Kenneth Lloyd Sailors (January 14, 1921 – January 30, 2016) 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 active in the 1940s and early 1950s. A

guard Guard or guards may refer to: Professional occupations * Bodyguard, who protects an individual from personal assault * Crossing guard, who stops traffic so pedestrians can cross the street * Lifeguard, who rescues people from drowning * Prison ...

, he is notable for inventing the jump shot as an alternative to the two-handed, flat-footed

set shot A set shot in Australian rules football is a kick for goal in which the player can 'set' themselves, rather than have to quickly react during the play. A set shot occurs when a player has been awarded a free kick, or has taken a mark within ki ...

. Sailors was born Jan. 14, 1921, in

Bushnell, Nebraska Bushnell is a village in Kimball County, Nebraska, Kimball County, Nebraska, United States. The population was 124 at the 2010 United States Census, 2010 census. Geography Bushnell is located at (41.232230, −103.892377). According to the Uni ...

and grew up on a farm south of

Hillsdale, Wyoming Hillsdale is an unincorporated community and census-designated place in southeastern Laramie County, Wyoming, United States. As of the 2010 census, it had a population of 47. It lies along local roads east of the city of Cheyenne, the county seat ...

, where he developed his effective jump shot while playing against his older brother Barton (known as Bud). He eventually brought his skills to the

University of Wyoming The University of Wyoming (UW) is a public land-grant research university in Laramie, Wyoming. It was founded in March 1886, four years before the territory was admitted as the 44th state, and opened in September 1887. The University of Wyoming ...

, and in 1943 he led the Cowboys to the

NCAA Men's Basketball Championship The NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament, branded as NCAA March Madness and commonly called March Madness, is a single-elimination tournament played each spring in the United States, currently featuring 68 college basketball teams from ...

. Sailors was named the

NCAA basketball tournament Most Outstanding Player At the conclusion of the NCAA men's and women's Division I basketball championships (the "Final Four" tournaments), a media panel selects a Most Outstanding Player (MOP). It is usually awarded to a member of the championship team. There have been ...

for his efforts. He was the unanimous selection as College Basketball Player of the Year in 1943. He would earn the honor again in 1946. Sailors was the only player in the history of Wyoming Cowboys basketball to be selected as an All-American three times, in 1942, 1943, and 1946. Kenny Sailors 1948

From 1946 to 1951, Sailors played professionally in the BAA and

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 ...

as a member of the

Cleveland Rebels The Cleveland Rebels were a basketball team in the Basketball Association of America (BAA), a forerunner of the modern National Basketball Association (NBA), based in Cleveland. Franchise history The Rebels were an inaugural franchise in the BAA ...

Chicago Stags The Chicago Stags were a National Basketball Association team based in Chicago from 1946 to 1950. History 1946–47 season In the BAA's inaugural year, the Chicago Stags were placed in the Western Division, and after 60 games were tied with 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 ...

Providence Steamrollers The Providence Steamrollers were a Basketball Association of America team based in Providence, Rhode Island. As of 2022, the Steamrollers were the last professional sports franchise from one of the Big Four leagues to be based in Rhode Island. ...

Denver Nuggets The Denver Nuggets are an American professional basketball team based in Denver. The Nuggets compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference Northwest Division. The team was founded as the D ...

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 ...

, and Baltimore Bullets. He was second in the BAA in total assists in 1946–47, was named to the All-BAA 2nd team in 1948–49, and averaged a career high 17.3 points per game in the 1949–50 season. He scored 3,480 points in his professional career. Sailors was inducted into the University of Wyoming Athletics Hall of Fame on October 29, 1993. In 2012, he was named to the

National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame The National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame, located in Kansas City, Missouri, is a hall of fame and museum dedicated to men's college basketball. The museum is an integral portion of the College Basketball Experience created by the National ...

. John Christgau, author of the book ''The Origins of the Jump Shot'', said that Sailors’ jump shot technique was the one that modern fans would recognize as the "jump shot." "I would say that squared up toward the basket, body hanging straight, the cocked arm, the ball over the head, the knuckles at the hairline — that's today's classic jump shot.". In 2014, the University of Wyoming announced its plans to erect a specially-commissioned sculpture of Sailors outside of the University's basketball stadium, the Arena-Auditorium. Sailors died on January 30, 2016, sixteen days after his 95th birthday, of complications from a heart attack he had in December 2015.

BAA/NBA career statistics

Regular season

Playoffs

References

External links

Official website for Kenny Sailors "Birth of the Jump Shot - CBSSports.com"
* ttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c9Tvf1vDL0U/ Jump shot * ttps://archiveswest.orbiscascade.org/ark:/80444/xv678186 Kenny Sailors Papersat the

American Heritage Center The American Heritage Center is the University of Wyoming's repository of manuscripts, rare books, and the university archives. Its collections focus on Wyoming and the Rocky Mountain West (including politics, settlement, and western trails) and ...

Selection of videos and photographs of Sailors
at th
AHC Digital Archive

Sports, Recreation, and Leisure
at th
AHC blog
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sailors, Ken 1921 births 2016 deaths All-American college men's basketball players Amateur Athletic Union men's basketball players American men's basketball players Baltimore Bullets (1944–1954) players Basketball players from Wyoming Boston Celtics players Chicago Stags players Cleveland Rebels players Denver Nuggets (1948–1950) players National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame inductees People from Kimball County, Nebraska People from Laramie, Wyoming Philadelphia Warriors players Point guards Providence Steamrollers players Wyoming Cowboys basketball players

BAA/NBA career statistics

Regular season

Playoffs

See also

References

Further reading

External links