Bob Pettit

Bob Pettit (with the ball) as a player for the St. Louis Hawks
Position	Power forward
Height	6 ft 9 in (2. Power forward is a position in the sport of Basketball. The position is referred to in playbook terms as the four position and is commonly abbreviated "PF" A foot (plural feet or foot; symbol or abbreviation ft or sometimes &prime – the prime symbol) is a non-SI unit Inches redirects here To see the Les Savy Fav album see Inches. 06 m)
Weight	240 lb (110 kg)
Born	December 12, 1932 (1932-12-12) (age 75) Baton Rouge, Louisiana
Nationality	USA
College	LSU
Pro career	1954–1965
Former teams	Milwaukee Hawks 1954-55 St. Louis Hawks 1955-65
Hall of Fame	1971

Robert E. The metre or meter is a unit of Length. It is the basic unit of Length in the Metric system and in the International The pound or pound-mass (abbreviation lb, lbm, or sometimes in the United States #) is a unit of Mass Events 627 - Battle of Nineveh: A Byzantine army under Emperor Heraclius defeats Emperor Khosrau II 's Persian Year 1932 ( MCMXXXII) was a Leap year starting on Friday of the Gregorian calendar. Baton Rouge (French Bâton-Rouge ˌbætən ˈruːdʒ in English, and in French) is the capital city of Louisiana. Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College, generally known as Louisiana State University or LSU, is a public, Coeducational The Atlanta Hawks are an American professional Basketball team based in Atlanta Georgia. Lee "Bob" Pettit (born December 12, 1932, in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, U.S.) is a retired American professional basketball player. Events 627 - Battle of Nineveh: A Byzantine army under Emperor Heraclius defeats Emperor Khosrau II 's Persian Year 1932 ( MCMXXXII) was a Leap year starting on Friday of the Gregorian calendar. Baton Rouge (French Bâton-Rouge ˌbætən ˈruːdʒ in English, and in French) is the capital city of Louisiana. The United States of America —commonly referred to as the Basketball is a team Sport in which two teams of five active players each try to score points against one another by propelling a ball through a 10 feet (3 m He played 11 seasons in the NBA, all with the Milwaukee/St. Louis Hawks (1954-1965). The Atlanta Hawks are an American professional Basketball team based in Atlanta Georgia. Year 1954 ( MCMLIV) was a Common year starting on Friday (link will display full 1954 Gregorian calendar) Year 1965 ( MCMLXV) was a Common year starting on Friday (link will display full calendar of the 1965 Gregorian calendar. He was the first recipient of the NBA's Most Valuable Player Award. He was inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame in 1971. The Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame, located in downtown Springfield Massachusetts, honors players who have shown exceptional skill at Basketball Year 1971 ( MCMLXXI) was a Common year starting on Friday (link will display full calendar of the 1971 Gregorian calendar. He also went by the nickname "Dutch" in college.

Humble beginnings

Pettit's basketball career had humble beginnings. At Baton Rouge High School, he was cut from the varsity basketball team as both a freshman and sophomore. Baton Rouge Magnet High School is a Magnet school in the East Baton Rouge Parish School system and was founded in the early 1890s His father, Sheriff of East Baton Rouge Parish (1932-1936), pushed him to practice in the backyard of the Kemmerly house until he improved his skills. SHERIFF is a telecom fraud detection and management system originally developed by BT and MCI. East Baton Rouge Parish (Paroisse de Bâton-Rouge Est is a Parish located in the U It worked: Pettit became a starter as a junior, and led Baton Rouge High to its first State Championship in more than 20 years in his senior year.

Louisiana State University

After high school, Pettit accepted a scholarship to play at Louisiana State University. A scholarship is an award of access to an institution or a financial aid award for an individual student scholar for the purpose of furthering their Education Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College, generally known as Louisiana State University or LSU, is a public, Coeducational He was a three-time All-Southeastern Conference selection and a two-time All American as a member of the LSU men's basketball team. The Southeastern Conference (SEC is a College Athletic conference headquartered in Birmingham, Alabama, which operates in the southeastern An All-American "team" is an honorary Sports team composed of outstanding Amateur players those considered the best players of a specific season for The Louisiana State Tigers Basketball team represents Louisiana State University in NCAA Division I men's College basketball. (Freshmen were not allowed to play varsity basketball in those days. ) During those three years, Pettit averaged 27. 8 points per game. He was also a member of the Zeta Zeta Chapter of Delta Kappa Epsilon at LSU. Delta Kappa Epsilon ( ΔΚΕ; also pronounced D-K-E or "Deke" is a Fraternity founded at Yale College in 1844 by 15 men of the sophomore

Pettit made his varsity debut at LSU in 1952. He led the SEC in scoring for his first of three consecutive seasons, averaging 25. 5 points per game. He also averaged 13. 1 rebounds per game, helped his team to a second-place finish in the league, and was selected to the All-SEC team.

