Nat Hickey

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Nat Hickey
Indianapolis Kautskys
1946–1948Buffalo Bisons / Tri-Cities Blackhawks
1948Providence Steamrollers (interim HC)
1950–1951Johnstown Clippers
Career highlights and awards
  • ABL
    champion (1926)
Stats Edit this at Wikidata at NBA.com
Stats Edit this at Wikidata at Basketball-Reference.com

Nicholas J. "Nat" Hickey (born Nicola Zarnecić; January 30, 1902 – September 16, 1979) was a Croatian-American professional

the oldest player in NBA history
, a mark he still holds today.

Early life

Hickey was born Nicola Zarnecić on the Croatian island of

Austro-Hungary).[1] He attended Hoboken High School in Hoboken, New Jersey.[2]

Basketball

As a 5'11"

.

In the second year after the formation of the

the oldest player in NBA history at 45 years and 363 days.[4]

Hickey became the coach of the Johnstown Clippers of the All-American Basketball League during the 1950–51 season. On January 11, 1951, Hickey was driving the team back to Johnstown, Pennsylvania, after a game in Wheeling, West Virginia, when he lost control of his car on the Lincoln Highway and crashed.[5] Clippers player George "Chuck" Karmarkovich, a 24-year-old who was considered the team's biggest star, was ejected from the car and killed.[5][6] The Clippers were disbanded the following day and Hickey did not return to coaching.[5] Hickey was found to not be responsible for Karmarkovich's death.[6]

Baseball

Aside from basketball, Hickey enjoyed a lengthy career in baseball, playing 15 minor league seasons and managing two. Hickey managed and played several seasons of

Williamson Colts in 1938.[7]

Hickey was inducted into the Cambria County Sports Hall of Fame in 1965 for his basketball and baseball achievements.[8]

Personal life

Hickey was a cousin of parachute jumper Nick Piantanida.[1]

Hickey died on September 16, 1979, in Johnstown, Pennsylvania.[9][10]

Career statistics

Legend
  GP Games played  FGM  Field-goals made
 FG%  Field-goal percentage  FTM  Free-throws made
 FTA  Free-throws attempted  FT%  Free-throw percentage
 APG  Assists per game  PTS  Points
 PPG  Points per game  Bold  Career high

NBL

Source[11]

Regular season

Year Team GP FGM FTM FTA FT% PTS PPG
1944–45
Pittsburgh
2 3 2 8 4.0
1945–46
Indianapolis
13 30 13 73 5.6
1946–47 Tri-Cities 8 9 6 12 .500 24 3.0
1947–48 Tri-Cities 3 1 1 1 1.000 3 1.0
Career 26 43 22 13 .538 108 4.2

NBA

Regular season

Year Team GP FG% FT% APG PPG
1947–48 Providence 2 .000 .667 .0 1.0

Head coaching record

Legend
Regular season G Games coached W Games won L Games lost W–L % Win–loss %
Playoffs PG Playoff games PW Playoff wins PL Playoff losses PW–L % Playoff win–loss %
Team Year G W L W–L% Finish PG PW PL PW–L% Result
Providence
1947–48
29 4 25 .138 4th in Eastern Missed playoffs

Source[12]

See also

  • List of oldest and youngest National Basketball Association players
  • List of National Basketball Association player-coaches

References

  1. ^ a b Ryan, Craig. Magnificent Failure. Washington and London: Smithsonian Books. p. 12.
  2. ^ "Nat Hickey, Former Cage Ace, Back on Wood". Pottsville Republican. December 29, 1944. p. 4. Retrieved August 2, 2020.
  3. ^ Sachare, Alex (1994). The Official NBA basketball encyclopedia (1994 ed.). Villard Books. p. 577.
  4. ^ Boeck, Greg (April 2, 2007). "Mavericks make motivated Willis, 44, NBA's oldest player". USA Today. Retrieved May 15, 2010.
  5. ^ a b c "Johnstown Clippers Disbanded After Death of Karmarkovich; Joll Escapes Auto Injury". The Indiana Gazette. January 12, 1951. p. 15. Retrieved August 2, 2020.
  6. ^ a b "Drivers Exonerated In Highway Death of George Karmarkovich". The Cumberland News. March 9, 1951. Retrieved August 2, 2020.
  7. .
  8. ^ "Nicholas "Nat" Hickey". Cambria County Sports Hall of Fame. Retrieved August 2, 2020.
  9. ^ "Obituary Index" (PDF). Johnstown Tribune-Democrat.
  10. ^ "Nat Hickey BK". NJ Sports Heroes. Retrieved August 2, 2020.
  11. Basketball Reference
    . Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved 17 August 2023.
  12. Basketball Reference
    . Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved 8 January 2024.

External links