Donald P. Bielke (born May 10, 1932) is a retired American

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. He played collegiately for the

Valparaiso Crusaders The Valparaiso Beacons is the name of the athletic teams from Valparaiso University – often referred to as Valpo – in Valparaiso, Indiana, United States. The Beacons compete in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) at the Divi ...

. He was selected by 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'' ...

in the 8th round (67th pick overall) of the

1954 NBA draft The 1954 NBA draft was the eighth annual draft of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The draft was held on April 24, 1954, before the 1954–55 season. In this draft, nine NBA teams took turns selecting amateur U.S. college basketball pla ...

. He played for the Fort Wayne Pistons (1955–56) in the

NBA 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 St ...

for 7 games. After his

playing days, Bielke went on to coach basketball at

California Concordia College California Concordia College was a junior college and high school in Oakland, California, United States, from 1906 until 1973. It was affiliated with the Lutheran Church–Missouri Synod (LCMS) and was established for the training of Lutheran pa ...

for 16 years, and at

California Lutheran University California Lutheran University (CLU, Cal Lutheran, or Cal Lu) is a private university in Thousand Oaks, California. It was founded in 1959 and is affiliated with the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, but is nonsectarian. It opened in 1960 ...

for another ten, winning over 550 games in his collegiate coaching career. He also was a professor in the kinesiology department. Bielke was a coach and instructor at California Lutheran University for over ten years. As the head coach of the college basketball team, the winning years 1977–78 (18–17) and 1979–80 (14–3) are attributed to him. He spent over 27 years in the university's Athletic Department and was an adjunct professor and acting department chair of

kinesiology Kinesiology () is the scientific study of human body movement. Kinesiology addresses physiological, anatomical, biomechanical, pathological, neuropsychological principles and mechanisms of movement. Applications of kinesiology to human health ...

. He coached for a total of 26 years and received the "

Coach of the Year Many sports leagues, sportswriting associations, and other organizations confer "Coach of the Year" awards. In some sports — including baseball and association football — the award is called the "Manager of the Year" award. Some of the ...

" awards on numerous occasions. He received the Leadership Award for the NAIA District III in 1990. Besides

All-American honours The All-America designation is an annual honor bestowed upon an amateur sports person from the United States who is considered to be one of the best amateurs in their sport. Individuals receiving this distinction are typically added to an All-Am ...

and playing in the NBA, he also served as a board member with the

YMCA YMCA, sometimes regionally called the Y, is a worldwide youth organization based in Geneva, Switzerland, with more than 64 million beneficiaries in 120 countries. It was founded on 6 June 1844 by George Williams in London, originally ...

, on the advisory board of the

Boy Scouts Boy Scouts may refer to: * Boy Scout, a participant in the Boy Scout Movement. * Scouting, also known as the Boy Scout Movement. * An organisation in the Scouting Movement, although many of these organizations also have female members. There are ...

, president of the

Kiwanis Club Kiwanis International ( ) is an international service club founded in 1915 in Detroit, Michigan. It is headquartered in Indianapolis, Indiana, United States, and is found in more than 80 nations and geographic areas. Since 1987, the organizatio ...

, grand marshall of the

Conejo Valley Days Conejo may refer to: * Conejo, California, an unincorporated community *Conejo, New Mexico, a census-designated place *Conejo Valley, a region in Southern California *Conejo Island, Honduras, in the Gulf of Fonseca See also * Conejos (disambigu ...

, and a

Special Olympics Special Olympics is the world's largest sports organization for children and adults with intellectual disabilities and physical disabilities, providing year-round training and activities to 5 million participants and Unified Sports partners in 1 ...

coordinator. He received a bachelor's degree from

Valparaiso University Valparaiso University (Valpo) is a private university in Valparaiso, Indiana. It is a Lutheran university with about 3,000 students from over 50 countries on a campus of . Originally named Valparaiso Male and Female College, Valparaiso Universit ...

and a master's from San Francisco University.

References

External links

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Don Belke To Be Inducted Into Valpo HOF
1932 births Living people American men's basketball players Basketball coaches from Minnesota Basketball players from Minnesota Cal Lutheran Kingsmen basketball coaches Centers (basketball) College men's basketball head coaches in the United States Fort Wayne Pistons players Fort Wayne Pistons draft picks Valparaiso Beacons men's basketball players {{1930s-US-basketball-bio-stub