Edwin Sheffield "Bulbs" Ehlers (March 10, 1923 – June 17, 2013) was an American professional basketball player. Standing and weighing 198 pounds (90 kg), he played the

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 ...

and

guard Guard or guards may refer to: Professional occupations * Bodyguard, who protects an individual from personal assault * Crossing guard, who stops traffic so pedestrians can cross the street * Lifeguard, who rescues people from drowning * Prison ...

positions. Ehlers was drafted third overall in the inaugural 1947 BAA draft by 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 ...

. In two seasons in the league, both with the Celtics, Ehlers averaged 8.1 points per game. Though born in Joliet, Illinois; Ehlers was raised

South Bend, Indiana South Bend is a city in and the county seat of St. Joseph County, Indiana, St. Joseph County, Indiana, on the St. Joseph River (Lake Michigan), St. Joseph River near its southernmost bend, from which it derives its name. As of the 2020 United S ...

and attended

South Bend Central High School South Bend Community School Corporation (SBCSC), located in South Bend, Indiana, is St. Joseph County's oldest and largest school corporation, and the fifth largest in the state. They have 30 schools and seven support facilities in a geographic ...

. While there, he played basketball for future

Hall of Fame A hall, wall, or walk of fame is a list of individuals, achievements, or other entities, usually chosen by a group of electors, to mark their excellence or Wiktionary:fame, fame in their field. In some cases, these halls of fame consist of actu ...

player and coach

John Wooden John Robert Wooden (October 14, 1910 – June 4, 2010) was an American basketball coach and player. Nicknamed the Wizard of Westwood, he won ten National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) national championships in a 12-year period as head ...

. Ehlers attended

Purdue University Purdue University is a public land-grant research university in West Lafayette, Indiana, and the flagship campus of the Purdue University system. The university was founded in 1869 after Lafayette businessman John Purdue donated land and money ...

, lettering for the Boilermakers in three sports;

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 ...

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

, and

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding tea ...

. In addition to being the Celtics' first ever draft pick, the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...

Chicago Bears The Chicago Bears are a professional American football team based in Chicago. The Bears compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) North division. The Bears have won nine NF ...

selected him in the 31st round (293rd overall) in the 1947 NFL Draft. The

New York Yankees The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Amer ...

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...

also signed him. He spent five seasons playing minor league baseball: three seasons with the Yankees and two with the Chicago Cubs. He spent the majority of his career at the AAA level, playing for such teams as the Kansas City Blues,

Newark Bears The Newark Bears were an American minor league professional baseball team based in Newark, New Jersey. They were a member of the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball and, later, the Canadian American Association of Professional Baseball. T ...

and the

Springfield Cubs The Springfield Cubs, based in Springfield, Massachusetts, were a minor league baseball franchise that served as a farm team of the Chicago Cubs of Major League Baseball from 1948 to 1953. The team was a member of the Class B New England Leagu ...

. Bulbs Ehlers was the father of NFL player Tom Ehlers; his granddaughters, Emily and Jessica, played intercollegiate volleyball at

and

Campbell University Campbell University is a private Baptist university in Buies Creek, North Carolina. It is affiliated with the Baptist State Convention of North Carolina (Southern Baptist Convention). Southern Baptist ConventionColleges and Universities sbc.net ...

respectively. His grandson,

Scott Dreisbach Scott Thomas Dreisbach Jr. (born December 16, 1975) is a former American football quarterback. Originally from Mishawaka, Indiana, Dreisbach played college football as a quarterback for the University of Michigan from 1995 Michigan Wolverines fo ...

, played football at the University of Michigan and spent several seasons in the NFL and the

AFL AFL may refer to: Sports * American Football League (AFL), a name shared by several separate and unrelated professional American football leagues: ** American Football League (1926) (a.k.a. "AFL I"), first rival of the National Football Leagu ...

. He is unique in being a member of both the

Indiana Basketball Hall of Fame The Indiana Basketball Hall of Fame is a sports museum and hall of fame in New Castle, Indiana. While it honors men and women associated with high school, college, and professional basketball in Indiana, an emphasis is placed on the athlete's high ...

and the Indiana Football Hall of Fame; he was inducted into the basketball hall in 1980, and the football hall in 1985.

BAA career statistics

Regular season

References

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External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ehlers, Bulbs 1923 births 2013 deaths Amateur Athletic Union men's basketball players American men's basketball players Baseball players from South Bend, Indiana Basketball players from South Bend, Indiana Binghamton Triplets players Boston Celtics draft picks Boston Celtics players Forwards (basketball) Greensboro Patriots players Guards (basketball) Kansas City Blues (baseball) players Newark Bears (IL) players Purdue Boilermakers baseball players Purdue Boilermakers football players Purdue Boilermakers men's basketball players Quincy Gems players Springfield Cubs players