During his junior year, Pettit led the Tigers to their second SEC Title (their first came in 1935) and their first NCAA Final Four. The NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Championship is a single elimination Tournament held each spring featuring 65 College basketball teams in the He averaged 24. 9 points and 13. 9 rebounds per game for the 1953 season. He was honored with selections to both the All-SEC and All-American teams.

Petit averaged 31. 4 points and 17. 3 rebounds per game during his senior year and once again led LSU to an SEC Championship and garnered All-SEC and All-American honors.

In 1954, his number 50 was retired at LSU. He was the first Tiger athlete in any sport to receive this distinction. In 1999, he was named Living Legend for LSU at the SEC Basketball Tournament. Year 1999 ( MCMXCIX) was a Common year starting on Friday (link will display full 1999 Gregorian calendar) He is a member of the LSU Hall of Fame. The Louisiana State University Athletic Hall of Fame recognizes members of the athletics program that have made a lasting impact on the university Bob Pettit Boulevard in Baton Rouge, LA is named after him.

Pro basketball

In 1954, the Milwaukee Hawks selected Pettit in the first round of the NBA Draft. The Atlanta Hawks are an American professional Basketball team based in Atlanta Georgia. The NBA Draft is an annual North American event in which the National Basketball Association 's (NBA thirty teams (29 in the United States and one in Many were skeptical about Pettit making the transition from college to the rough-and-tumble NBA. Rookies often struggle adjusting to the pro game, but not Pettit — in 1955 he won the NBA Rookie of the Year Award after averaging 20. Year 1955 ( MCMLV) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link displays the 1955 Gregorian calendar) 4 points and 13.8 rebounds per game. This list exhibits the National Basketball Association 's top rookie single-season rebounding averages After this season, the Hawks moved to St. Louis.

Pettit was moved to forward as a pro. "In college I played the standing pivot," he said in a April 1957 issue of SPORT magazine interview. "My back was to the basket. In the pros, I'm always outside. Everything I do is facing the basket now. That was my chief difficulty in adjusting, the fact that I had never played forward before. "

In his second season, Pettit won his first scoring title with a 25. 7 average, and led the league in rebounding (1164 for a 16. 2 average). He was also named MVP of the NBA All-Star Game after scoring 20 points with 24 rebounds; he would win subsequent MVP All-Star Game honors in 1958, 1959, and 1962. The National Basketball Association staged its first All-Star Game in the Boston Garden on March 2, 1951. Year 1958 ( MCMLVIII) was a Common year starting on Wednesday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. The year 1959 ( MCMLIX) was a Common year starting on Thursday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Year 1962 ( MCMLXII) was a Common year starting on Monday (the link is to a full 1962 calendar of the Gregorian calendar. He also won his first of two NBA regular season MVP awards (the other was in 1959). The year 1959 ( MCMLIX) was a Common year starting on Thursday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar.

In 1958, Pettit, Ed Macauley and Cliff Hagan led the Hawks to an NBA Championship, defeating the Bill Russell-led Boston Celtics in the NBA Finals (the Hawks had acquired Macauley and Hagan from Boston for the draft rights to Russell). Year 1958 ( MCMLVIII) was a Common year starting on Wednesday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Charles Edward "Ed" Macauley (born March 22 1928 in St Clifford Oldham Hagan (born December 9 1931, in Owensboro Kentucky) is an American former professional Basketball player William Felton "Bill" Russell (born February 12 1934 in Monroe, Louisiana) is a retired American professional Basketball The Boston Celtics are an American professional Basketball team based in Boston, Massachusetts, playing in the Atlantic Division of the The NBA Finals is the championship series of the National Basketball Association and the conclusion of the sport's postseason each June Pettit put an exclamation point on the Hawks' 110-109 game 6 victory by scoring a then-playoff record of 50 points. Both teams would also meet in the 1957, 1960 and 1961 Finals, with Boston winning each time. Year 1957 ( MCMLVII) was a Common year starting on Tuesday (link displays the 1957 Gregorian calendar) Year 1960 ( MCMLX) was a Leap year starting on Friday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Year 1961 ( MCMLXI) was a Common year starting on Sunday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar.

