Knick Knacks PUBLISHED BY THE KNICKERBOCKER PROFESSIONAL BASKETBALL TEAM • MADISON S9UARE GARDEN Volume 3, Number 1 September, 1949 Kentucky's Fabulous Four Meet Knicks: Groza, Beard, Jones, Barker Face !(nicks in Garden Opener, Nov.IO Alex Groza WaUace Jones What many court critics consider the best college basketball tean of all time, the University of Kentucky, now the professional Indian Pro Leagues a polis Olympians, will help the New York Knickerbockers open thei1 1949-50 home season, in Madison Square Garden, Thursday, Novem In Merger her 10. Kentucky's Fabulous Four-Alex Groza, Ralph Beard, Wah Wat In addition to such favorites as Jones and Cliff Barker- the scourge of rival collegiate squads for the the Minneapolis Lakers, Chicago past three years signed as a unit with lndianapoli1 Stags, Washington Capitols, Phil­ and their efforts against the nation's top profes adelphia Warriors and Rochester sional outfits in the ational Basketball Assn. wil Royals, New York court fans this be followed with keen interest. ;eason will see the pick of the Alex Groza, the 6-7 Wildcat center, was the ~ational League clubs. country's leading college scorer last season ir Ten clubs from the Basketball major competition. He made 698 points, an aver <\ssn. of America, in which the age of 20.5 in 34 games, and was an <.~nanimom NPw Yo-rk Knickerbockers held All-America ::.election. Ralph Beard was runner-UJ membership three years, have to Groza among the Kentuckians with 370 points joined with seven National Lea­ followed by Jones with 309 and Barker, 248. gue franchises to form the Na­ In 26 regular season games last winter KentuckJ tional Basketball Assn. lost only to St. Louis, by two points. The Cats wor The ten BAA clubs are: Wash­ the Southeastern Eastern Conference tournament ington, Baltimore, Philadelphia, but lost to Loyola of Chicago in the Invitation ew York, Boston, Chicago, Min­ They then captured the NCAA title, beating Okla neapolis, St. Louis, Ft. Wayne homa A&M, at Seattle, in the finals. They finishe< md Rochester, and the seven NL out the long campaign with 32 victories and onl' outfits- Syracuse, Tri-Cities, She­ Ralph Beard, Kentucky's All­ two defeats, averaging 68.2 points a game. · America guard, who'll b e in boygan, Anderson, Waterloo, Den­ The Fabulous Four twice won the NCAA cham ver and Indianapolis. The Provi­ lineup of Indianapolis against Knicks in Garden opener, pionship and the 1946 Invitation crown. The] dence Steamrollers and the Indian­ Nov. 10. reached the finals of the 1948 Olympic Trials apolis Jets withdrew from the BAA and are not included in the I new circuit. , Bovko-F-F, Kerris, Otten in Pro Loon Feerick Named Anderson, Ind., won the Na- .! 'J J! r tiona! League title last season. 1-----------------------.....J Capitols' Coach That circuit's leading scorer was Harry Boykoff, former St. John's star center, who still holds the Bob Feerick, former Santa Clar• Don Otten, Tri-Cities, with 872 all-time Madison Square Garden record of 54 points in one game, All-America and leading scorer o points in 63 games. Otten played has developed into one of the pro game's standout pivotmen. the Washington Capitols for the in the Gar~en with Bowling Green Big Harry is with Waterloo, Iowa, one of the seven National lS a collegran. 1 · h h past two sea Each NBA team will la 68 League c ubs to merge w_rt t e sons, will be the . P Y Basketball Assn. of Amenca. He games t hrs wmter, to be followed · I · h" th. d f lege season, _averaging 15.1 a playing - coacl · h" 1 ff rs p aymg rs u year o pro game. Kerris rs 6-6, weighs 210 by ch ampwns rp p ayo s. b k tb II Aft h" II . t of that club thi1 as e a . er rs co egra e and holds all Loyola scoring year, succeedin~ career at St. John's, Big Harry, marks. / Red Auerbach We'II Mail 'Em 6-9, joined Toledo of the National One of Kerris' Tri-Cities team­ Feerick totale• League. Last season that fran­ This is the first issu e of mates is Don Otten, 6-11, who 752 points in 5: Knick Knacks for the corning chise was transferred to Waterloo, starred in the Garden with Bowl­ games last win court campaign. where Boykoff scored 767 points ing Green. Otten led the National ter and 775 ir Knick Knacks, published for sixth place among league monthly during the season, League last year with 872 points 48 games ir deals with the New York leaders. and was all-league first team cen­ 1947-48, whe1 Knickerbockers and other Another Garden favorite now a ter. Bob