Robert Dee Royer (October 15, 1927 – May 30, 1973) was an American professional

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...

player.Bob Royer
basketball-reference.com. Retrieved on January 22, 2013. Royer was selected in the eighth round in the 1949 BAA Draft by the

Providence Steamrollers The Providence Steamrollers were a Basketball Association of America team based in Providence, Rhode Island. As of 2022, the Steamrollers were the last professional sports franchise from one of the Big Four leagues to be based in Rhode Island. ...

. He played for the

Denver Nuggets The Denver Nuggets are an American professional basketball team based in Denver. The Nuggets compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference Northwest Division. The team was founded as the D ...

in 1949–50 before ending his NBA career after one season.

Playing career

Royer attended Bowling Green High School in

Bowling Green, Indiana Bowling Green is an unincorporated community in Washington Township, Clay County, Indiana. It is part of the Terre Haute Metropolitan Statistical Area. History The town was probably named after Bowling Green, Virginia. The first post office was e ...

. While at

Indiana State University Indiana State University (ISU) is a public university in Terre Haute, Indiana. It was founded in 1865 and offers over 100 undergraduate majors and more than 75 graduate and professional programs. Indiana State is classified among "D/PU: Doctor ...

, Royer was a 3-year letterman for the Sycamores, helping the team reach the NAIB Finals, finishing as National Finalist in 1946 and 1948 and 4th place in 1949. He was named to the All-Tourney team in each of those Tourneys. During his collegiate career, the Sycamores recorded a record of 72-22 (.766), won three IIC titles and three NAIA District titles. Royer played for

Glenn M. Curtis Glenn M. Curtis (March 4, 1894 – November 24, 1958) was an American basketball coach. He was the head coach at Indiana State University from 1938 to 1946. He won 122 games and led the Sycamores to three NAIA Tournaments, reaching the national ...

as a freshman, the legendary John Wooden as a sophomore and junior, and

John Longfellow John Landis Longfellow (1901-1977) was an American basketball coach and player. He is best known as National Title winning-head men's basketball coach at Indiana State University as well as leading the USA National Team to a gold medal in the 195 ...

during his senior season in 1949. Royer is scored 1,173 points during his collegiate career; he was named the Most Valuable Player of the 1948-49 Midwest Collegiate Basketball Tournament.

Later life and death

After his basketball career, Royer worked as a real estate salesman and investment counsellor. He also coached basketball at high schools in Indiana. On May 29, 1973, Royer went to the workplace of Elizabeth Darling, a woman he had been having an affair with, and shot her to death with two guns. Royer had wanted her to marry him and threatened her when she rejected him. Royer fled the scene, and on the next day, he committed suicide next to his car with a shotgun blast to his chest.

Career statistics

NBA

Source

Regular season

References

1927 births 1973 deaths American men's basketball players Basketball players from Indiana Denver Nuggets (1948–1950) players Guards (basketball) Indiana State Sycamores men's basketball players Providence Steamrollers draft picks Suicides by firearm in Indiana {{1920s-US-basketball-bio-stub