Don Boven
 |
|
| Current position | |
|---|---|
| Title | Head coach |
| Biographical details | |
| Born |
March 6, 1925 Kalamazoo, Michigan |
| Died | March 10, 2011 (aged 86) Kalamazoo, Michigan |
| Playing career | |
| 1946–1949 | Western Michigan |
| 1949–1951 | Waterloo Hawks |
| 1951–1952 | Milwaukee Hawks |
| 1952–1953 | Fort Wayne Pistons |
| Position(s) | Small forward |
| Coaching career (HC unless noted) | |
| 1958–1966 | Western Michigan |
| Head coaching record | |
| Overall | 75–112 (.401) |
Donald E. Boven (March 6, 1925 – March 10, 2011) was an American basketball player, coach, and university instructor. He was a World War II veteran who was a standout athlete at Western Michigan University. After playing professional basketball, he served as an instructor at the University for more than 30 years. In the 1980s, Boven retired from his teaching duties but remained active in sporting circles and became involved in voluntary public service in his Michigan township.
Boven was born in Kalamazoo, Michigan in 1925. He was the second of four sons born to Thomas Boven and Jessie Knapper. His parents were immigrants from the Netherlands, having come from Groningen. Boven was raised on the north side of Kalamazoo and attended Lincoln Junior High School. He then developed into a successful athlete at Kalamazoo Central High School where he lettered in football, baseball, and basketball. He graduated from Central in 1943 and, after his graduation, enlisted in the United States Army to serve in Europe during World War II. He was a Gunnery Sergeant with the American Third Army and arrived at Omaha Beach on D-Day plus two. He also fought with the Third Army at the Battle of the Bulge. Following World War II, Boven returned to Kalamazoo where he enrolled at Western Michigan University with the help of the G.I. Bill to study for a degree in education.
Don Boven attended Western Michigan University from 1946 to 1949. He was an athletic standout while at Western and earned 11 varsity letters in football, basketball and baseball. In his final year at Western, he received the University's Academic-Athletic Excellence Honor Medal. On the basketball court at Western Michigan, Boven set the career scoring record with 1099 points between 1946 and 1949, though this record has since been broken. He is remembered as having successfully competed against players that were much taller than he was, such as Bowling Green's Don Otten. Boven also remains among the top ten for free throws made and free throws attempted. As a junior, Boven was named a second team All-American and in 1949, the senior was named a first team All-American. After college, Boven received offers to play professionally from the Detroit Lions in football, the Chicago Cubs in baseball, and several professional basketball teams. He chose to play basketball and was selected by the Indianapolis Olympians in the 6th round of the 1949 BAA draft.
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