James E. Baechtold (December 9, 1927 – August 29, 2011
. Retrieved on September 1, 2011.) was an American

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 and professor at

Eastern Kentucky University Eastern Kentucky University (Eastern or EKU) is a public university in Richmond, Kentucky. As a regional comprehensive institution, EKU also maintains branch campuses in Corbin, Hazard, Lancaster, and Manchester and offers over 40 online un ...

Basketball career

A graduate of Moon High School in

Coraopolis, Pennsylvania Coraopolis () is a borough in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania. The population was 5,559 at the 2020 census. In 1940, the population peaked at 11,086. Coraopolis is located west of Pittsburgh along the Ohio River and to the east of the Pittsburg ...

, Baechtold played collegiately for

(1948–1952). Baechtold was selected by the Baltimore Bullets in the 1st round (2nd pick overall) of the 1952 NBA draft. He played for the Bullets (1952–53) and

New York Knicks The New York Knickerbockers, shortened and more commonly referred to as the New York Knicks, are an American professional basketball team based in the New York City borough of Manhattan. The Knicks compete in the National Basketball Associat ...

(1953–57) in the

NBA 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 St ...

for 321 games, averaging 9.7 points and 3.1 rebounds. From 1962 through 1966, Baechtold served as

’s head basketball coach. In his five seasons, he coached two OVC runners-up and the 1965 conference championship team. He was the OVC Coach-of-the-Year in 1965. Afterwards, he served for several years as an associate professor in the university's Parks and Recreation Department.

Career playing statistics

NBA

Source

Regular season

Playoffs

References

External links

* 1927 births 2011 deaths Basketball coaches from Pennsylvania Baltimore Bullets (1944–1954) draft picks Baltimore Bullets (1944–1954) players Eastern Kentucky Colonels men's basketball coaches Eastern Kentucky Colonels men's basketball players New York Knicks players Sportspeople from McKeesport, Pennsylvania Basketball players from Allegheny County, Pennsylvania American men's basketball players Forwards (basketball) Guards (basketball) {{1920s-US-basketball-bio-stub