBL) 1950-51, Kansas City Hi-Spots (NPBL) 1950-51 [4.9 avg. (NBL), 3.3 avg. (NBA)]
Luther "Ticky" Burden (1953-2015)
![Picture](/uploads/1/3/5/2/135250581/published/screen-shot-2020-12-27-at-11-52-31-am.png?1636034504)
Guard—(Utah) Virginia Squires (ABA) 1975-76, New York Knicks 1976-78 [13.1 avg]
I always had goals, like wanting to be a good basketball player. I'd shoot baskets and play one-on-one right after school, rush home for a bit and be back on the courts, maybe until two or three in the morning. When the lights weren't on, I'd shoot in the dark. When it was cold, I shot wearing gloves. Ever since I was little, all my friends and family had this kind of inner respect for me. It made me feel like a giant, but at the same time it was a weight on my shoulders.
Ticky Burden
Ticky Burden
Lou Boudreau (1917-2001)
![Picture](/uploads/1/3/5/2/135250581/published/screen-shot-2020-12-27-at-11-56-41-am.png?1636034596)
Guard/Forward—(Illinois) Hammond Ciesar All-Americans (NBL) 1938-39 [8.2 avg.; played major league baseball 1938-52, major league manager 1942-50,1952-57,1960, Baseball Hall of Fame 1970]
We never shot one-handed unless we drove to the basket. We always used two hands.
Lou Boudreau
Lou Boudreau
Austin Carr (1948- )
![Picture](/uploads/1/3/5/2/135250581/published/screen-shot-2020-12-27-at-12-01-36-pm.png?1636034825)
Guard—(Notre Dame) Cleveland Cavaliers 1971-80, Dallas Mavericks 1980, Washington Bullets 1980-81 [College Basketball Hall of Fame 2007, 15.4 avg]
I sent Austin Carr an old sports cartoon and 3x5 card to sign in 2010. He must have liked the cartoon so much that he kept it and only returned the 3x5 card. For six years, the 3x5 autograph was a mystery to me. I couldn't decipher the signature until I asked a fellow collector, Matt Schwade, to take a look at it. In late 2016, he solved the mystery: the autograph was Austin Carr's. Big thanks to Matt.
Ernie Calverly (1924-2003)
![Picture](/uploads/1/3/5/2/135250581/published/screen-shot-2020-12-27-at-12-08-44-pm.png?1636034977)
Guard—(Rhode Island State) Providence Steamrollers (BAA) 1946-49 [NIT MVP 1946; 11.9 avg., #1 Assists 1947]
Most of the players were making $3,500 or $4,000. Teachers at the time were making $1,800. I was making $8,200. I was the rich kid on the block.
Ernie Calverly, on his 1946-47 earnings
Ernie Calverly, on his 1946-47 earnings
Calverly led the nation in scoring in 1943-44, averaging 26.7 points per game, and hit a half-court buzzer-beater in the 1946 NIT to propel the Rams over Bowling Green, eventually losing in the finals to Kentucky. As coach, Calverly led the Rams from 1958-68, compiling a 139-114 record and two NCAA Tournament appearances in 1961 and 1968, and was inducted into the URI and New England sports halls of fame.
Rod Caudill (1923-1994)
![Picture](/uploads/1/3/5/2/135250581/published/screen-shot-2020-12-28-at-6-11-32-am.png?1636035055)
Guard/Forward—(Ohio State)
In his letter to me, written only three years before his death, Caudill, a psychiatrist, wrote: "Omigosh what you resurrected! And isn't it a small world? Is this autograph hunting a fun or commercial or both endeavor? Or perhaps a hidden agenda sleuthing? Or part of the Utah penchant for research? Oh well I could go on & on. But you reminded me of some mighty pleasant experiences. Thanks for the interest." Only a psychiatrist could make more out of a simple autograph request than was actually intended. Hidden agenda--my word!
