Chuck Share
Minneapolis Lakers | |
Career highlights and awards | |
---|---|
| |
Career NBA statistics | |
Points | 4,928 (8.3 ppg) |
Rebounds | 4,986 (8.4 rpg) |
Assists | 809 (1.4 apg) |
Stats at NBA.com | |
Stats at Basketball-Reference.com | |
Charles Edward Share (March 14, 1927 – June 7, 2012) was an American basketball player in the National Basketball Association (NBA). Share has the distinction of being the first NBA draft pick ever: he was selected by the Boston Celtics as the No. 1 overall pick in the inaugural 1950 NBA draft.
Early life
Share attended
College career
Share attended Bowling Green State University in Bowling Green, Ohio, after being recruited by Coach Harold Anderson. He was named a 1950 All-American his senior year.[1]
Share graduated as the Bowling Green College Falcons' all-time scoring leader with 1,730 points. With Share, Bowling Green won 28 games in 1946-47, 27 games in 1947-48, 24 games in 1948-49 and 19 games in 1949-50. Share has his career-high 39 points against Loyola (Calif.) on Dec. 22, 1949 in Madison Square Garden.[3]
NBA career
Celtics/Waterloo Hawks
Share was drafted by the Celtics, whose fans wanted the team to draft local Holy Cross star, Bob Cousy with the pick. The Celtics' new Coach Red Auerbach defended the unpopular pick of Share, saying "We need a big man. Little men are a dime a dozen. I'm supposed to win, not go after local yokels."[4]
In an irony, future Hall of Famer Cousy ended up being drafted third by the
For his part, Share did not sign with the Celtics. Instead he signed with the Waterloo Hawks in the fledgling National Professional Basketball League (1950–51), playing for Coach Jack Smiley. Share averaged 11.0 points for the Hawks, playing in 19 games. The NPBL, composed of some former NBA teams in small markets and new teams in major markets, folded after the season.[6][7]
Then on April 26, 1951, Share's rights were traded by the Celtics to the
In two-and-a-half seasons with Fort Wayne, Share averaged 4.2 points and 5.1 rebounds in limited playing time.[8]
St. Louis: 3 NBA Finals, Championship
On December 21, 1953, Share was traded by the Fort Wayne Pistons to the
In seven seasons with the Milwaukee/St Louis Hawks, Share averaged a near
Share was the captain of the 1958 NBA champion St. Louis Hawks team.[10] In the 1958 NBA Finals victory against the Celtics, Share averaged 6.2 points and 6.0 rebounds in the six game series, in a key reserve role.[12]
On February 1, 1960, the Hawks traded Share, Nick Mantis and Willie Merriweather to the Minneapolis Lakers for Larry Foust.[8] Initially, Share refused to go to the Lakers, but he reconsidered and went to Minneapolis in time for the playoffs. The Lakers were eventually defeated by the Hawks in the Western Division Finals.[13]
Share then retired at the end of the 1959-1960 season.[14]
Overall, Share played nine years in the NBA for the
Personal life
After retiring from basketball, Share never left the St. Louis area and pursued business ventures. Share started Sharick Packaging, Inc.and then sold Sharick in 1985. He then formed Sylvan-Edge Farm with his wife, Rose.[2]
Share died on June 7, 2012, in Chesterfield, Missouri, at age 85. He had lived in Creve Coeur, Missouri, and was survived by his wife Rose and daughters Ann and Cindy.[2]
Career statistics
GP | Games played | GS | Games started | MPG | Minutes per game |
FG% | Field goal percentage | 3P% | 3-point field goal percentage | FT% | Free throw percentage |
