Robert Paul Kinney (September 16, 1920 – September 2, 1985) was an American professional basketball player in the

Basketball Association of America The Basketball Association of America (BAA) was a professional basketball league in North America, founded in 1946. Following its third season, 1948–49, the BAA absorbed most of National Basketball League (NBL) and rebranded as the National Ba ...

(BAA),

National Basketball Association The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America. The league is composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada) and is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United S ...

(NBA) and National Professional Basketball League (NPBL). Besides Bob, his nicknames included Hi-Pocket and Bat-em Bob. Kinney, who attended high school in

San Antonio ("Cradle of Freedom") , image_map = , mapsize = 220px , map_caption = Interactive map of San Antonio , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = United States , subdivision_type1= U.S. state, State , subdivision_name1 = Texas , s ...

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...

, went to college at

Rice University William Marsh Rice University (Rice University) is a Private university, private research university in Houston, Houston, Texas. It is on a 300-acre campus near the Houston Museum District and adjacent to the Texas Medical Center. Rice is ranke ...

where he was a standout on the

basketball team Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular court, compete with the primary objective of shooting a basketball (approximately in diameter) through the defender's h ...

in 1940–41 and 1941–42. During his career at Rice, Kinney, who was an imposing ,

center Center or centre may refer to: Mathematics *Center (geometry), the middle of an object * Center (algebra), used in various contexts ** Center (group theory) ** Center (ring theory) * Graph center, the set of all vertices of minimum eccentricity ...

and

forward Forward is a relative direction, the opposite of backward. Forward may also refer to: People * Forward (surname) Sports * Forward (association football) * Forward (basketball), including: ** Point forward ** Power forward (basketball) ** Sm ...

, was a two-time

consensus All-American The College Football All-America Team is an honor given annually to the best college football players in the United States at their respective positions. The original use of the term ''All-America'' seems to have been to the 1889 College Football ...

. He was a Second Team selection in

1941 Events Below, the events of World War II have the "WWII" prefix. January * January–August – 10,072 men, women and children with mental and physical disabilities are asphyxiated with carbon monoxide in a gas chamber, at Hadamar Eu ...

and a First Team All-American in

1942 Events Below, the events of World War II have the "WWII" prefix. January * January 1 – WWII: The Declaration by United Nations is signed by China, the United Kingdom, the United States, the Soviet Union, and 22 other nations, in wh ...

. He joined the

Fort Wayne Pistons A fortification is a military construction or building designed for the defense of territories in warfare, and is also used to establish rule in a region during peacetime. The term is derived from Latin ''fortis'' ("strong") and ''facere'' ...

of the National Basketball League (a precursor to the NBA) in 1945. On January 30, 1949, he was sold by the Pistons to the

Boston Celtics The Boston Celtics ( ) are an American professional basketball team based in Boston. The Celtics compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Atlantic Division. Founded in 1946 as one of t ...

and finished out the year with them. At the conclusion of the season, the BAA merged with some of the teams from the NBL to form the NBA. Kinney was retained for the season, which was the NBA's first, and therefore the Celtics' first in the league. In 60 games that year, Kinney scored 667 points (11.1 ppg). Kinney's NBA career ended after that season, but he played for the

Anderson Packers The Anderson Packers, also known as the Anderson Duffey Packers and the Chief Anderson Meat Packers, were a professional basketball team based in Anderson, Indiana, in the 1940s and 1950s. The team was founded and owned by brothers Ike W. and Jo ...

of the NPBL in 1950–51. In 23 games, he averaged 12.4 points. On November 19, 1950, he tied a Packers franchise record with 28 points in a 73–81 loss to the

Louisville Alumnites Louisville Alumnites were a team in the National Professional Basketball League (1950-1951), based in Louisville, Kentucky. History The National Basketball Association contracted after the 1949–1950 season, losing six teams: The Anderson Packers ...

BAA/NBA career statistics

Regular season

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Kinney, Bob 1920 births 1985 deaths All-American college men's basketball players American men's basketball players Anderson Packers players Basketball players from San Antonio Boston Celtics players Centers (basketball) Fort Wayne Pistons players Fort Wayne Zollner Pistons players Forwards (basketball) People from Fort Scott, Kansas Rice Owls men's basketball players