Walt Bellamy

Walter Jones Bellamy (July 24, 1939 – November 2, 2013) was an American professional basketball player. A four-time NBA All-Star, he was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.

For the Canadian ice hockey player, see Walt Bellamy (ice hockey).

Walt Bellamy
Bellamy with the Atlanta Hawks in 1972
Personal information
Born(1939-07-24)July 24, 1939
New Bern, North Carolina, U.S.
DiedNovember 2, 2013(2013-11-02) (aged 74)
College Park, Georgia, U.S.
Listed height6 ft 11 in (2.11 m)
Listed weight225 lb (102 kg)
Career information
High schoolJ.T. Barber
(New Bern, North Carolina)
CollegeIndiana (1958–1961)
NBA draft1961: 1st round, 1st overall pick
Selected by the Chicago Packers
Playing career1961–1974
PositionCenter
Number8
Career history
1961–1965Chicago Packers / Zephyrs / Baltimore Bullets
1965–1968New York Knicks
1968–1970Detroit Pistons
1970–1974Atlanta Hawks
1974New Orleans Jazz
Career highlights and awards
Career statistics
Points20,941 (20.1 ppg)
Rebounds14,241 (13.7 rpg)
Assists2,544 (2.4 apg)
Stats  at NBA.com
Stats at Basketball-Reference.com
Basketball Hall of Fame as player
College Basketball Hall of Fame
Inducted in 2006
Medals
Men's basketball
Representing  United States
Summer Olympic Games
Gold medal – first place1960 Rome Team competition

College career

Bellamy chose to play basketball at Indiana University. About the experience, he recalled: "In the summer after my junior year of high school I played with some guys from Indiana. Indiana at the time was the closest school to the South that would accept African-Americans. It was an easy transition for me to make. Not that I was naive to what was going on in Bloomington in terms of the times, but it didn't translate to the athletic department or the classroom. Every relationship was good."[1]

Bellamy graduated from Indiana University with the most school rebounds in a career with 1,087 in only 70 games, or 15.5 per game. He also averaged 20.6 points per game and shot 51.7 percent from the floor for his college career. As a senior, Bellamy averaged 17.8 rebounds per game (still Indiana's record).[2] He also holds the school records for most rebounds in a season (649) and most double-doubles in a career (59). In 2000, he was selected to Indiana University's All-Century Team.

In his final college game, he set an Indiana and Big Ten Conference record that still stands with 33 rebounds in an 82–67 win over Michigan.[3] Bellamy was named an All-American in both his junior and senior year (1960 and 1961). Bellamy was the first Hoosier taken No. 1 in the 1961 NBA draft and the first Hoosier named NBA Rookie of the Year.

1960 Olympics

Bellamy was the starting center on the gold medal-winning 1960 American basketball team at the 1960 Summer Olympics. 10 of the 12 college players on the undefeated American squad went on to play professionally in the NBA, including fellow Big Ten player Terry Dischinger and fellow future Hall-of-Famers Jerry West, Oscar Robertson, and Jerry Lucas.

NBA career
Bellamy (No. 8) averaged 31.6 points per game and 19.0 rebounds per game during his rookie season.

Bellamy had a stellar 14-year career in the NBA, and was the NBA first overall draft pick in 1961. Bellamy was named the NBA Rookie of the Year in 1962 after having arguably one of the three greatest rookie seasons in NBA history along with Wilt Chamberlain and Oscar Robertson.[4] His 31.6 points per game average that season is second all-time for a rookie to Wilt Chamberlain's 37.6, and the 19 rebounds per game he averaged that season is the third-best all-time rookie mark (to Chamberlain's 27 and Bill Russell's 19.6). No NBA rookie has since surpassed Bellamy's 973 field goals during the 1961–62 season. Bellamy also led the NBA in field goal percentage in his rookie season, and had a 23-point, 17-rebound performance in the 1962 NBA All-Star Game.

Members of the 1963–64 Baltimore Bullets, from left to rightː Rod Thorn, Charles Hardnett, Walt Bellamy, Gus Johnson, and Terry Dischinger. Thorn, Bellamy and Johnson were elected to the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame.

In the 1964–65 season, Bellamy scored 30 points and 37 rebounds in a win against the St. Louis Hawks. His 37 rebounds was his career-high in rebounds. Bellamy played with the Chicago Packers, which became the Baltimore Bullets, for his first four seasons before he was traded to the New York Knicks for Johnny Green, Johnny Egan, Jim Barnes, and cash a few games into the 1965–66 season.

