James Clifford Pollard (July 9, 1922 – January 22, 1993) 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 and coach. As 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 St ...

(NBA), Pollard was considered one of the best forwards in the 1950s and was known for his leaping ability, earning him the nickname "The Kangaroo Kid". A five-time NBA champion and four-time

NBA All-Star The National Basketball Association (NBA) All-Star Game is an annual exhibition basketball game. It is the main event of the NBA All-Star Weekend. Originally, the All-Star Game featured a conference-based format, featuring a team composed of ...

, Pollard spent his entire eight-year professional career with the

Minneapolis Lakers The Los Angeles Lakers franchise has a long and storied history, predating the formation of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Founded in 1947, the Lakers are one of the NBA's most famous and successful franchises. As of summer 2012, th ...

. Pollard was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 1978."The Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame :: Jim Pollard"
Accessed on June 10, 2017. He has also been inducted into the Bay Area Hall of Fame, Stanford Hall of Fame, and

Pac-12 Hall of Honor The Pac-12 Conference Hall of Honor recognizes former athletes and coaches who have made a significant impact to the tradition and heritage of the Pac-12 Conference. Established in 2002, one honoree is selected by each member institution in the c ...

High school career

Pollard attended

Oakland Technical High School Oakland Technical High School, known locally as Oakland Tech or simply "Tech", is a public high school in Oakland, California, United States, and is operated under the jurisdiction of the Oakland Unified School District. It is one of six compre ...

in his hometown of

Oakland, California Oakland is the largest city and the county seat of Alameda County, California, United States. A major West Coast of the United States, West Coast port, Oakland is the largest city in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area, the third ...

. He led the school's basketball team to three consecutive conference titles from 1937–38 to 1939–40. He averaged 19.8 points per game in his senior year, setting a school record.Sutton, Jeff
"NBA Hall of Famer Jim Pollard was ahead of his time"
''

Lodi News-Sentinel The ''Lodi News-Sentinel'' is a daily newspaper based in Lodi, California, United States, and serving northern San Joaquin and southern Sacramento counties. History The ''Lodi News-Sentinel'' was founded in 1881 by Ralph Ellis, a former sher ...

''. June 3, 2002. Accessed on June 10, 2017.

College career and military service

Pollard was recruited to Stanford University by former Stanford star and future Hall of Famer,

Hank Luisetti Angelo-Giuseppi "Hank" Luisetti (June 16, 1916 – December 17, 2002) was an American college men's basketball player. He is considered to be one of the great innovators of the sport. In an era that featured the traditional two-handed set shot, ...

."Jim Pollard, a Star In N.B.A. in 50's; Ex-Laker Was 70"
''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...

''. January 25, 1993. Accessed on June 10, 2017. Pollard played for the Stanford Indians for two seasons, under head coach

Everett Dean Everett Sterling Dean (March 18, 1898 – October 26, 1993) was an American college basketball and baseball coach. Biography Born in Livonia, Indiana, Dean played basketball for three years at Indiana University, where he was also a member of the ...

. During his sophomore season, he was a key member of the team's 1942 national championship team, but, due to illness, he did not play in the

championship game In sport, a championship is a Competition#Sports, competition in which the aim is to decide which individual or team is the champion. Championship systems Various forms of competition can be referred to by the term championship. Title match sy ...

. At Stanford, Pollard joined the Sigma Rho chapter of

Delta Kappa Epsilon Delta Kappa Epsilon (), commonly known as ''DKE'' or ''Deke'', is one of the oldest fraternities in the United States, with fifty-six active chapters and five active colonies across North America. It was founded at Yale College in 1844 by fiftee ...

fraternity. Pollard's college career was ended early due to

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

, and he served with the

United States Coast Guard The United States Coast Guard (USCG) is the maritime security, search and rescue, and law enforcement service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the country's eight uniformed services. The service is a maritime, military, mu ...

from 1942 to 1946. During his service, he starred with the Coast Guard basketball team in

Alameda An alameda is a Avenue (landscape), street or path lined with trees () and may refer to: Places Canada *Alameda, Saskatchewan, town in Saskatchewan **Grant Devine Dam, formerly ''Alameda Dam'', a dam and reservoir in southern Saskatchewan Chile ...