Feerick he was name< team s in the professional Na­ pro is Jack Kerris, whose brilliant Howie Schultz, former Dodger to the all-league first team. H1 tional Basketball Assn. stands 6-3 and is 28 years old If you a re not already on play enabled Loyola of Chicago first baseman, is the playing coach Feerick is a spectacular one-han( our mailing list and desire to to upset Kentucky in last year's of Anderson, Indiana, which won he included write B asketball National Invitation Tournament. shot and excellent ball handler Dept., Madison Square Gar­ the NL crown last year. Schultz Referee Pat Kennedy rates hin Kerris is with Tri-Cities. He to· den, 307 W. 49th St. There is was a Garden visitor as an un­ one of the top pro players of a] no charge. tailed 469 points in his final col- dergraduate with Hamline. time. - L- BAA Figures Prove Mikan [s the l(ing Pep Saul The official Basketball Assn. of Bob Harrison Slater Martin \.merica scoring statistics for last ,cason disclose something that :veryone readily admits- that Last S , eason~s College Aces ;eorge Mikan is tops among the :ountry's dribble and shoot boys. In leading the Minneapolis Lak- Now Knick s~ League Rivals :rs to the championship, Mikan Practically all of last season's great college seniors will be in ;cored 1,698 points for the regular action here against the New York Knickerbockers during the coming ;cason of 60 games, an amazing National Basketball Assn. schedule. Such well known names to Madi­ per game aver- son Square Garden fans as Ed Macauley, Slater Martin, Pep Saul, age of 28.3. His Vern Gardner, Bob Harrison, Vern Mikkelson, Fred Schaus and the "batting aver- famed Kentucky trio of Ralph age" was .416 Beard, Alex Groza and Wah Wah ers, in two games last year. as he made Jones will oppose Joe Lapchick's Most of the above named col­ good 583 field improved squad. legians played in the East-West All goals in 1,403 Macauley, All-American center Star game here last April. attempts. from St. Louis University the past Social notes-Bill Van Breda At that, Joe two years, is now with the St. Kolff of the Knicks became the Fulks of the Louis Bombers. Easy Ed led St. father of twin daughters recently P h i I a d e I • Louis to the National Invitation and Harry Gallatin took a bride, G M'k phia Warriors Tournament championship in Beverly Ann Hull, at Burlington, Ed M acauley, St. Louis Univ. eorge 1 an was a close run- 1948, and to an upset victory over Iowa, Sept. 25. Expectant fathers All-Amer ica center, now with pr£ ner-up to Mikan with 1,560 points, Kentucky last December in the are Ray Lumpp and Vince Boryla. St. Lou is Bombers. 138 less, for the same number of Sugar Bowl. ---------------------------- games, and his average was an The Philadelphia Warriors have ROOKIE-OF-THE-YEAR ~ven 26. The only other player signed Vern Gardner, Utah's tal­ with a 20-point per game average ented center, along with Bowling .vas Max Zaslofsky, the Brooklyn Green's Johnny Payak and Tern­ Schayes Back in Garden Joy, of the Chicago Stags, who pie's leading scorer, Nelson Bobb. led the BAA in scoring in 1947- Frank "Pep" Saul, one of Seton Adolph Schayes, ace New York University centeJ ~8. Max averaged 20.6 last winter Hall's all-time standouts, is wi th for four years, returns to Madison Square Garden md totalled 1,197 in 58 games. the Rochester Royals, where he scene of his many brilliant court performances Arnie Risen, Rochester Royals, joins another Seton Hall immortal, this winter as a rival of the New York Knicker ilad the best field goal percentage, Bobby Davies. bockers. 423, and was fourth in league Ft. Wayne's roster is studded Schayes, in his first season of pro basketbar ;coring with 995 points. Carl with last year's leading collegians, Ad 1 h S h with Syracuse, was voted the National League'1 Braun, of the New York Knicker- including Johnny Oldham and 0 P c ayes rookie-of-the-year for 1948-49 after scoring 801 bockers, finished ninth with 810, Charley Parsley, of Western Ken­ points in 62 games, an average of 12.8, for fifth place in the circuit iveraging 14.2. tucky; Bob Harris, Oklahoma Ag- In the six playoff games he made 86 for a 14.3 average. As a team Minneapolis averaged gies' big center, and Fred Schaus A notch below Schayes in the final standings was Harry Boykoff g4.03 points per contest, the same from West Virginia U. Slater Mar­ former St. John's giant center, with 767 points, Harry received hon figure as turned in by Rochester.