Due to trades to teams with offset game schedules during the 1968–69 season when he was traded (with Howard Komives) from the Knicks to the Detroit Pistons for Dave DeBusschere, Bellamy set a still-standing record for NBA games played in a single season with 88, playing 35 games with the Knicks and 53 with the Pistons. He later played for several seasons with the Atlanta Hawks, and finished his career with the New Orleans Jazz.

Bellamy ended his NBA career with 20,941 points and 14,241 rebounds, and is a two-time Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame inductee, being inducted in 1993 for his individual career, and in 2010 as a member of the 1960 United States men's Olympic basketball team.[5]

Personal life

After his retirement from the NBA, Bellamy was active with the NAACP, the Urban League and the YMCA in the Atlanta area.[6] He served as a Goodwill Ambassador and member of the Executive Committee of the NAACP's Georgia State Conference.

Bellamy was a member of Alpha Phi Alpha fraternity.[7] His half-brother is professional boxer Ron Bellamy.

Bellamy died on November 2, 2013 at the age of 74.[8] He was survived by his wife of 53 years, Helen Hollie Ragland Bellamy, son Derrin Bellamy, and two grandsons. He was buried at Atlanta's South-View Cemetery.[9]

NBA 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

Regular season
Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
1961–62 Chicago 79–42.3.519–.64419.02.7––31.6
1962–63 Chicago 80–41.3.527–.67416.42.9––27.9
1963–64 Baltimore 80–42.4.513–.65117.01.6––27.0
1964–65 Baltimore 80–41.3.509–.68514.62.4––24.8
1965–66 Baltimore 8–33.5.452–.59712.82.3––19.0
1965–66 New York 72–42.8.512–.62716.03.0––23.2
1966–67 New York 79–38.1.521–.63613.52.6––19.0
1967–68 New York 82–32.9.541–.66211.72.0––16.7
1968–69 New York 35–32.5.507–.61911.02.2––15.2
1968–69 Detroit 53–38.2.512–.66313.51.9––18.8
1969–70 Detroit 56–20.9.547–.5627.11.0––10.0
1969–70 Atlanta 23–37.2.491–.60513.53.8––15.5
1970–71 Atlanta 82–35.5.493–.60412.92.8––14.7
1971–72 Atlanta 82–38.9.545–.58512.83.2––18.6
1972–73 Atlanta 74–37.9.505–.53813.02.4––16.1
1973–74 Atlanta 77–31.7.486–.6089.62.5.7.613.1
1974–75 New Orleans 1–14.01.000–1.0005.0.0.0.06.0
Career 1,043–37.3.516–.63213.72.4.7.620.1
All-Star 4320.8.500–.5267.51.0––12.0

Playoffs
Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
1965 Baltimore 10–42.7.468–.66315.13.4––20.9
1967 New York 4–39.3.519–.58616.53.0––18.3
1968 New York 6–46.2.421–.62516.03.5––20.0
1970 Atlanta 9–40.9.468–.71715.63.9––16.8
1971 Atlanta 5–43.2.594–.75914.42.0––20.8
1972 Atlanta 6–41.2.488–.62813.71.8––18.5
1973 Atlanta 6–41.2.395–.45212.22.2––13.7
Career 46–42.2.471–.64214.83.0––18.5

See also

References
  1. Houser, Lynn (January 9, 2007). "Bellamy still a staple of IU record book". Herald Times. Retrieved April 1, 2012.
  2. Hammel, Bob (1999). Glory of Old IU. United States: Sports Publishing Inc. pp. 130. ISBN 1-58261-068-1.
  3. "2018–19 Big 10 Men's Basketball Record_Book" (PDF). p. 38. Retrieved July 9, 2020.
  4. "Former IU Basketball Player, Walt Bellamy, Dies at 74", Indiana's NewsCenter, November 2, 2013
  5. "The Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame - Hall of Famers". Archived from the original on February 15, 2011. Retrieved May 5, 2012.
  6. Goldstein, Richard (November 3, 2013), "Walt Bellamy, Hall of Famer and Footnote, Dies at 74", The New York Times
  7. "Walt Bellamy". The Sphinx. Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity. 84 (2): 51. Spring 1999.
  8. Golliver, Ben (November 2, 2013). "Hall of Famer Walt Bellamy dies at 74". Sports Illustrated. Archived from the original on November 4, 2013. Retrieved November 2, 2013.
  9. "Walter BELLAMY Jr. Obituary (2013) Atlanta Journal-Constitution". Legacy.com.
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