Sharman in 1960
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Personal information | |
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Born |
Abilene, Texas |
May 25, 1926
Died | October 25, 2013 Redondo Beach, California |
(aged 87)
Nationality | American |
Listed height | 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) |
Listed weight | 175 lb (79 kg) |
Career information | |
High school | Porterville (Porterville, California) |
College | USC (1946–1950) |
NBA draft | 1950 / Round: 2 / Pick: 17th overall |
Selected by the Washington Capitols | |
Playing career | 1950–1961 |
Position | Shooting guard |
Number | 10, 21 |
Coaching career | 1961–1976 |
Career history | |
As player: | |
1950–1951 | Washington Capitols |
1951–1961 | Boston Celtics |
As coach: | |
1961–1962 | Cleveland Pipers |
1966–1968 | San Francisco Warriors |
1968–1971 | Los Angeles / Utah Stars |
1971–1976 | Los Angeles Lakers |
Career highlights and awards | |
As player:
As coach:
As executive: |
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Career statistics | |
Points | 12,665 (17.8 ppg) |
Rebounds | 2,779 (3.9 rpg) |
Assists | 2,101 (3.0 apg) |
Stats at Basketball-Reference.com | |
Basketball Hall of Fame as player | |
Basketball Hall of Fame as coach | |
College Basketball Hall of Fame Inducted in 2006 |
As player:
As coach:
As executive:
William Walton "Bill" Sharman (May 25, 1926 – October 25, 2013) was an American professional basketball player and coach. He is mostly known for his time with the Boston Celtics in the 1950s, partnering with Bob Cousy in what some consider the greatest backcourt duo of all time. As a coach, Sharman won titles in the ABL, ABA, and NBA, and is credited with introducing the now ubiquitous morning shootaround.
He was a 10-time NBA champion (having won four titles as a player with the Celtics, one as head coach of the Los Angeles Lakers, and five as a Lakers executive), and a 12-time World Champion in basketball overall counting his ABL and ABA titles. Sharman is also a two-time Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame inductee, having been being inducted in 1976 as a player, and in 2004 as a coach. Only John Wooden, Lenny Wilkens and Tommy Heinsohn share this double honor.
Sharman completed high school in the Central California city of Porterville, California. He served during World War II from 1944 to 1946 in the US Navy, and was a graduate of the University of Southern California. He played 1st base on the 1948 USC Trojan's College World Series championship team. Following his senior year, Sharman was selected as one of the 1950 NCAA Men's Basketball All-Americans.
From 1950 to 1955 Sharman played professional baseball in the Brooklyn Dodgers minor league system. He was called up to the Dodgers late in the 1951 season but did not appear in a game. He was part of a September 27 game in which the entire Brooklyn bench was cleared from the dugout for arguing with the home plate umpire over a ruling at the plate. This has led to the legend that Sharman holds the distinction of being the only player in baseball history to have ever been ejected from a major league game without ever appearing in one. However, although Sharman was among the Dodger bench players that had to go to the clubhouse, none of them were actually barred from playing in the game. In fact, in the top of the ninth, one of the other dismissed players, Wayne Terwilliger, was used as a pinch-hitter in the game.