Fred Sawyer is an American former 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. He played collegiately for the

Louisville Cardinals The Louisville Cardinals (also known as the Cards) are the NCAA athletic teams representing the University of Louisville. The Cardinals teams play in the Atlantic Coast Conference, beginning in the 2014 season. While playing in the Big East Co ...

from 1958 to 1961. Sawyer was a secondary player for the Cardinals when they made the Final Four of the

1959 NCAA tournament Events January * January 1 - Cuba: Fulgencio Batista flees Havana when the forces of Fidel Castro advance. * January 2 - Lunar probe Luna 1 was the first man-made object to attain escape velocity from Earth. It reached the vicinity of E ...

but improved to become credited as the primary reason for the team's success during his junior season. Sawyer's height of led to an intimidating presence, such as when

Western Kentucky Hilltoppers The Western Kentucky Hilltoppers and Lady Toppers are the athletic teams that represent Western Kentucky University (WKU), located in Bowling Green, Kentucky, in intercollegiate sports as a member of the NCAA Division I ranks, competing in the Co ...

head coach

Edgar Diddle Edgar Allen Diddle (March 12, 1895 – January 2, 1970) was an American college men's basketball coach. He is known for coaching at Western Kentucky University in Bowling Green, Kentucky from 1922 to 1964. Diddle became the first coach in history ...

remarked before a game that Sawyer was "the biggest man I ever saw" and must be "6 feet 13 or 14". During his senior season, Sawyer made a pledge he would not wash his socks until the Cardinals lost a game – a challenge that survived 12 games. Sawyer was selected in the

1961 NBA draft The 1961 NBA draft was the 15th annual draft of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The draft was held on March 27, 1961, before the 1961–62 season. In this draft, nine NBA teams took turns selecting amateur U.S. college basketball playe ...

by the

Los Angeles Lakers The Los Angeles Lakers are an American professional basketball team based in Los Angeles. The Lakers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference Pacific Division. The Lakers play their ...

as the 13th overall pick. Lakers head coach Fred Schaus considered Sawyer to "be a couple of years away" from playing in the

National Basketball Association 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 S ...

(NBA) but expected Sawyer to join the team during the following season. Sawyer began his professional career in the American Basketball League (ABL) with the

Hawaii Chiefs Hawaii ( ; haw, Hawaii or ) is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, Western United States, located in the Pacific Ocean about from the U.S. mainland. It is the only U.S. state outside North America, the only state that is ...

during the 1961–62 season. During a game against the

Washington Tapers Washington commonly refers to: * Washington (state), United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A metonym for the federal government of the United States ** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered on ...

on December 5, 1961, he was involved in a fight with Gene Conley that left Conley with a broken left hand.

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External links

College statistics
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sawyer, Fred Year of birth missing (living people) Living people American men's basketball players Basketball players from Cleveland Centers (basketball) Hawaii Chiefs players Los Angeles Lakers draft picks Louisville Cardinals men's basketball players