, winning a Northern California title in 1943 and the Service League championship in 1946. Pollard went on to graduate from the

University of Minnesota The University of Minnesota, formally the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities, (UMN Twin Cities, the U of M, or Minnesota) is a public land-grant research university in the Twin Cities of Minneapolis and Saint Paul, Minnesota, United States. ...

in 1954.

Amateur career

After World War II, Pollard played amateur basketball for one season with the San Diego Dons of the

Amateur Athletic Union The Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) is an amateur sports organization based in the United States. A multi-sport organization, the AAU is dedicated exclusively to the promotion and development of amateur sports and physical fitness programs. It h ...

. The following season, he played for the Oakland Bittners in the same league. He led the AAU in scoring and earned Most Valuable Player honors both years. His teams were runners-up in the national AAU tournament both seasons. Pollard also played amateur baseball for Jordan, Minnesota's

Town Team baseball Town Team Baseball is a variety of amateur baseball played in the United States. In Town Team baseball, sometimes also called townball, the teams represent either a given city or town, or a commercial enterprise which sponsors the team. Usually a ...

club, during his NBA career. He was reputed to be "a good pitcher and a powerful hitter." It was there that Pollard famously "hit a ball that didn't stop until it got to Chicago", because it landed in a gondola car in a freight train passing by the ballpark.Town Ball, the Glory Days of Minnesota Amateur Baseball, Armand Peterson and Tom Tomashek, University of Minnesota Press, Minneapolis and London, page x (introduction),

Professional career

Minneapolis Lakers (1947–1955)

Pollard began his professional basketball career in 1947 after signing with the

while the team was a part of the National Basketball League. On the team, Pollard was a member of a future Hall of Fame frontcourt alongside center

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 ...

and power forward

Vern Mikkelsen Arild Verner Agerskov Mikkelsen (October 21, 1928 – November 21, 2013) was an American professional basketball player. One of the National Basketball Association's first power forwards in the 1950s, he was known for his tenacious defense. Als ...

, as well as fellow Hall of Famer

Slater Martin Slater Nelson "Dugie" Martin Jr. (October 22, 1925 – October 18, 2012) was an American professional basketball player and coach who was a playmaking guard for 11 seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA). He was born in Elmina ...

at shooting guard. Led by coach

John Kundla John Albert Kundla (July 3, 1916 – July 23, 2017) was an American college and professional basketball coach. He was the first head coach for the Minneapolis Lakers of the National Basketball Association (NBA) and its predecessors, the Basketbal ...

, this core group of players have been called the "first legacy in the history of professional basketball". The Lakers won the NBL championship in 1948, the BAA championship in 1949, and four NBA championships in

1950 Events January * January 1 – The International Police Association (IPA) – the largest police organization in the world – is formed. * January 5 – Sverdlovsk plane crash: ''Aeroflot'' Lisunov Li-2 crashes in a snowstorm. All 19 ...

1952 Events January–February * January 26 – Black Saturday in Egypt: Rioters burn Cairo's central business district, targeting British and upper-class Egyptian businesses. * February 6 ** Princess Elizabeth, Duchess of Edinburgh, becomes m ...

1953 Events January * January 6 – The Asian Socialist Conference opens in Rangoon, Burma. * January 12 – Estonian émigrés found a government-in-exile in Oslo. * January 14 ** Marshal Josip Broz Tito is chosen President of Yug ...

and 1954. Pollard was a four-time

, and was named to the All-NBA First Team in 1949 and 1950, and Second Team in 1952 and 1954. Pollard was renowned for his tremendous leaping ability, and subsequently earned the nickname "The Kangaroo Kid". He could reportedly touch the top of the backboard and dunk from the foul line, being one of the few players in his era who was capable of dunking a basketball. Pollard was also known for his corner jumpshot, and was a respected player and teammate. In 1952, the Basketball Association of America selected Pollard as the best player of the era. Pollard retired from playing basketball after eight seasons, and finished with career averages of 13.2 points, 7.8 rebounds and 3.2 assists per game."Jim Pollard Stats"
Basketball Reference. Accessed on June 10, 2017.

