John H. Dick (November 9, 1918 – September 22, 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

Rear Admiral Rear admiral is a senior naval flag officer rank, equivalent to a major general and air vice marshal and above that of a commodore and captain, but below that of a vice admiral. It is regarded as a two star "admiral" rank. It is often regarde ...

in the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

College basketball career

Dick was born and grew up in The Dalles, Oregon and attended the

University of Oregon The University of Oregon (UO, U of O or Oregon) is a public research university in Eugene, Oregon. Founded in 1876, the institution is well known for its strong ties to the sports apparel and marketing firm Nike, Inc, and its co-founder, billion ...

, where he was a

forward Forward is a relative direction, the opposite of backward. Forward may also refer to: People * Forward (surname) Sports * Forward (association football) * Forward (basketball), including: ** Point forward ** Power forward (basketball) ** Sm ...

on the Ducks basketball team from 1938 to 1940. In 1939, the Ducks won the Northern Division of the

Pacific Coast Conference The Pacific Coast Conference (PCC) was a college athletic conference in the United States which existed from 1915 to 1959. Though the Pac-12 Conference claims the PCC's history as part of its own, with eight of the ten PCC members (including a ...

, and then defeated Southern Division champion

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

to win the conference championship and a berth in the 1939 NCAA basketball championship, the first edition of the tournament. The Ducks defeated

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...

and

Oklahoma Oklahoma (; Choctaw language, Choctaw: ; chr, ᎣᎧᎳᎰᎹ, ''Okalahoma'' ) is a U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States, bordered by Texas on the south and west, Kansas on the nor ...

to advance to the championship game against

Ohio State The Ohio State University, commonly called Ohio State or OSU, is a public land-grant research university in Columbus, Ohio. A member of the University System of Ohio, it has been ranked by major institutional rankings among the best public ...

. In the championship game, Dick led all scorers with 13 points as the Ducks won 46–33. Following the championship season, Dick was an

All-America The All-America designation is an annual honor bestowed upon an amateur sports person from the United States who is considered to be one of the best amateurs in their sport. Individuals receiving this distinction are typically added to an All-Am ...

n for the Ducks in 1940. He also received first-team All-PCC honors.

U.S. Navy

After the United States entered

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 opposin ...

with the

attack on Pearl Harbor The attack on Pearl HarborAlso known as the Battle of Pearl Harbor was a surprise military strike by the Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service upon the United States against the naval base at Pearl Harbor in Honolulu, Territory of Hawaii, j ...

, Dick enlisted in the

as an aviator, eventually achieving the rank of

rear admiral Rear admiral is a senior naval flag officer rank, equivalent to a major general and air vice marshal and above that of a commodore and captain, but below that of a vice admiral. It is regarded as a two star "admiral" rank. It is often regarde ...

. From 1967 to 1969, he was the captain of the USS ''Saratoga'' supercarrier. He retired from the Navy in 1973. 175px, Dick bells in The Chapel of the Holy Child

Legacy

Dick was a charter member of the Oregon Sports Hall of Fame in 1980, and in 1993, was inducted into the University of Oregon Athletic Hall of Fame. Like all starters on their 1939 championship team, Dick's number (18) has been

retired Retirement is the withdrawal from one's position or occupation or from one's active working life. A person may also semi-retire by reducing work hours or workload. Many people choose to retire when they are elderly or incapable of doing their j ...

by the Ducks. Each year, the Ducks present the Rear Admiral John Dick Award to the team's best defender. Dick died on September 22, 2011, at the age of 92.

External links

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dick, John H. 1918 births 2011 deaths All-American college men's basketball players Basketball players from Oregon American men's basketball players Oregon Ducks men's basketball players People from The Dalles, Oregon United States Navy rear admirals Forwards (basketball) United States Navy pilots of World War II Military personnel from Oregon