Bobby "Cookie" Cook (1923-2004)
![Picture](/uploads/1/3/5/2/135250581/published/screen-shot-2020-12-27-at-12-19-20-pm.png?1636035117)
Guard—(Wisconsin) Sheboygan Redskins 1948-49 (NBL)/1949-50 (NBA)/ 1950-51 (NPBL) [5'10", 11.5 avg. (NBA), 6.9 avg. (NBL), 12.6 (NPBL)]
He graduated from Harvard High School in Harvard, Illinois, in 1941. He then served in the U.S. Navy for three years and then went to the University of Wisconsin, where he graduated in 1948. He played forward and was Wisconsin's leading scorer on the 1947 basketball team that won the Big Ten championship and placed third in Eastern Regional play. He was named All Big Ten as a junior and senior and led the Big Ten in scoring in 1947 with a 15.6 point average. He established a Big Ten record for field goal percentage (.727) in a game by hitting 8-11 shots versus Northwestern in 1948. He was a two-time (1946 and 1948) winner of the team most valuable player honors. He also played third base on Wisconsin's 1946 league co-championship team.
Johnny Cox (1936- )
![Picture](/uploads/1/3/5/2/135250581/published/screen-shot-2020-12-27-at-12-23-44-pm.png?1636035182)
Guard—(Kentucky) Chicago Zephyrs 1962-63 [7.8 avg]
George Dempsey (1929-2017)
![Picture](/uploads/1/3/5/2/135250581/published/screen-shot-2020-12-27-at-3-12-12-pm.png?1636035255)
Guard—(King's College) Philadelphia Warriors 1954-58, Syracuse Nationals 1958-59 [4.6 avg.]
Dick Dickey (1926-2006)
![Picture](/uploads/1/3/5/2/135250581/published/screen-shot-2020-12-27-at-3-18-11-pm.png?1636041831)
Guard—(DePauw 1945/St. Mary's Pre-Flight 1946/North Carolina State 1947-50) Anderson Packers (NPBL) 1950-51, Boston Celtics 1951-52 [All-American 1948-50; 45 games, 2.8 avg. (NBA)]
When Dick played for the Celtics he wasn't playing much and asked to be traded. But, the way he told it, they didn't want to trade him because he was one of the few who could guard Bob Cousy.
John Bragg
John Bragg
He would practice an innovative one-handed jump shot, which later made him famous at N.C. State. Most players in the 1940s were using a two-hand set shot. After high school, Dickey entered the Navy and grew five inches during his two years of military service. While playing for a Navy basketball team, Dickey attracted the attention of Everett Case, one-time Anderson High School coach who had just taken the N.C. State job. Dickey was part of a 10-player all-Indiana recruiting class called the "Hoosier Hotshots" and included Sloan and Vic Bubas. Dickey was a three-year starter at Pendleton before helping to make basketball history as a key player in the post-war program Indiana native Everett Case built primarily with Hoosier players at North Carolina State. Dickey was All-Southern Conference (there wasn't an Atlantic Coast Conference yet) all four of his Wolfpack years, scoring 1,644 points. The school retired his number in 1999.
Billy Evans (1932-2020)
![Picture](/uploads/1/3/5/2/135250581/published/screen-shot-2020-12-27-at-3-23-55-pm.png?1636039656)
Guard—(Kentucky) Phillips 66ers (AAU) 1958-60 [Olympic Games 1956—Gold Medal; Pan Am Games 1956—Gold Medal]
Wes Fesler (1908-1989)
![Picture](/uploads/1/3/5/2/135250581/published/screen-shot-2020-12-27-at-3-37-57-pm.png?1636039723)
Guard—(Ohio State) [All-American 1931, College Football Hall of Fame 1954]
Fesler was Ohio State’s second three-time All-American, winning first-team recogniton at end in 1928, ’29 and ’30. Fesler, who also played fullback for the Buckeyes, was team captain as a senior. He also was the Ohio State and the Big Ten MVP in 1930. Fesler, a superb all-around athlete, earned nine letters, three each in football, basketball and baseball. In basketball, he won All-Big Ten honors in 1931. In baseball, he spent time in the St. Louis Cardinals organization. After graduating, Fesler served one year as an assistant on the OSU staff and then was head football coach at Princeton and Penn. In 1947, he returned to his alma mater as head coach and spent four years, compiling a 21-13-3 record and winning the 1949 Big Ten Championship and the 1950 Rose Bowl.
