Bill Tosheff

William Mark Tosheff (June 2, 1926 – October 1, 2011) was an American professional basketball player.

Bill Tosheff
Personal information
Born(1926-06-02)June 2, 1926
Gary, Indiana
DiedOctober 1, 2011(2011-10-01) (aged 85)
Hawaii
NationalityAmerican
Listed height6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)
Listed weight175 lb (79 kg)
Career information
High schoolFroebel (Gary, Indiana)
CollegeIndiana (1948–1951)
NBA draft1951: 4th round, 32nd overall pick
Selected by the Indianapolis Olympians
Playing career1951–1954
PositionPoint guard
Number9
Career history
19511953Indianapolis Olympians
1953–1954Milwaukee Hawks
Career NBA statistics
Points1,859 (9.2 ppg)
Rebounds608 (3.0 rpg)
Assists661 (3.3 apg)
Stats  at NBA.com
Stats  at Basketball-Reference.com

A 6'1" guard, Tosheff played at Indiana University from 1947 to 1951 after a stint with the U.S. Army Air Corps.[1] From 1951 to 1954, he played in the NBA as a member of the Indianapolis Olympians and Milwaukee Hawks, averaging 9.2 points in 203 games.[2] Some sources list him as the 1952 NBA Co-Rookie of the Year (with Mel Hutchins);[1] however, official NBA guides generally have not included pre-1953 winners.[3]

In 1988, Tosheff founded the Pre-1965 NBA Players Association in order to secure fair pension plans for NBA players who were active before 1965.[4] Tosheff lobbied to close a loophole in the NBA pension that granted benefits to post-1965 players with a minimum of three years of service, but required pre-1965 players have five years of service.[5]

A San Diego resident, Tosheff died in Hawaii from cancer aged 85 on October 1, 2011.[6]

Career statistics

Legend
  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

NBA

Source[2]

Regular season

Year Team GP MPG FG% FT% RPG APG PPG
1951–52 Indianapolis 65 31.6 .327 .824 3.3 3.4 9.4
1952–53 Indianapolis 67 36.7 .323 .806 3.4 3.6 11.3
1953–54 Milwaukee 71 25.7 .291 .743 2.3 2.8 6.9
Career 203 31.2 .315 .793 3.0 3.3 9.2

Playoffs

Year Team GP MPG FG% FT% RPG APG PPG
1952 Indianapolis 2 34.0 .111 1.000 3.0 3.5 3.5
1953 Indianapolis 2 33.0 .063 1.000 2.5 2.0 4.5
Career 4 33.5 .088 1.000 2.8 2.8 4.0

References

  1. Michael Schumacher. Mr. Basketball: George Mikan, the Minneapolis Lakers, and the Birth of the NBA. Bloomsbury, 2007. page 274.
  2. "Bill Tosheff NBA stats". Basketball Reference. Sports Reference, LLC. Retrieved 18 August 2023.
  3. Bill Tosheff: NBA Co-Rookie of the Year and Tireless Advocate for the "Pre-1965ers" (Part II). 20 Second Timeout. March 2, 2009. Retrieved on August 23, 2011.
  4. Ron Kroichik. "Pensions in pro sports: An age old issue for all the big leagues". San Francisco Chronicle. March 18, 2007. Retrieved on August 23, 2011.
  5. Burstein, Rachel (January 1998). "Bill "Tosh" Tosheff". Mother Jones. 23 (1): 16. Retrieved September 1, 2011.
  6. Al Hamnik. "NBA pension fighter, Gary native Tosheff, dead at 85". nwitimes. October 3, 2011. Retrieved on October 3, 2011.
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