John Payak Jr. (November 20, 1926 – February 27, 2009) was a

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 S ...

(NBA) player for the

Philadelphia Warriors The history of the Golden State Warriors began in Philadelphia in 1946. In 1962, the franchise was relocated to San Francisco, California and became known as the San Francisco Warriors until 1971, when its name was changed to the current Golden St ...

Waterloo Hawks The Waterloo Hawks were a National Basketball League and National Basketball Association team based in Waterloo, Iowa. The Hawks remain the only sports franchise ever based in Iowa from any of the current Big Four Leagues. Franchise history ...

, and

Milwaukee Hawks The Atlanta Hawks are an American professional basketball team based in Atlanta. The Hawks compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Southeast Division. The team plays its home games at ...

. Born in

Rossford, Ohio Rossford is a city in Wood County, Ohio, Wood County, Ohio, United States, located along the Maumee River in the Toledo metropolitan area. The population was 6,293 at the United States Census 2010, 2010 census. The town includes the intersection o ...

, Payak graduated from Woodward High School in Toledo in 1944 and then attended

Bowling Green State University Bowling Green State University (BGSU) is a public research university in Bowling Green, Ohio. The main academic and residential campus is south of Toledo, Ohio. The university has nationally recognized programs and research facilities in the ...

, graduating in 1949 after an interruption for service 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 ...

. Payak was a 6'4"

shooting guard The shooting guard (SG), also known as the two, two guard or off guard,Shooting guards are 6'3"–6'7"BBC Sports academy URL last accessed 2006-09-09. is one of the five traditional positions in a regulation basketball game. A shooting guard's m ...

. Payak played for the Philadelphia Warriors and Waterloo Hawks during the 1949-50 season, and for the Milwaukee Hawks in 1952-53. He also played with the Toledo Mercuries, a traveling team that competed against the

Harlem Globetrotters The Harlem Globetrotters are an American exhibition basketball team. They combine athleticism, theater, and comedy in their style of play. Created in 1926 by Tommy Brookins in Chicago, Illinois, the team adopted the name ''Harlem'' because of i ...

at various exhibitions. He followed his retirement as a player as a basketball referee, officiating for over 17 years in the Big Ten Conference, the Mid-America Conference and in NCAA tournament action. He also served as Supervisor of Basketball Referees for the Mid-American Conference. Payak was elected to the Bowling Green State University Athletic Hall of Fame, the Toledo City Athletic Hall of Fame, and the

National Polish-American Sports Hall of Fame The National Polish-American Sports Hall of Fame and Museum was founded in 1973. The mission of the National Polish-American Sports Hall of Fame is to recognize and preserve outstanding achievement by individuals of Polish heritage in the field of ...

. He died February 27, 2009, in

Toledo, Ohio Toledo ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Lucas County, Ohio, United States. A major Midwestern United States port city, Toledo is the fourth-most populous city in the state of Ohio, after Columbus, Cleveland, and Cincinnati, and according ...

Career statistics

NBA

Source

Regular season

References

External links

John Payak page, National Polish-American Sports Hall of Fame
1926 births 2009 deaths American men's basketball players American people of Polish descent Basketball players from Ohio Bowling Green Falcons men's basketball players College men's basketball referees in the United States Milwaukee Hawks players People from Rossford, Ohio Philadelphia Warriors players Shooting guards Undrafted National Basketball Association players United States Navy personnel of World War II Waterloo Hawks players {{1920s-US-basketball-bio-stub