George Gregory Glamack (June 7, 1919 – March 10, 1987) was an American 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.

Biography

Born in

Johnstown, Pennsylvania Johnstown is a city in Cambria County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 18,411 as of the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census. Located east of Pittsburgh, Johnstown is the principal city of the Johnstown, Pennsylvania, Metropol ...

, he was of Serbian origin. A 6'6"

forward-center Forward–center or bigman is a basketball position for players who play or have played both forward and center on a consistent basis. Typically, this means power forward and center, since these are usually the two biggest player positions on ...

, Glamack attended the

University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States ...

. Glamack, an All-American in 1940 and 1941, was nicknamed the Blind Bomber because he had very poor eyesight and had to rely on the lines drawn on the court when shooting. The Spaulding Guide noted that "Glamack, who is ambididextrous when on the court, is also so nearsighted that the ball is merely a dim object, but apparently he never looked where he was shooting, depending upon his sense of distance and direction." The secret of "The Blind Bomber" was looking at the black lines on the court. By doing that he knew where he was in reference to the basket and measure the shot. He scored 45 points against Clemson in 1941, still the fourth-highest total in UNC history. That year, he led UNC to a

Southern Conference The Southern Conference (SoCon) is a collegiate athletic conference affiliated with the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I. Southern Conference football teams compete in the Football Championship Subdivision (formerly ...

championship and the

NCAA The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges an ...

tournament. In both 1940 and 1941 he won the

Helms Foundation Player of the Year The Helms Foundation College Basketball Player of the Year was an annual men's college basketball award given to the most outstanding men′s player in the United States. It was awarded by the Helms Athletic Foundation, an organization founded in ...

which was the only MVP award of that time. He is one of eight players to have his jersey number retired by UNC, the others being Jack Cobb,

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, Phil Ford,

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, and

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. Glamack entered pro basketball in 1941. In 1945 he joined the

Rochester Royals The Sacramento Kings are an American professional basketball team based in Sacramento, California. The Kings compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Western Conference Pacific Division. The Kings are the oldest ...

of the National Basketball League. Glamack scored a team high 12.3 points per game and the team finished with a record of 24–10. They would go on to win the 1946 championship, defeating the

Sheboygan Red Skins The Sheboygan Red Skins (or Redskins) was a professional basketball team based in Sheboygan, Wisconsin, which was an original National Basketball Association franchise during the 1949–1950 season. History Overview The Redskins played in th ...

3–0. The next year Glamack scored 8.5 points per game and the team finished with a record of 31–13, the best record in the league. The team went to the finals again in 1947 but lost to

George Mikan George Lawrence Mikan Jr. (; June 18, 1924 – June 1, 2005), nicknamed "Mr. Basketball", was an American professional basketball player for the Chicago American Gears of the National Basketball League (NBL) and the Minneapolis Lakers of t ...

and the

Chicago American Gears The Chicago American Gears were a National Basketball League (NBL) team who played from 1944 to 1947. The team also played in the Professional Basketball League of America (PBLA) in 1947–48 after leaving the NBL. About They are notable in prof ...

. Glamack retired from professional basketball in 1951.

BAA career statistics

Regular season

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Glamack, George 1919 births 1987 deaths Akron Goodyear Wingfoots players All-American college men's basketball players American men's basketball players American people of Serbian descent Basketball players from Pennsylvania Centers (basketball) Hammond Calumet Buccaneers players Indianapolis Jets players Indianapolis Kautskys players North Carolina Tar Heels men's basketball players Power forwards (basketball) Rochester Royals players Sportspeople from Johnstown, Pennsylvania