Bobby McDermott
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| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Born |
January 7, 1914 Queens, New York |
| Died | October 3, 1963 (aged 49) Yonkers, New York |
| Listed height | 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m) |
| Listed weight | 180 lb (82 kg) |
| Career information | |
| Playing career | 1934–1950 |
| Position | Guard |
| Career history | |
| As player: | |
| 1934–1936 | Brooklyn Visitations |
| 1939–1941 | Baltimore Clippers |
| 1941–1946 | Fort Wayne Pistons |
| 1946–1947 | Chicago American Gears |
| 1947 | Sheboygan Red Skins |
| 1949 | Hammond Calumet Buccaneers |
| 1949–1950 | Wilkes-Barre Barons |
| 1950 | Grand Rapids Hornets |
| As coach: | |
| 1943–1946 | Fort Wayne Pistons |
| 1946–1947 | Chicago American Gears |
| 1947–1948 | Sheboygan Red Skins |
| 1947–1949 | Tri-Cities Blackhawks |
| 1950 | Grand Rapids Hornets |
| Career highlights and awards | |
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As player:
As head coach:
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| Basketball Hall of Fame as player | |
As player:
As head coach:
Robert "Bobby" McDermott (January 7, 1914 – October 3, 1963) was an American professional basketball player in the 1930s and 1940s. He was known as an outstanding shooter and has been called "the greatest long-distance shooter in the history of the game" by contemporaries. His grandson is businessman Bill McDermott.
During the 1940s the most common offenses were motion offenses that were supposed to open up players close to the goal. This was because most players were awful shooters. The most common defenses were zones that clogged passing lanes and packed the paint. For zone defenses to be successful, all the defenders have to be close together and close to the basket.
McDermott spread the defenders like nobody ever did before. He was an accurate shooter for his day but not legendarily accurate. His free throw percentage was below 80% most of his career and he used a two-handed set shot from the chest that was easy to block. However, he could score from anywhere within the half court. Al Cervi, a great defensive player who often had to guard him, said of McDermott, "Oh, he could shoot! If he shot ten times from thirty feet, I'd guarantee he'd make eight in game conditions." He could shoot from almost anywhere on the court. At a time when most teams played a deliberate slow-up style and scoring less than 30 wasn't just common, it was expected, McDermott frequently scored more than 20 points, and scored as many as 36.
McDermott dropped out of high school after just one year, and was picked up by the Brooklyn Visitations after making a name for himself on the playgrounds. He continued the trend in the American Basketball League. He led the league in scoring, and helped Brooklyn win the 1934-35 ABL championship against the dominant Philadelphia Sphas in their prime. He spent a year in the New York Professional League where he set a play-off record for most points with 32. He played with the recently reorganized Original Celtics for the next three years.
He went back to the ABL and was again the league's scoring leader, returned to the Celtics for another season, then settled down for a while with the Ft. Wayne Zollner Pistons of the National Basketball League in 1941. From 1941-46 he was at his peak. He improved his shot and for the first time his free throw percentage rose above 80%. He continued to get more accurate and dangerous while keeping his legendary range. The Pistons won over 80% of their games and made five consecutive NBL finals appearances. They won NBL titles in 1944 and 1945, as well as the World Professional Basketball Tournament in Chicago.
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