RPG | Rebounds per game | APG | Assists per game | SPG | Steals per game |
BPG | Blocks per game | PPG | Points per game | Bold | Career high |
† | Won an NBA championship | * | Led the league |
NBA
Source[8]
Regular season
Year | Team | GP | MPG | FG% | FT% | RPG | APG | PPG |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1951–52 | Fort Wayne | 63 | 14.0 | .322 | .619 | 5.3 | 1.0 | 3.9 |
1952–53 | Fort Wayne | 67 | 15.6 | .358 | .735 | 5.6 | 1.1 | 5.3 |
1953–54 | Fort Wayne | 21 | 7.4 | .257 | .600 | 3.0 | .5 | 1.7 |
1953–54 | Milwaukee | 47 | 30.2 | .391 | .694 | 10.5 | 1.5 | 11.2 |
1954–55 | Milwaukee | 69 | 24.4 | .407 | .713 | 9.9 | 1.2 | 11.9 |
1955–56 | St. Louis | 72 | 27.4 | .430 | .695 | 10.8 | 1.8 | 13.6 |
1956–57 | St. Louis | 72* | 23.2 | .439 | .684 | 8.9 | 1.1 | 10.3 |
1957–58† | St. Louis | 72* | 25.3 | .396 | .648 | 10.4 | 1.8 | 8.6 |
1958–59 | St. Louis | 72* | 23.8 | .386 | .755 | 9.1 | 1.4 | 6.0 |
1959–60 | St. Louis | 38 | 16.7 | .381 | .658 | 5.7 | 1.6 | 4.3 |
1959–60 | Minneapolis | 3 | 6.0 | .750 | 1.000 | 2.0 | .7 | 2.3 |
Career | 596 | 21.9 | .400 | .693 | 8.4 | 1.4 | 8.3 |
Playoffs
Year | Team | GP | MPG | FG% | FT% | RPG | APG | PPG |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1952
|
Fort Wayne | 2 | 17.5 | .727 | .600 | 5.0 | 1.5 | 9.5 |
1953
|
Fort Wayne | 8 | 24.8 | .407 | .667 | 6.5 | 1.5 | 6.0 |
1956
|
St. Louis | 8 | 28.9 | .493 | .646 | 9.1 | 1.6 | 12.9 |
1957
|
St. Louis | 10* | 16.8 | .431 | .600 | 6.3 | .6 | 9.2 |
1958 †
|
St. Louis | 11* | 18.3 | .393 | .658 | 6.2 | 1.0 | 6.6 |
1959
|
St. Louis | 6 | 20.3 | .296 | .714 | 8.7 | 1.5 | 4.3 |
1960
|
Minneapolis | 9 | 13.7 | .429 | .909 | 3.8 | .6 | 2.4 |
Career | 57 | 19.9 | .435 | .659 | 6.5 | 1.1 | 7.1 |
Honors
- Share was inducted into the St. Louis Sports Hall of Fame in 2017.[11]
- Share was inducted into the Bowling Green State University Athletics Hall of Fame in 1964.[17][18]
References
- ^ a b "CHUCK SHARE".
- ^ a b c [email protected] > 314-340-8169, SHANE ANTHONY • (10 June 2012). "Charlie Share dies; captain of '58 NBA champ St. Louis Hawks". stltoday.com.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link) - ^ "Centennial Season Look Back: Falcon Legends are Born – 1945-55". Bowling Green State University Athletics.
- ^ a b c BELOCK, JOE (17 May 2017). "The Celtics' last No. 1 pick in NBA draft, in 1950, didn't go so well - NY Daily News". nydailynews.com.
- ^ Fromal, Adam. "Metrics 101: Best and Worst Trades of No. 1 Pick in NBA History". Bleacher Report.
- ^ "1950 Waterloo Hawks Statistics on StatsCrew.com". www.statscrew.com.
- ^ "Charles Share Statistics on StatsCrew.com". www.statscrew.com.
- ^ Basketball Reference. Sports Reference, LLC. Retrieved 1 August 2023.
- ^ "1957-58 St. Louis Hawks Roster and Stats". Basketball-Reference.com.
- ^ a b Anthony, Shane (June 10, 2012), "Charlie Share dies; captain of '58 NBA champ St. Louis Hawks", St. Louis Post-Dispatch
- ^ a b "Charlie Share – St Louis Sports Hall of Fame".
- ^ "1958 NBA Finals - St. Louis Hawks vs. Boston Celtics". Basketball-Reference.com.
- ^ "1960 NBA Western Division Finals - Minneapolis Lakers vs. St. Louis Hawks". Basketball-Reference.com.
- ^ "Peach Basket Society". peachbasketsociety.blogspot.com.
- ISBN 0-679-43293-0.
- ^ "NBA Players: Chuck Share Profile and Basic Stats". www.landofbasketball.com.
- ^ "A century on the court". Bowling Green State University.
- ^ "Charles Share (1964) - Hall of Fame". Bowling Green State University Athletics.