John Hargis (basketball)

John Arlington "Shotgun" Hargis (August 20, 1920 – January 2, 1986) was an American professional basketball player, first in the National Basketball League (NBL) and then in the National Basketball Association (NBA).[1][2] He was born in Nacogdoches, Texas and attended Nacogdoches High School.[1]

John Hargis

Hargis from the 1947 Cactus
Personal information
Born	August 20, 1920 Nacogdoches, Texas
Died	January 2, 1986(1986-01-02) (aged 65)
Listed height	6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)
Listed weight	180 lb (82 kg)
Career information
High school	Nacogdoches (Nacogdoches, Texas)
College	Texas (1941–1943, 1946–1947)
NBA draft	1947: undrafted
Playing career	1947–1951
Position	Guard / forward
Number	6, 9, 14
Career history
1947–1950	Anderson Packers
1950	Fort Wayne Pistons
1950–1951	Tri-Cities Blackhawks
Career highlights and awards
NBL champion (1949) Consensus second-team All-American (1947) 2× All-SWC (1943, 1947)
Career NBA statistics
Points	766[a]
Rebounds	66[a]
Assists	127[a]
Stats  at NBA.com
Stats at Basketball-Reference.com

Hargis enrolled in the University of Texas at Austin in the early 1940s and played college basketball there. In both 1942–43 and 1946–47, he led the Longhorns to the NCAA Final Four, where they would lose to eventual national champion Wyoming and win the third-place game over CCNY, respectively.[2] In each of those two seasons he was named All-Southwest Conference and, in 1947, a consensus Second Team All-American.[3] After the 1943 season, Hargis enlisted in the United States military and fought in World War II for three years, then returned to Austin to finish college in 1947.[4]

Hargis with the Packers in 1947.

After school, Hargis played for the Anderson Packers for three seasons, then split time between the Fort Wayne Pistons and Tri-Cities Blackhawks during his fourth and final year as a professional.[1][5] For the first two years, the Packers were a member of the NBL. In 1949–50, however, they merged into the NBA. As a rookie in 1947–48, Hargis was second on the team in scoring (642 points; 10.9 ppg).[5] In his second season, he scored 444 points (7.8 ppg), and then in his final season with the Packers, Hargis averaged 10.7 ppg while scoring 643 points.[5] In addition to moderate personal success, the Packers also won the NBL championship in Hargis' second year on the team.

In April 1948, Hargis played in final edition of the World Professional Basketball Tournament with the Packers (team finished in third place) and earned "second all-tournament team" honour after scoring 34 points in 3 games.[6][7]

In April 1950, Hargis was drafted by the Fort Wayne Pistons from the Anderson Packers in a dispersal draft because their franchise had folded.[1] After only playing in a handful of games for the Pistons, he was sold in December 1950 to the Tri-Cities Blackhawks.[1] Hargis finished out the rest of the season with them but was not re-signed to any team and never played professionally again.