John "Dutch" Garfinkel (1918-2013)
![Picture](/uploads/1/3/5/2/135250581/published/screen-shot-2020-12-27-at-3-51-27-pm.png?1636040084)
Guard—(St. John's) Baltimore Clippers (ABL) 1940-41, Trenton Tigers (ABL) 1941-42, Philadelphia Sphas (ABL) 1944-45, Rochester Royals (NBL) 1945-46, Boston Celtics 1946-49 [1.1 avg. (NBL), 5.2 avg. (NBA)]
They may have called me Dutch because I didn’t look Jewish, had a kind of German-looking face. But probably the real reason was that as a kid when I’d climb over the fence to play ball in the school yard, three-on-three, I’d play with my back to the basket to pass off to teammates cutting by me, just like Dutch Dehnert used to do for the Original Celtics. He invented that style and they called it “playing Dutch,” and so they called me “Dutch,” too.
Dutch Garfinkel
Dutch Garfinkel
Dick Garmaker (1932-2020)
![Picture](/uploads/1/3/5/2/135250581/published/screen-shot-2020-12-27-at-3-47-03-pm.png?1636039970)
Guard—(Minnesota) Minneapolis Lakers 1955-60, New York Knicks 1960-61 [All-American 1955; 13.3 avg.]
George Mikan's last year with the Minneapolis Lakers was my first year. Every year that I played, I played against Cousy, and Sharman, Bill Russell, Wilt Chamberlain--and Elgin Baylor was on our team.
Dick Garmaker
Dick Garmaker
Dick Groat (1930-2023)
![Picture](/uploads/1/3/5/2/135250581/published/screen-shot-2020-12-27-at-3-56-26-pm.png?1636041858)
Guard—(Duke) Fort Wayne Zollner Pistons 1952-53 [All-American 1951-52; 11.9 avg.; he played in Major League Baseball from 1952-67]
There's no question about it, I was a much, much better basketball player [than baseball player]. Baseball was hard work for me. I did not have great speed. I did not have a great arm, nor did I have great power. Basketball was my best sport. It came easy for me. . . . I can honestly say I learned more about basketball from Red [Auerbach] in three months than from all the other coaches I ever played for or worked with at any level. He made me aware of things about my game I hadn’t ever thought about. When I played in the NBA, I could still hear his voice in my heat at times telling me to do something.
Dick Groat
Dick Groat
Cecil Hankins (1922-2002)
![Picture](/uploads/1/3/5/2/135250581/published/screen-shot-2020-12-27-at-8-07-57-pm.png?1636040142)
Guard—(Oklahoma A&M) St. Louis Bombers 1946-47, Boston Celtics 1947-48, Sheboygan Redskins (NBL) 1948 [4.9 avg (NBA), 1.0 avg (NBL)]
Hankins was the catalyst in '45 and we would never have won it without him.
Bob Kurland
Bob Kurland
Hankins was the second-leading scorer on OSU's first NCAA championship basketball team. He averaged 13.4 points for the 1945 title squad and scored 15 in a championship game victory over New York University. Hankins also ran track and was a contributor on OSU football teams that earned invitations to the 1945 Cotton Bowl and 1946 Sugar Bowl. He was the Cowboys' leading receiver in 1944 and played a huge role in a 46-40 victory over Tulsa that season, running four times for 45 yards and catching five passes for 141 yards and two touchdowns.
Don Hennon (1937- )
![Picture](/uploads/1/3/5/2/135250581/published/screen-shot-2020-12-27-at-8-12-19-pm.png?1636040222)
Guard—(Pittsburgh) 1956-59 [All-American 1958]
Hot Rod Hundley (1934-2015)
![Picture](/uploads/1/3/5/2/135250581/published/screen-shot-2020-12-27-at-8-18-19-pm.png?1636040303)
Guard/Forward—(West Virginia) Minneapolis/Los Angeles Lakers 1957-63; Broadcaster—Utah Jazz 1974-2009 [All-American 1956-57, #1 Pick NBA Draft, 8.4 avg. (NBA), Curt Gowdy Media Award 2003]
Merv "The Magician" Jackson (1946-2012)
![Picture](/uploads/1/3/5/2/135250581/published/screen-shot-2020-12-28-at-6-08-47-am.png?1636040394)
Guard—(Utah) 1965-68; Los Angeles Stars/Utah Stars (ABA) 1968-72, Memphis Tams (ABA) 1972-73 [ABA All Star 1969, 11.6 avg]
It's hard work and I work at it. Nothing comes easy--on the basketball floor or in life.
