Hal Perry (basketball)

Harold L. "Hal" Perry (December 15, 1933 – April 30, 2009) was an American basketball player and attorney famous for being a starter on the University of San Francisco back to back NCAA championship teams of 1955 and 1956.

Hal Perry
Perry with San Francisco circa 1955
Personal information
Born(1933-12-15)December 15, 1933
DiedApril 30, 2009(2009-04-30) (aged 75)
El Cerrito, California
NationalityAmerican
Career information
High schoolUkiah (Ukiah, California)
CollegeSan Francisco (1953–1956)
NBA draft1956: undrafted
PositionGuard
Number23
Career highlights and awards

Perry, a guard from Ukiah High School in Ukiah, California, made history when he teamed up with future Hall of Fame players K. C. Jones and Bill Russell to make San Francisco the first college to win an NCAA tournament title with three black starters in the 1954–55 NCAA men's basketball season, Perry's junior year.[1] Hal Perry averaged 6.9 points and 1.9 rebounds per game that year.[2]

His senior season, the Dons outdid themselves, going undefeated and repeating as national champions. Perry increased his scoring average to 9.1 points per game for the year and was named second team all-conference. However, when star guard Jones was declared ineligible for the 1956 NCAA tournament, coach Phil Woolpert asked Perry to take a larger role. Perry responded by averaging 14 points per game in the Final Four and joined national player of the year Russell on the All-Tournament team.[2]

Following his graduation from USF, Perry played briefly for the Harlem Globetrotters. However, Globetrotters owner Abe Saperstein told Perry he was too smart for the barnstorming life and offered to pay his way to law school.[3] Perry took him up on his offer and went to Lincoln Law School. He ran a successful private practice for many years.

Perry died on April 30, 2009, after a long illness.[2]

References
  1. Ziajka, Alan. Legacy & Promise: 150 years of Jesuit education at the University of San Francisco. San Francisco: University of San Francisco, Association of Jesuit University Presses, 2005.
  2. USF Basketball Legend Hal Perry Passes Away Archived 2011-09-30 at the Wayback Machine, accessed July 25, 2011
  3. Johnson, James W. The Dandy Dons. University of Nebraska Press, 2009. pp. 197-8.
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