Johnny Ezersky
Appearance
Personal information | |
---|---|
Born | Baltimore Bullets | March 21, 1922
1949 | Boston Celtics |
1949–1950 | Baltimore Bullets |
1950 | Hartford Hurricanes |
1950–1951 | Wilkes-Barre Barons |
1951–1952 | Scranton Miners |
Career BAA and NBA statistics | |
Points | 1,031 (7.6 ppg) |
Assists | 169 (1.3 apg) |
Stats at NBA.com | |
Stats at Basketball-Reference.com | |
John Joseph Ezersky (March 21, 1922 – February 20, 2012) was an American professional basketball player.[1] A basketball star at Power Memorial Academy in the late 1930s, Ezersky was accused of accepting money in his senior year and was subsequently ruled ineligible for college basketball.[2] Though Ezersky is listed as having played for the University of Rhode Island team,[3] he never played basketball at a college level.[4]
Ezersky attempted a career in
Baltimore Bullets in two stints and the Boston Celtics in one, with the latter team having previously drafted him in the 1947 BAA draft. He was not resigned by either team following the 1949–50 NBA season, so he spent his final two seasons playing basketball in the ABL for a second time with the Hartford Hurricanes and Wilkes-Barre Barons, and in the Eastern Professional Basketball League with the Scranton Miners
.
After retiring from playing professional basketball in 1952, Ezersky returned to his career as a cab driver in New York City. He moved to
East Bay, California in 1981, where he resumed his cab driving career until he retired in 2000, aged seventy-eight.[2] Ezersky was a member of the group of NBA veterans that lobbied against the NBA's pension rules,[5] which previously required pre-1965 players to have played in the NBA or BAA for five years to be eligible. The requirement was changed to three years and made Ezersky, who spent three years in the two leagues, able to receive the pension.[2][6]
BAA/NBA career statistics
Legend | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
GP | Games played | APG | Assists per game | ||
FG% | Field-goal percentage | PPG | Points per game | ||
FT% | Free-throw percentage | Bold | Career high |
Regular season
Year | Team | GP | FG% | FT% | APG | PPG |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1947–48 | Providence | 25 | .253 | .606 | 0.6 | 10.1 |
1948–49 | Providence | 11 | .219 | .840 | 1.0 | 4.8 |
1948–49 | Baltimore | 27 | .295 | .709 | 1.0 | 4.7 |
1948–49 | Boston | 18 | .368 | .613 | 1.6 | 10.3 |
1949–50 | Baltimore | 38 | .305 | .697 | 1.7 | 8.1 |
1949–50 | Boston | 16 | .265 | .686 | 1.4 | 6.7 |
Career | 135 | .288 | .669 | 1.3 | 7.6 |
References
- ^ "John Ezersky". Pro Basketball Encyclopedia. Retrieved August 25, 2021.
- ^ a b c d e f Thompson II, Marcus (10 September 2007). "Pro basketball pioneer enjoys later years". East Bay Times. Retrieved 26 April 2017.
- ^ "Johnny Ezersky Stats". Basketball Reference. Retrieved 26 April 2017.
- ISBN 978-1570280696.
- ^ Ezersky, John. "Statement of John Ezersky – 7/15/96". Retrieved 26 April 2017.
- ^ Sheridan, Chris (18 February 2007). "NBA old-timers get big pension boost". ESPN. Retrieved 26 April 2017.
External links
- Career statistics and player information from NBA.com and Basketball-Reference.com