Merv Jackson, on playing basketball
Merv Jackson, on playing basketball
Paul Judson (1934-2023)
![Picture](/uploads/1/3/5/2/135250581/published/screen-shot-2020-12-27-at-8-26-20-pm.png?1636040503)
Guard—(Illinois) 1954-56
Roger Kaiser (1939- )
![Picture](/uploads/1/3/5/2/135250581/published/screen-shot-2020-12-27-at-8-30-57-pm.png?1636040591)
Guard—(Georgia Tech) Washington/New York Tapers (ABL) 1962-63, Philadelphia Tapers 1963-64
Tommy Kearns (1936- )
![Picture](/uploads/1/3/5/2/135250581/published/screen-shot-2020-12-27-at-8-34-48-pm.png?1636040667)
Guard—(North Carolina) Syracuse Nationals 1958-59
Weldon Kern (1923-2014)
![Picture](/uploads/1/3/5/2/135250581/published/screen-shot-2020-12-27-at-8-39-05-pm.png?1636040743)
Guard/Forward—(Oklahoma A&M) Oklahoma City Drillers (PBLA) 1947-48 [8.2 avg]
George King (1928-2006)
![Picture](/uploads/1/3/5/2/135250581/published/screen-shot-2020-12-28-at-5-36-07-am.png?1636041973)
Guard—(Morris Harvey) Syracuse Nationals 1951-56, Cincinnati Royals 1957-58 [10.3 avg]
George is a good friend and was a great boss. He let you do your thing, and if you were out of line, he would tell you right away. He didn't mince words, but he let you do your job.
Gene Keady
Gene Keady
He led the nation in scoring for two seasons at Morris Harvey, from which he graduated in 1950. King played for Syracuse and Cincinnati in the NBA, and then coached at WVU and Purdue. King coached the Boilermakers from 1965-72, compiling a 109-64 record, including the 1969 Big Ten championship. King was appointed athletic director in 1971, heading the department for 21 years before retiring in 1992. He once chaired the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics and headed several postseason bowl committees.
Jack Landon (1925-2012)
![Picture](/uploads/1/3/5/2/135250581/published/screen-shot-2020-12-28-at-5-38-37-am.png?1636042064)
Guard—(Oklahoma) Tulsa Ranchers (PBLA) [6.0 avg]
York Larese (1938-2016)
![Picture](/uploads/1/3/5/2/135250581/published/screen-shot-2020-12-28-at-5-45-22-am.png?1636042098)
Guard—(North Carolina) Philadelphia Warriors 1961-62 [5.1 avg]
He was a hardhead — not a guy who took instructions well.
Tom Meschery
Tom Meschery
York Larese was one of the few players to be named All-ACC every year he was eligible, sweeping those honors in 1959, 1960 and 1961 in the final three years of the legendary Frank McGuire's coaching tenure at Carolina. He was also named second-team All-America as a senior. A 6-4 guard from New York City, Larese was a great shooter capable of scoring from anywhere on the court. He was especially deadly from the free throw line, leading the ACC in foul shooting in 1960 with a percentage of 86.8. That stood as the Carolina record for 25 years until it was broken by Steve Hale in 1985. Larese had an unusual free throw form, simply shooting the ball as quickly as an official handed it to him. Sometimes, the official couldn't even step back before the ball was in the air.
Ray Lumpp (1923-2015)
![Picture](/uploads/1/3/5/2/135250581/published/screen-shot-2020-12-28-at-5-50-23-am.png?1636044168)
Guard—(New York University) Indianapolis Jets 1948-49, New York Knickerbockers 1949-52, Baltimore Bullets 1952-53 [Olympic Games 1948—Gold Medal; 8.2 avg]
We beat France in the final and it was like 48-10 at halftime and we were asked by Olympic officials not to embarrass the French team.
Ray Lumpp, on playing on the 1948 U.S. Olympic Gold Medal team
Ray Lumpp, on playing on the 1948 U.S. Olympic Gold Medal team
Ray Lumpp, who starred in basketball for NYU and the 1948 gold medal U.S. Olympic team, received the President's Alumni Achievement Award of NYU. As captain of the 1947-48 NYU team, Lumpp set a single-season scoring record of 377 points, then scored 38 at the Olympics in London.
