Robert Frederick McDermott (January 7, 1914 – October 3, 1963) 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 court, compete with the primary objective of shooting a basketball (approximately in diameter) through the defender's h ...
player in the 1930s and 1940s. He was known as an outstanding shooter and has been called "the greatest long-distance shooter in the history of the game" by contemporaries. His grandson is businessman
Bill McDermott. McDermott was named to the
Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 1988.
Professional basketball career
McDermott dropped out of high school after just one year, and was picked up by the
Brooklyn Visitations after making a name for himself on the playgrounds. He continued the trend in the
American Basketball League. He led the league in scoring, and helped Brooklyn win the 1934-35 ABL championship against the dominant
Philadelphia Sphas
The Philadelphia Sphas, also stylized SPHAs or SPHAS, were an American basketball franchise that existed in professional, semi-professional, and exhibition forms. They played their home games in the ballroom of Philadelphia's Broadwood Hotel. The ...
in their prime. He spent a year in the New York Professional League where he set a playoff record for most points with 32. He played with the recently reorganized
Original Celtics
The Original Celtics were a barnstorming professional American basketball team. At various times in their existence, the team played in the American Basketball League, the Eastern Basketball League and the Metropolitan Basketball League. The tea ...
for the next three years.
He went back to the ABL and was again the league's scoring leader, returned to the Celtics for another season, then settled down for a while with the
Ft. Wayne Zollner Pistons of the
National Basketball League in 1941. From 1941 to 1946 he was at his peak. He improved his shot and for the first time, his free throw percentage rose near or around 80%. He continued to get more accurate and dangerous while keeping his legendary range. The Pistons won over 80% of their games and made five consecutive NBL finals appearances. They won NBL titles in 1944 and 1945, as well as the
World Professional Basketball Tournament
The World Professional Basketball Tournament was an annual invitational tournament held in Chicago from 1939 to 1948 and sponsored by the '' Chicago Herald American''. Many teams came from the National Basketball League, but it also included the b ...
in Chicago. At the same time, his popularity soared, and he appeared at a
war bond
War bonds (sometimes referred to as Victory bonds, particularly in propaganda) are debt securities issued by a government to finance military operations and other expenditure in times of war without raising taxes to an unpopular level. They are ...
rally alongside
Jack Dempsey
William Harrison "Jack" Dempsey (June 24, 1895 – May 31, 1983), nicknamed Kid Blackie and The Manassa Mauler, was an American professional boxer who competed from 1914 to 1927, and reigned as the world heavyweight champion from 1919 to 1926 ...
and
Martha Raye
Martha Raye (born Margy Reed; August 27, 1916 – October 19, 1994), nicknamed The Big Mouth, was an American comic actress and singer who performed in movies, and later on television. She also acted in plays, including Broadway.
She was honored ...
.
McDermott became a player-coach during 1946. He took up the same position when he moved to the
Chicago Gears. On the Gears, he was teamed with the biggest inside threat in the league,
George Mikan
George Lawrence Mikan Jr. (; June 18, 1924 – June 1, 2005), nicknamed "Mr. Basketball", was an American professional basketball player for the Chicago American Gears of the National Basketball League (NBL) and the Minneapolis Lakers of ...
. They won the 1946-47 NBL championship together. Though he would continue to play professionally for several more years, McDermott's last year with the Gears was his final year of stardom on a winning team.
The American Gears joined the Professional Basketball League of America in 1947. But when that league folded in November 1947, after only three weeks of existence, the Gears players were distributed among NBL teams. McDermott landed with the
Sheboygan Red Skins
The Sheboygan Red Skins (or Redskins) was a professional basketball team based in Sheboygan, Wisconsin, which was an original National Basketball Association franchise during the 1949–1950 season.
History Overview
The Redskins played in th ...
, with whom he was a player-coach for about a month. He scored 138 points in 16 games and coached the Red Skins to a 4–5 record.
Doxie Moore regained the coaching reins after McDermott left to join the
Tri-Cities Blackhawks Tri-Cities most often refers to:
*Tri-Cities, Tennessee, United States
*Tri-Cities, Washington, United States
Tri-City, Tricity or Tri-Cities may also refer to:
Populated places
Americas
Canada
*Tri-Cities (British Columbia), consisting of Co ...
