Jack Parr (March 13, 1936 – January 4, 2015) 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 court, compete with the primary objective of shooting a basketball (approximately in diameter) through the defender's h ...

player. Parr was born in

Louisville, Kentucky Louisville ( , , ) is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky and the 28th most-populous city in the United States. Louisville is the historical seat and, since 2003, the nominal seat of Jefferson County, on the Indiana border ...

. He played college basketball at Kansas State University. Kansas State retired his jersey, and his number 33 is hanging from the rafters. He was drafted by the

Cincinnati 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 ...

in the 10th round of the

1958 NBA draft The 1958 NBA draft was the 12th annual draft of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The draft was held on April 22, 1958, before the 1958–59 season. In this draft, eight NBA teams took turns selecting amateur U.S. college basketball play ...

. He played 66 games for the Royals in 1958–1959, averaging 4.0 points per game. Jack Parr was not what you would call a picture player early in his career, but he was endowed with an intensity and inner drive that spearheaded him to All-America stature. Rugged and strong, he would sweep the boards. Parr's assortment of shots included a hook and a soft "face the basket" jumper. Against

Kansas Kansas () is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its capital is Topeka, and its largest city is Wichita. Kansas is a landlocked state bordered by Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to th ...

Lawrence Lawrence may refer to: Education Colleges and universities * Lawrence Technological University, a university in Southfield, Michigan, United States * Lawrence University, a liberal arts university in Appleton, Wisconsin, United States Preparator ...

in 1958, Parr made perhaps his greatest defensive play. With the final seconds ticking away, Kansas went to

Wilt Chamberlain Wilton Norman Chamberlain (; August 21, 1936 – October 12, 1999) was an American professional basketball player who played as a center. Standing at tall, he played in the National Basketball Association (NBA) for 14 years and is widely reg ...

under the basket for an assumed easy lay-in. Parr went straight up and batted the ball away, enabling K-State to take a thrilling 79–75 victory. Three times Parr gained all-league honors. Twice he helped the Wildcats to conference championships and NCAA play and twice received All-America recognition. He still holds KSU's single-season rebounding record and is second on the career charts. He ranks 10th among the all-time Wildcat scoring leaders with 1,184 points. Parr played one season professionally with the Cincinnati Royals before turning to private business and becoming a Big Eight basketball official. He died in January 2015, aged 78, at his home in Lindsborg, Kansas.https://www.kansascity.com/sports/college/big-12/kansas-state/article5452425.html

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Parr, Jack 1936 births 2015 deaths All-American college men's basketball players American men's basketball players Basketball players from Louisville, Kentucky Centers (basketball) Cincinnati Royals draft picks Cincinnati Royals players Kansas State Wildcats men's basketball players People from Lindsborg, Kansas