Gale McArthur (1929-2020)
![Picture](/uploads/1/3/5/2/135250581/published/screen-shot-2020-12-28-at-5-54-21-am.png?1636123606)
Guard—(Oklahoma A&M 1948-51) [Second Team All American 1951]
Joel Mason (1912-1995)
![Picture](/uploads/1/3/5/2/135250581/published/screen-shot-2020-12-28-at-5-58-54-am.png?1636123706)
Guard—(Western Michigan/Texas) Sheboygan Red Skins (NBL) 1943; Coach—Detroit Gems (NBL) 1947 [1 game, 0.0 avg.; played in NFL 1939,1942-45; Wayne State basketball coach 1948-66]
Bill Melchionni (1944- )
![Picture](/uploads/1/3/5/2/135250581/published/screen-shot-2020-12-28-at-6-04-23-am.png?1636123860)
Guard—(Villanova) Philadelphia 76ers 1966-68, New York Nets 1969-76 [NBA 4.8 avg, ABA 10.6 avg]
Gene "Squeaky" Melchiorre (1927-2019)
![Picture](/uploads/1/3/5/2/135250581/editor/screen-shot-2020-12-28-at-6-14-08-am.png?1609162780)
Guard—(Bradley) 1947-51 [All-American 1951, 1st overall pick in the 1951 NBA draft, but banned from the NBA for life for his involvement in a point-shaving scandal]
It’s not disappointing at all when I look back on it. I could understand why I couldn’t play.
Gene Melchiorre, on being banned from playing in the NBA for point-shaving in college
Gene Melchiorre, on being banned from playing in the NBA for point-shaving in college
Harold "Hack" Miller (1915-1998)
![Picture](/uploads/1/3/5/2/135250581/published/screen-shot-2021-11-07-at-6-50-31-pm.png?1636339863)
Guard—(Utah, 1934-36)
Johnny O'Brien (1930- )
![Picture](/uploads/1/3/5/2/135250581/published/screen-shot-2020-12-28-at-6-26-05-am.png?1636124830)
Guard—(Seattle) [All-American 1953; played major league baseball 1953,1955-59]
If a guy face-guarded me, Ed [Johnny’s twin brother] would lob the ball up near the rim and I'd just go get it. I'd make a fake and get open, and Ed would get me the ball, and so it evolved. I was perfectly aware that without Ed there, I wouldn't have been able to accomplish a lot of what I did.
Johnny O'Brien
Johnny O'Brien
This cartoon is one of two different O'Brien-signed cartoons in my collection. Though only 5 feet 9, Johnny O'Brien became the first college player to score 1,000 points in a season when he tallied 1,051 in 1951-52. In 1953, he averaged more than 28 points a game in winning the national scoring title and becoming a consensus All-American. He also became the first NCAA player to score 3,000 for his career (3,302). He had amazing quickness. Yet he was no one-man show. His twin brother, Eddie O’Brien, fed Johnny the ball. The O'Briens never made it to the NBA. They were drafted by the old Milwaukee Hawks, but turned to pro baseball instead, as infielders and part-time pitchers. Each accepted a $25,000 signing bonus from the Pittsburgh Pirates and went straight to the majors, becoming the first set of twins to play together on the same big- league team, if not appear together on the same trading card.
Kevin O'Shea (1925-2003)
![Picture](/uploads/1/3/5/2/135250581/published/screen-shot-2020-12-28-at-6-38-35-am.png?1636125291)
Guard—(Notre Dame) Minneapolis Lakers 1950-51, Milwaukee Hawks 1951, Baltimore Bullets 1951-53, Wilkes-Barre Barons (ABL) 1952-53; Coach—San Francisco Saints (ABL) 1961 [All-American 1949-50; 5.2 avg. (NBA), 11.4 avg. (ABL)]
I wasn’t gung-ho about the pros because, when you live in San Francisco, air travel is expensive. I was the No. 1 draft choice for the Lakers and offered $15,000, but flying back and forth took $1,500 of that. You couldn’t put away any money that way, and by the same token I had two bad knees to start with, so I was faking it from the day I started. But I made enough money to make a down payment on a home at the right time.