, where he coached and played for the next season and a half, compiling a 20-18 record. On the Blackhawks, McDermott continued to be renowned for his physical play, and was tied for the team lead in scoring at 12.1 points per game with
Whitey Von Nieda
Stanley Lee Von Nieda Jr. (born June 19, 1922) is an American retired professional basketball player and coach. He was born in Ephrata, Pennsylvania.
Career
He played basketball at Ephrata High School and Penn State University. Enlisting in t ...
. That postseason, McDermott led the Blackhawks past the
Indianapolis Kautskys
Indianapolis (), colloquially known as Indy, is the List of U.S. state and territorial capitals, state capital and List of U.S. states' largest cities by population, most populous city of the U.S. state of Indiana and the county seat, seat of ...
in the opening round, before losing to the eventual champion
Minneapolis Lakers
The Los Angeles Lakers franchise has a long and storied history, predating the formation of the National Basketball Association (NBA).
Founded in 1947, the Lakers are one of the NBA's most famous and successful franchises. As of summer 2012, th ...
in the semifinals. The following season, he was replaced as coach by
Roger Potter
Roger Potter (October 5, 1907 – June 1982) was an American basketball coach, who was the first coach for the National Basketball Association's Tri-Cities Blackhawks (now the Atlanta Hawks). He lasted seven games (going 1-6) and was replaced wit ...
halfway through the year.
McDermott would next play for the
Hammond Calumet Buccaneers, during their only year of existence, and then the
Wilkes-Barre Barons
The Wilkes-Barre Barons were a basketball team from Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania.
The Barons played between 1933 and 1980 in different American leagues. The team won 11 titles during this time, including while playing in the American Basketball ...
, both of whom would make the playoffs of their leagues before being eliminated in the first round. His final season playing professionally, during which he was again a player-coach, came with the
Grand Rapids Hornets in 1950. McDermott was fired midseason after a profanity-filled coaching performance in
Casper, Wyoming during which the Hornets lost, and the franchise folded only a month later.
McDermott died in 1963, due to injuries he suffered in a car accident on September 23. He had been employed at Yonkers Raceway at the time of his death.
Accolades
McDermott was the
World Professional Basketball Tournament
The World Professional Basketball Tournament was an annual invitational tournament held in Chicago from 1939 to 1948 and sponsored by the '' Chicago Herald American''. Many teams came from the National Basketball League, but it also included the b ...
MVP
In team sports, a most valuable player award, abbreviated 'MVP award', is an honor typically bestowed upon an individual (or individuals, in the instance of a tie) whose individual performance is the greatest in an entire league, for a particu ...
in 1944
[ ] and was named the NBL MVP in four consecutive seasons during the 1940s. In 1946 the NBL named McDermott the greatest player in league history.
Collier's
''Collier's'' was an American general interest magazine founded in 1888 by Peter Fenelon Collier. It was launched as ''Collier's Once a Week'', then renamed in 1895 as ''Collier's Weekly: An Illustrated Journal'', shortened in 1905 to ''Collie ...
magazine chose him to an "All-World" team in 1950.
McDermott was named to the
Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 1988.
Further reading
*
References
External links
Basketball Hall of Fame biography
{{DEFAULTSORT:McDermott, Bobby
1914 births
1963 deaths
American Basketball League (1925–1955) coaches
American men's basketball players
Basketball coaches from New York (state)
Basketball players from New York City
Chicago American Gears coaches
Chicago American Gears players
Fort Wayne Zollner Pistons coaches
Fort Wayne Zollner Pistons players
Guards (basketball)
Hammond Calumet Buccaneers players
Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame inductees
Original Celtics players
Player-coaches
Professional Basketball League of America players
Sheboygan Red Skins coaches
Sheboygan Red Skins players
Sportspeople from Queens, New York
Sportspeople from Yonkers, New York
Tri-Cities Blackhawks head coaches
Tri-Cities Blackhawks players
Wilkes-Barre Barons players