Coaching career

Pollard immediately moved into coaching after retiring, taking the head coach position at La Salle University for the Explorers men's basketball team in 1955. Over three seasons with the team, Pollard compiled a record of 48–28. Pollard was named interim head coach of the Lakers midway through the

1959–60 NBA season The 1959–60 NBA season was the 14th season of the National Basketball Association. The season ended with the Boston Celtics winning their 2nd straight NBA title, beating the St. Louis Hawks 4 games to 3 in the NBA Finals. Notable occurrences ...

on January 2, 1960, and recorded a 14–25 record.Galluzzo, Steve
"Jim Pollard"
''

Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the U ...

''. February 12, 2011. Accessed on June 11, 2017. He was named the head coach of the newly established

Chicago Packers The Washington Wizards are an American professional basketball team based in Washington, D.C. The Wizards compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Southeast Division. The team plays ...

in 1961, and managed an 18–62 record in the team's first NBA season. He moved to the American Basketball Association for the league's inaugural season in 1967, and coached the

Minnesota Muskies The Minnesota Muskies were a member of the American Basketball Association, born with the league's creation on February 2, 1967. L.P. Shields and Fred Jefferson were the owners after paying a franchise fee of $30,000. The team then played one seaso ...

, which relocated to Miami and became the

Miami Floridians The Miami Floridians, later in their history known simply as The Floridians, were a professional basketball franchise in the original, now-defunct American Basketball Association. The Miami Floridians played in the ABA from 1968 through 1970 when ...

the following season. He was fired by the team midway through the 1969–70 season. Pollard spent his final years of coaching at

Florida Atlantic University Florida Atlantic University (Florida Atlantic or FAU) is a public research university with its main campus in Boca Raton, Florida, and satellite campuses in Dania Beach, Davie, Fort Lauderdale, Jupiter, and Fort Pierce. FAU belongs to the 12-ca ...

with the Owls men's basketball team, which he coached for two seasons.

BAA/NBA career statistics

Regular season

Playoffs

Head coaching record

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Minneapolis Minneapolis () is the largest city in Minnesota, United States, and the county seat of Hennepin County. The city is abundant in water, with thirteen lakes, wetlands, the Mississippi River, creeks and waterfalls. Minneapolis has its origins ...

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Conference Finals Conference Finals may refer to: * NBA Conference Finals, National Basketball Association * NHL Conference Finals The National Hockey League (NHL) Conference Finals are the Eastern Conference and Western Conference championship series of the NHL. ...

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References

External links

*
BasketballReference.com: Jim Pollard (as player)

{{DEFAULTSORT:Pollard, Jim 1922 births 1993 deaths All-American college men's basketball players Amateur Athletic Union men's basketball players American men's basketball coaches American men's basketball players Basketball coaches from California Basketball players from Oakland, California Chicago Stags draft picks Chicago Packers head coaches La Salle Explorers baseball coaches La Salle Explorers men's basketball coaches Miami Floridians coaches Minneapolis Lakers players Minneapolis Lakers head coaches Minnesota Muskies coaches Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame inductees National Basketball Association All-Stars Philadelphia Warriors draft picks Small forwards St. Louis Bombers (NBA) draft picks Stanford Cardinal men's basketball players United States Coast Guard personnel of World War II

High school career

College career and military service

Amateur career

Professional career

Minneapolis Lakers (1947–1955)

Coaching career

BAA/NBA career statistics

Regular season

Playoffs

Head coaching record

See also

References

External links