Kevin O’Shea
Kevin O’Shea
Jim Phelan (1929-2021)
![Picture](/uploads/1/3/5/2/135250581/published/screen-shot-2020-12-28-at-6-31-06-am.png?1636124980)
Guard—(La Salle) Philadelphia Warriors 1953-54 [4g, 1.5 avg; Coach--Mount St. Mary's University 1954-2003; National Coach of the Year 1962; National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame 2008; holds NCAA record of most games coached, 1,354 in career]
Commenting in a brief handwritten note, he wrote "I don't quite look the same after 60 years."
Marty Riessen (1941- )
![Picture](/uploads/1/3/5/2/135250581/published/screen-shot-2021-11-04-at-8-11-24-am.png?1636038738)
Guard—(Northwestern, 1961-64) [6.5 avg.; he was also a pro tennis player]
Ossie Schectman (1919-2013)
![Picture](/uploads/1/3/5/2/135250581/published/screen-shot-2020-12-28-at-6-59-30-am.png?1636125482)
Guard—(Long Island) Philadelphia Sphas (ABL) 1941-46, Paterson Crescents (ABL) 1947-49; New York Knickerbockers 1946-47 [Converse All-American 1941; #1 Scoring ABL 1943-44, 54 games, 8.1 avg. (NBA)]
It was a fast break, I remember. Three of us were coming down. I had the center position. The ball was given back to me and it was a two-hand, underhanded layup shot.
Ossie Schectman, on scoring the first basket in NBA history on 1 November 1946
Ossie Schectman, on scoring the first basket in NBA history on 1 November 1946
Sol "Butch" Schwartz (1919-2008)
![Picture](/uploads/1/3/5/2/135250581/published/screen-shot-2020-12-28-at-7-05-37-am.png?1636125598)
Guard—(Long Island) Philadelphia Sphas (ABL) 1941-48, Paterson Crescents (ABL) 1948-49, Trenton Tigers (ABL) 1949-50, Allentown/Carbondale Aces (ABL) 1950-51
Our wives knew each other. We went out for dinner. We went out for breakfast.
Sol Schwartz, on the social life in early pro basketball
Sol Schwartz, on the social life in early pro basketball
Frank Selvy (1932- )
![Picture](/uploads/1/3/5/2/135250581/published/screen-shot-2020-12-28-at-7-10-38-am.png?1636125668)
Guard/Forward—(Furman) Baltimore Bullets 1954, Milwaukee Hawks 1955, St. Louis Hawks 1955-57, Minneapolis Lakers 1958,1960, New York Knickerbockers 1958-59, Syracuse Nationals 1959, Los Angeles Lakers 1960-64 [#1 Scoring NCAA 1953-54, All-American 1954; 10.8 avg]
All the other ones had gone in. I figured that one [the 100th point] would, too. People remember that and they don't remember anything else.
Frank Selvy, on being the only man to score 100 points in an NCAA Division I game
Frank Selvy, on being the only man to score 100 points in an NCAA Division I game
Selvy scored 100 points against Newberry on Feb. 13, 1954. Contested in front of over 4,000 spectators, including Selvy's mother, who along with dozens of friends and family members traveled from Corbin, Ky., to watch her son play for the first time as a collegian, the "Corbin Comet" etched his name into basketball history with a record setting performance that has since been matched by only one other player, the great Wilt Chamberlain as a member of the NBA's Philadelphia Warriors. Selvy's milestone against Newberry, completed with an estimated 43-foot shot as time expired, highlighted a senior season that saw him earn consensus All-America and United Press National Player-of-the-Year honors. Furman finshed the year 20-9 with wins over Virginia Tech, South Carolina, Clemson, Manhattan, and Georgia Tech, and many others. Selected No. 1 in the 1954 NBA Draft by the Baltimore Bullets, Selvy played nine years of professional ball, including the last five with the Los Angeles Lakers. A two-time NBA All-Star, he averaged 10.8 ppg in his career.
