John Emmanuel Mahnken (June 16, 1922 – December 14, 2000) 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. A 6'8"

center Center or centre may refer to: Mathematics *Center (geometry), the middle of an object * Center (algebra), used in various contexts ** Center (group theory) ** Center (ring theory) * Graph center, the set of all vertices of minimum eccentrici ...

from

West New York, New Jersey West New York is a town in the northern part of Hudson County, New Jersey, United States, situated upon the New Jersey Palisades. As of the 2020 United States census, the town's population was 52,912. The Census Bureau's Population Estimates ...

, Mahnken played high school basketball at

Memorial High School Memorial High School may refer to: United States As ''Memorial High School'' alone *Memorial High School (Millville, New Jersey) *Memorial High School (West New York, New Jersey) *Memorial High School (St. Marys, Ohio) * Memorial High School (Tul ...

in his hometown."John Mahnken Stats"
Basketball Reference. Accessed August 7, 2007. He played at

Georgetown University Georgetown University is a private university, private research university in the Georgetown (Washington, D.C.), Georgetown neighborhood of Washington, D.C. Founded by Bishop John Carroll (archbishop of Baltimore), John Carroll in 1789 as Georg ...

during the early 1940s, earning All-American honors in 1943. He served in the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cla ...

from 1943 to 1945, then embarked on a professional career in the National Basketball League with 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 ...

. Mahnken won the 1946 league title on a Royals team which included future

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 ...

coach

Red Holzman William "Red" Holzman (August 10, 1920 – November 13, 1998) was an American professional basketball player and coach. He is best known as the head coach of the New York Knicks of the National Basketball Association (NBA) from 1967 to ...

and future television actor

Chuck Connors Kevin Joseph Aloysius "Chuck" Connors (April 10, 1921 – November 10, 1992) was an American actor, writer, and professional basketball and baseball player. He is one of only 13 athletes in the history of American professional sports to have p ...

.John Mahnken
at HoyaBasketball.com. In 1946, Mahnken was signed by

Red Auerbach Arnold Jacob "Red" Auerbach (September 20, 1917 – October 28, 2006) was an American professional basketball coach and executive. He served as a head coach in the National Basketball Association (NBA), most notably with the Boston Celtics. ...

to the

Washington Capitols The Washington Capitols were a former Basketball Association of America (forerunner of the National Basketball Association) team based in Washington, D.C. from 1946 to 1951. The team was coached from 1946 to 1949 by NBA Hall of Famer Red Auerbach ...

of the

Basketball Association of America The Basketball Association of America (BAA) was a professional basketball league in North America, founded in 1946. Following its third season, 1948–49, the BAA absorbed most of National Basketball League (NBL) and rebranded as the National Ba ...

(which merged with the NBL in 1949 to become the modern NBA). Mahnken was traded to the Baltimore Bullets in 1948, and he was traded five other times until finding stability with the

Boston Celtics The Boston Celtics ( ) are an American professional basketball team based in Boston. The Celtics compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Atlantic Division. Founded in 1946 as one of t ...

in 1951. Mahnken competed for the Celtics until 1953, retiring from the NBA that year with career. statistics of 5.8

points per game Points per game, often abbreviated PPG, is the average number of points scored by a player per game played in a sport, over the course of a series of games, a whole season, or a career. It is calculated by dividing the total number of points by nu ...

and 2.9

rebounds per game 'Rebound' is a term used in sports to describe the ball (or puck or other object of play) becoming available for possession by either opponent after an attempt to put the ball or puck into the goal has been unsuccessful. Rebounds are generally ...

. He holds the NBA record for worst career field goal percentage all-time.

BAA/NBA career statistics

Regular season

Playoffs

References

External links

1922 births 2000 deaths All-American college men's basketball players American men's basketball players Baltimore Bullets (1944–1954) players Boston Celtics players Centers (basketball) Fort Wayne Pistons players Georgetown Hoyas men's basketball players Indianapolis Jets players Indianapolis Olympians players Memorial High School (West New York, New Jersey) alumni People from West New York, New Jersey Rochester Royals players Basketball players from Hudson County, New Jersey Tri-Cities Blackhawks players Washington Capitols players United States Army personnel of World War II {{1920s-US-basketball-bio-stub