George Edward "Chips" Sobek (February 10, 1920 – April 9, 1990) was a player 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). He played with the Sheboygan Red Skins during the 1949-50 NBA season. Sobek had also played in the National Basketball League, most notably for the

Toledo Jeeps The Toledo Jeeps were a professional basketball team that played in the National Basketball League from 1946 to 1948. As with many other NBL teams, they owed their name to an industry of their hometown, in this case the Willys Jeep Plant. They ...

. A native of

Hammond, Indiana Hammond ( ) is a city in Lake County, Indiana. It is part of the Chicago metropolitan area, and the only city in Indiana to border Chicago. First settled in the mid-19th century, it is one of the oldest cities of northern Lake County. As of the ...

, Sobek attended Notre Dame, where he earned All-American status in 1941, as chosen by Madison Square Garden, although he did not make the consensus team. After graduating from Notre Dame, he would also play a season with the

Naval Station Great Lakes Naval Station Great Lakes (NAVSTA Great Lakes) is the home of the United States Navy's only recruit training, boot camp, located near North Chicago, Illinois, North Chicago, in Lake County, Illinois. Important tenant commands include the Recruit ...

while under service with them. Sobek also played

professional baseball Professional baseball is organized baseball in which players are selected for their talents and are paid to play for a specific team or club system. It is played in baseball league, leagues and associated farm teams throughout the world. Mod ...

, spending three years in the

minor leagues Minor leagues are professional sports leagues which are not regarded as the premier leagues in those sports. Minor league teams tend to play in smaller, less elaborate venues, often competing in smaller cities/markets. This term is used in Nor ...

. With the 1946

Superior Blues The Superior Blues were a minor league baseball team based in Superior, Wisconsin, USA. From 1933 to 1943 and from 1946 to 1955, the Blues played in the Northern League. In 1937, they were affiliated with the St. Louis Browns. From 1938 to 1940, ...

, he led

Northern League Northern League may refer to: Sport Baseball * Northern League (baseball, 1902–71), a name used by several minor leagues that operated in the upper midwestern U.S. and Manitoba from 1902 to 1971 * Northern League (baseball, 1993–2010), an indep ...

second basemen in fielding percentage (.964), double plays (61), putouts (353) and assists (322). He hit .308/~.368/.371. In 1948, he hit .297 for the Hot Springs Bathers and had a brief tenure with the

Waterloo White Hawks Based in Waterloo, Iowa, the Waterloo White Hawks were a minor league baseball team that existed from 1946 to 1956. They played in the Three-I League and were affiliated with the Chicago White Sox. They played their home games at Riverfront Stadium ...

. In 1949, he hit .244 for Superior to conclude his playing career. Sobek was later a

Chicago White Sox The Chicago White Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The White Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. The team is owned by Jerry Reinsdorf, and p ...

scout from 1950 to 1984, signing

Denny McLain Dennis Dale McLain (born March 29, 1944) is an American former professional baseball player. He played for ten seasons in Major League Baseball as a right-handed pitcher, most prominently as a member of the Detroit Tigers. In 1968, McLain became ...

(most notably),

Steve Trout Steven Russell Trout (born July 30, 1957) is an American former professional baseball pitcher who played Major League Baseball (MLB) during the 1980s. He is the son of former MLB pitcher Dizzy Trout. He had the nickname "Rainbow". Career Chicag ...

, and

Mike Squires Michael Lynn Squires (born March 5, 1952) is an American former Major League Baseball player who played for the Chicago White Sox primarily as a first baseman from 1975 and 1977 to 1985. He won the American League Gold Glove Award at first base ...

. He also managed several seasons in the Sox organization. He also scouted for the

San Francisco Giants The San Francisco Giants are an American professional baseball team based in San Francisco, California. The Giants compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Founded in 1883 as the New Yor ...

from 1985 to 1988. Sobek was the athletic director and baseball coach at Thornton Fractional High School in Calumet City, Illinois, for 26 years and he directed the White Sox Boys Camp in

Chilton, Wisconsin Chilton is a city in and county seat of Calumet County in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. The population was 4,080 at the 2020 census. The city is located partially within the Town of Chilton. History The first residents of Chilton were Africa ...

. Sobek also was a longtime college basketball referee, notably for the

Big Ten Conference The Big Ten Conference (stylized B1G, formerly the Western Conference and the Big Nine Conference) is the oldest Division I collegiate athletic conference in the United States. Founded as the Intercollegiate Conference of Faculty Representati ...

. He was an official in at least one small college championship contest.

Career statistics

NBA

Source

Regular season

Playoffs

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sobek, Chips 1920 births 1990 deaths All-American college men's basketball players American men's basketball players Basketball players from Indiana Chicago White Sox scouts Eugene Emeralds managers Guards (basketball) Hammond Calumet Buccaneers players Hot Springs Bathers players Indianapolis Kautskys players Notre Dame Fighting Irish men's basketball players San Francisco Giants scouts Sheboygan Red Skins players Sportspeople from Hammond, Indiana Superior Blues players Toledo Jeeps players Waterloo White Hawks players