Lauren "Laddie" Gale (April 22, 1917 – July 29, 1996) was an American
collegiate and 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.
NCAA championship
A native of
Oakridge, Oregon
Oakridge is a city in Lane County, Oregon, United States. The population was 3,205 as of the 2010 census. It is located east of Westfir on Oregon Route 58, about east of Eugene and southeast of Portland. Surrounded by the Willamette National ...
,
the 6'4" Gale played
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 ...
for 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 ...
under head coach
Howard Hobson
Howard Andrew "Hobby" Hobson (July 4, 1903 – June 9, 1991) was an American basketball player and coach of football, basketball, and baseball. He served as the head basketball coach at Southern Oregon Normal School—now Southern Oregon Universi ...
. He was the second-tallest player (behind 6'8"
Urgel "Slim" Wintermute) on the team, which was dubbed "The Tall Firs."
Gale led the Ducks in scoring in 1938 and 1939, earning
All-Pacific Coast Conference honors in each season. In 1939, Gale led the Ducks to a national championship in the first-ever
Division I men's basketball tournament.
Professional career and later years
After graduation, Gale played professionally in 1939 and 1940 for the
Detroit Eagles
The Detroit Eagles were a professional basketball team based in Detroit, Michigan. Managed by Dutch Dehnert, they played in the National Basketball League from 1939 to 1941, then became a barnstorming team. The team folded during the 1942–43 ...
of the
National Basketball League.
He left the Eagles in to serve in
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 ...
,
reportedly after being the first Oregon
draftee selected by lottery.
After the war, he played on several semi-pro teams and retired from basketball in 1949.
He died in
Gold Beach, Oregon
Gold Beach (Tolowa: yan-shu’-chit, yan-shuu-chit’-dvn) is a city in and the county seat of Curry County, Oregon, United States, on the Oregon Coast. The population was 2,241 at the 2020 census.
History
The community was originally named Elle ...
on July 29, 1996.
Halls of Fame
For his stellar collegiate play, for being the first college player regularly to employ a one-handed shot, and for helping to popularize the sport of basketball in the American West, Gale was inducted into the
Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame
The Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame is an American history museum and hall of fame, located at 1000 Hall of Fame Avenue in Springfield, Massachusetts. It serves as basketball's most complete library, in addition to promoting and pres ...
in 1977
and was an inaugural inductee of the
Oregon Sports Hall of Fame The Oregon Sports Hall of Fame honors Oregon athletes, teams, coaches, and others who have made a significant contribution to sports in Oregon. The first class was inducted in 1980, with new inductees added in the fall. Operated by the Oregon Sports ...
in 1980.
He is also a member of the University of Oregon Hall of Fame.
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gale, Lauren
1917 births
1996 deaths
All-American college men's basketball players
Basketball players from Oregon
American men's basketball players
Detroit Eagles players
Forwards (basketball)
Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame inductees
Oregon Ducks men's basketball players
People from Oakridge, Oregon
American military personnel of World War II