Eddie Donovan (June 2, 1922 in
– January 20, 2001) was a 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 ...
coach and executive.
He coached the
New York Knickerbockers
The New York Knickerbockers were one of the first organized baseball teams which played under a set of rules similar to the game today. Founded as the "Knickerbocker Base Ball Club" by Alexander Cartwright in 1845, the team remained active unt ...
from 1961 through 1965, and was the coach on the opposing sideline when
Philadelphia Warriors
The history of the Golden State Warriors began in Philadelphia in 1946. In 1962, the franchise was relocated to San Francisco, California and became known as the San Francisco Warriors until 1971, when its name was changed to the current Golden St ...
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 ...
Wilt Chamberlain
Wilton Norman Chamberlain (; August 21, 1936 – October 12, 1999) was an American professional basketball player who played as a Center (basketball), center. Standing at tall, he played in the National Basketball Association (NBA) for 14 yea ...
had his record-setting 100-point game in
Hershey, Pennsylvania
Hershey is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) in Derry Township, Dauphin County, Pennsylvania, United States. It is home to The Hershey Company, which was founded by candy magnate Milton S. Hershey.
The community is lo ...
on March 2, 1962.
He later became the team's general manager. In that role, he drafted
Willis Reed
Willis Reed Jr. (born June 25, 1942) is an American retired basketball player, coach and general manager. He spent his entire professional playing career (1964–1974) with the New York Knicks. In 1982, Reed was inducted into the Naismith Memo ...
and traded for
Dave DeBusschere
David Albert DeBusschere (October 16, 1940 – May 14, 2003) was an American professional National Basketball Association (NBA) player and coach and Major League Baseball (MLB) player. He played for the Chicago White Sox of MLB in 1962 and 1963 a ...
, two moves leading up to the Knicks winning the NBA title in 1970.
Donovan later became an executive with the
Buffalo Braves
The Buffalo Braves were an American professional basketball franchise based in Buffalo, New York. The Braves competed in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member club of the league's Eastern Conference Atlantic Division from 1970 ...
, where he won the
NBA Executive of the Year Award
The National Basketball Association's Executive of the Year Award is an annual award given since the 1972–73 NBA season, to the league's best general manager, president of basketball/business operations, or another high-ranking executive. Befor ...
for the
1973–74 season.
Prior to his career with the Knicks, Donovan was the head men's basketball coach at
St. Bonaventure University from 1953 through 1961.
Death
Eddie Donovan died on January 20, 2001, when he was 78. The cause for his death was said to be the complications of stroke.
References
External links
BasketballReference.com: Eddie Donovan
1922 births
2001 deaths
American men's basketball coaches
Basketball coaches from New Jersey
Buffalo Braves personnel
College men's basketball head coaches in the United States
Los Angeles Clippers executives
National Basketball Association general managers
New York Knicks head coaches
Sportspeople from Elizabeth, New Jersey
St. Bonaventure Bonnies men's basketball coaches
St. Bonaventure Bonnies men's basketball players
{{US-basketball-coach-stub