Gene Shue (1931-2022)
![Picture](/uploads/1/3/5/2/135250581/published/screen-shot-2020-12-28-at-7-16-28-am.png?1636038804)
Guard—(Maryland) Philadelphia Warriors 1954, New York Knicks 1954-56, 1962-63, Fort Wayne/Detroit Pistons 1956-62, Baltimore Bullets 1963-64; Coach—Baltimore Bullets 1966-73, Philadelphia 76ers 1973-77, San Diego Clippers 1978-80, Washington Bullets 1980-86, Los Angeles Clippers 1987-89 [14.4 avg., All Star 1958-62, Coach of the Year 1969, 1982]
Shue played me better than anyone.
Bill Sharman
Bill Sharman
Larry “Telstar” Siegfried (1939-2010)
![Picture](/uploads/1/3/5/2/135250581/published/screen-shot-2020-12-28-at-7-20-53-am.png?1636125754)
Guard—(Ohio State) Boston Celtics 1963-70, San Diego Rockets 1970-71, Atlanta Hawks 1971-72 [10.8 avg.]
I was an energetic type of person. And I also loved my cartoons back then. In the morning, I'd get up early and flip on the television to catch the cartoons. But Siegfried would get up, walk over to the TV, flip it off, and the only thing he would say is “bedtime.” I couldn't make a single noise in the morning. I couldn't even [go to the bathroom] without making too much noise.
Calvin Murphy
Calvin Murphy
Meyer "Whitey" Skoog (1926-2019)
![Picture](/uploads/1/3/5/2/135250581/published/screen-shot-2021-11-05-at-8-27-04-am.png?1636126132)
Guard—(Minnesota) Minneapolis Lakers 1951-57 [8.2 avg]
He was the first guy to shoot the jumper on a regular basis here. He could hit that thing from all over the court. We had some good players at that spot before Whitey, but he was the best — a shooter and an athlete. I remember Johnny Kundla was mad at him during a playoff series with the Knicks and didn't want to take him to New York. [General manager] Max Winter wound up saying, “Take him.” The games were played in the 69th Street Armory. Skoog went wild, hitting those jumpers. The New York writers were all asking, “Who's this Skoo-j?”
Sid Hartman
Sid Hartman
Bill Tosheff (1926-2011)
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Guard—(Indiana) Indianapolis Olympians 1951-53, Milwaukee Hawks 1953-54 [NBA Rookie of the Year 1952, 9.2 avg, 203 games, 1859 pts.]
After my career in Indiana, I was drafted into the NBA by the Indianapolis Olympians for the ‘51-52 season. The Olympians were then owned by the Kentucky Five — Ralph Beard, Alex Groza, Cliff Barker, Joe Holland and Wah Wah Jones. They had come into the league with their own franchise in 1949. Groza was the Rookie of the Year that year. I was also recruited by the Phillips Oilers and the Goodyear Wingfoots of the industrial league, but I didn’t care to get into industry. I wanted to play pro ball. I took the first contract from Indianapolis over to coach Her Schaefer, an All-American from Indiana and on the 1940 national championship team. I said, “Herm, what do you think of this contract?” He said, “Gosh, it’s a damn good contract.” It was for $4,500. My first year I became the co-Rookie of the Year, along with BYU’s Mel Hutchins of the Tri-Cities Blackhawks.
Bill Tosheff
Bill Tosheff
After signing his autograph, Tosheff printed on the bottom of this cartoon, "Not to be used for commercial purposes." In his initialed note he wrote: "Interesting how the past is surfacing. This photo was given to me in person by Pap in 1952 in Madison Square Garden after a N.Y. Knick game. It was his original drawing."
Herschell Turner (1938- )
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Guard—(Nebraska) Pittsburgh Pipers (ABA) 1967-68, Anaheim Amigos (ABA) 1967-68 [All-American 1959; ABA 3.9 avg.; Harlem Globetrotters]
Hal Uplinger (1929-2011)
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Guard—(Long Island University) Baltimore Bullets 1953-54 [4.1 avg]
Murray Wier (1926-2016)
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Guard—(Iowa) Tri-Cities Blackhawks (NBL/NBA) 1948-50, Waterloo Hawks (NPBL) 1950-51 [All-American 1948, #1 Scoring NCAA 1948]
Two guys I loved on that team [Waterloo Hawks] were both 5-8 guards, Buckshot O’Brien and Murray Wier.
Jack Smiley
Jack Smiley