Clyde Lovellette facts for kids
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Lovellette with his mother Myrtle in 1956
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| Personal information | ||||||||||||||
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| Born | September 7, 1929 Petersburg, Indiana, U.S. |
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| Died | March 9, 2016 (aged 86) North Manchester, Indiana, U.S. |
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| High school | Garfield (Terre Haute, Indiana) | |||||||||||||
| Listed height | 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) | |||||||||||||
| Listed weight | 234 lb (106 kg) | |||||||||||||
| Career information | ||||||||||||||
| College | Kansas (1949–1952) | |||||||||||||
| NBA Draft | 1952 / Round: 1 / Pick: 9th overall | |||||||||||||
| Selected by the Minneapolis Lakers | ||||||||||||||
| Pro career | 1951–1964 | |||||||||||||
| Career history | ||||||||||||||
| 1951–1953 | Phillips 66ers | |||||||||||||
| 1953–1957 | Minneapolis Lakers | |||||||||||||
| 1957–1958 | Cincinnati Royals | |||||||||||||
| 1958–1962 | St. Louis Hawks | |||||||||||||
| 1962–1964 | Boston Celtics | |||||||||||||
| Career highlights and awards | ||||||||||||||
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| Career NBA statistics | ||||||||||||||
| Points | 11,947 (17.0 ppg) | |||||||||||||
| Rebounds | 6,663 (9.5 rpg) | |||||||||||||
| Assists | 1,165 (1.6 apg) | |||||||||||||
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Medals
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Clyde Edward Lovellette (born September 7, 1929 – died March 9, 2016) was an amazing American professional basketball player. He was a true pioneer in the sport. Clyde Lovellette made history as the first basketball player ever to win an NCAA championship, an Olympic gold medal, and an NBA championship. He was honored for his incredible career by being inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 1988.
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Clyde Lovellette's Basketball Journey
Clyde Lovellette was known for being a tall, strong, and high-scoring player. He helped change how big players played basketball. Before college, he was a two-time All-State player at Garfield High School in Terre Haute, Indiana. In his junior year (1946–47), his team lost in the Indiana state championship finals.
College Basketball Star
Clyde Lovellette went to the University of Kansas and played for the famous coach Phog Allen. While at Kansas, he was named a first-team All-American twice. He led the Big Seven Conference in scoring for all three of his seasons there.
In 1952, Clyde led the Kansas Jayhawks to win the NCAA title. He was named the Most Valuable Player of the tournament. He set a new NCAA record by scoring 141 points in the tournament. He was also the first player to score 40 or more points in an NCAA tournament game. He scored 44 points against Saint Louis in a big game on March 22, 1952.
Clyde Lovellette was the top scorer in the United States during his senior year (1951–52), averaging 28.4 points per game. He was also named the Helms Foundation Player of the Year. Interestingly, basketball legend Dean Smith was one of his teammates at Kansas. Clyde is still the only college player to lead the nation in scoring and win the NCAA title in the same year.
Olympic Gold Medalist
Clyde's amazing skills earned him a spot on the 1952 Summer Olympics team. This team won the gold medal in Helsinki, Finland. Clyde was a key player and the top scorer for the U.S. team.
Professional NBA Career
After college, Clyde Lovellette was chosen ninth overall in the 1952 NBA draft by the Minneapolis Lakers. Before joining the NBA, he played for the Bartlesville Phillips 66ers for two seasons.
In the professional league, Clyde was one of the first big players to shoot from further away from the basket. He used a special one-handed shot that made him a threat from many spots on the court. This allowed him to play different positions, like small forward, power forward, or center. This made it tough for opposing teams to guard him.
In 1957, Clyde helped the Minneapolis Lakers reach the NBA Western Division Finals. He averaged 24.2 points and 9.4 rebounds per game in those playoffs. Even though he played great, his team lost to the St. Louis Hawks.
Clyde played 704 NBA games for the Minneapolis Lakers, Cincinnati Royals, St. Louis Hawks, and Boston Celtics. He scored a total of 11,947 points (averaging 17.0 points per game) and grabbed 6,663 rebounds (averaging 9.3 rebounds per game). He was chosen to play in four NBA All-Star Games. Clyde was a very important part of championship teams in Minneapolis (1954) and Boston (1963, 1964).
Amazing Achievements and Honors
Clyde Lovellette is one of only eight players in basketball history to win an NCAA championship, an NBA championship, and an Olympic gold medal. He was also the first player to win a championship with both the Boston Celtics and the Minneapolis/Los Angeles Lakers.
He was inducted into the Indiana Basketball Hall of Fame in 1982. The University of Kansas honored him by retiring his #16 jersey. In 1988, he was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. As of 2018, Clyde Lovellette is the only player from the 1952 NBA draft to be in the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.
Clyde's Life After Basketball
Clyde married Sally Wheeler while he was at Kansas University. They had three daughters: Cynthia, Linda, and Cherie.
After he stopped playing professional basketball, Clyde was elected as the Sheriff of Vigo County, Indiana. He also owned a small farm where he raised cattle. He continued his education and earned his master's degree.
For 20 years, Clyde worked at Whites Residential Services, a school for teenagers who needed guidance. He had a very positive impact on their lives. Later, he moved to Munising, Michigan, where he served as the Varsity Basketball Assistant Coach and was on the Munising City Council.
Clyde eventually moved back to Indiana and passed away from cancer in North Manchester, Indiana, at the age of 86, surrounded by his family.
Images for kids
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Lovellette in 1961