Pettit's league leading scoring average of 29. 2 points per game in the 1958-59 season was an NBA record at the time, that season he was also named as the Sporting News NBA MVP. The 1958–59 NBA Season was the 13th season of the National Basketball Association. Sporting News (previously The Sporting News, and known colloquially as TSN) is an American -based Sports In the 1960-61 season, Pettit pulled down 20.3 rebounds per game, making him one of only five players to ever break the 20 rpg barrier. The 1960–61 NBA season was the 15th season of the National Basketball Association. This list exhibits the National Basketball Association 's top single-season rebounding averages of which the top 18 are shared by only Wilt Chamberlain and Bill In the following season, he scored a career best 31. 1 points per game.

Pettit ended his career in 1965, becoming the first NBA player to eclipse the 20,000 points mark (20,880 for a 26. Year 1965 ( MCMLXV) was a Common year starting on Friday (link will display full calendar of the 1965 Gregorian calendar. 4 average). His 12,849 rebounds were second most in league history at the time he retired, and his 16. 2 rebounds per game career average remains third only to Wilt Chamberlain and Bill Russell. Wilton Norman "Wilt" Chamberlain (August 21 1936&ndashOctober 12 1999 nicknamed Wilt the Stilt, The Big Dipper, and Chairman of the Boards William Felton "Bill" Russell (born February 12 1934 in Monroe, Louisiana) is a retired American professional Basketball

Pettit was an NBA All-Star in each of his 11 seasons, was named to the All-NBA First Team ten times, and was name to the All-NBA Second Team once. Pettit still holds the top two NBA All-Star Game rebounding performances with 26 in 1958 and 27 in 1962, and has the second highest All-Star Game points per game average with 20. 4 (behind only Oscar Robertson). Oscar Palmer Robertson (born November 24 1938 in Charlotte Tennessee) nicknamed " The Big O " is a former American NBA player with Pettit averaged at least 20 points per game and at least 12 rebounds per game in each of his 11 NBA seasons. No other retired player in NBA history other than Pettit and Alex Groza has averaged more than 20 points per game in every season they've played (note: Michael Jordan averaged exactly 20 points per game in his final season). Alexander John Groza ( October 7, 1926 &ndash January 21, 1995) was an American Basketball player who was banned from the NBA

In 1971, he was inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame. The Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame, located in downtown Springfield Massachusetts, honors players who have shown exceptional skill at Basketball

Revolutionizing the “power forward”

Pettit is often credited as revolutionizing the power forward position in the NBA. Power forward is a position in the sport of Basketball. The position is referred to in playbook terms as the four position and is commonly abbreviated "PF" Because of his scoring and rebounding ability, he is considered the predecessor to Elgin Baylor, Jerry Lucas, Elvin Hayes, Bob McAdoo, Kevin McHale, Charles Barkley, Karl Malone, Tim Duncan and Kevin Garnett. Elgin Gay Baylor (born September 16 1934 in Washington DC) is a retired American basketball player who played Jerry Ray Lucas (born March 30 1940 was a Basketball player from the 1950s to the 1970s and is now a memory education expert Elvin Ernest Hayes (born November 17 1945 in Rayville Louisiana) is a retired American Basketball player Robert Allen 'Bob' McAdoo (born September 25 1951 in Greensboro, North Carolina) is a retired American professional Basketball player who spent a For other people of the same name see Kevin McHale (disambiguation Kevin Edward McHale (born December 19 1957 is an American former Charles Wade Barkley (born February 20 1963 is an American retired professional Basketball player Karl Anthony Malone (born July 24 1963 is a retired American professional Basketball player WikipediaPersondata --> Timothy "Tim" Theodore Duncan (born April 25 1976 in Christiansted, St Kevin Maurice Garnett (born May 19, 1976 in Mauldin, South Carolina) is an American professional Basketball player

External links

• Hoopedia bio
• Basketball-Reference.com: Bob Pettit (as player)
• Basketball-Reference.com: Bob Pettit (as coach)
• SPORT magazine, April 1957