Matthew George Guokas Sr. ( ; November 11, 1915 – December 9, 1993) 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 and
broadcaster. He was the son of
Lithuania
Lithuania (; lt, Lietuva ), officially the Republic of Lithuania ( lt, Lietuvos Respublika, links=no ), is a country in the Baltic region of Europe. It is one of three Baltic states and lies on the eastern shore of the Baltic Sea. Lithuania ...
n immigrants.
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 ...
from
Saint Joseph's University
Saint Joseph's University (SJU or St. Joe's) is a private Jesuit university in Philadelphia and Lower Merion, Pennsylvania. The university was founded by the Society of Jesus in 1851 as Saint Joseph's College. Saint Joseph's is the seventh olde ...
, Guokas played one season 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 ...
of the
BAA (a precursor to the NBA). He averaged 1.7 points during the Warriors'
1946–47 championship season. After losing his right leg in an automobile accident, Guokas turned to broadcasting, and he served as an announcer for the
National Football League
The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...
's
Philadelphia Eagles
The Philadelphia Eagles are a professional American football team based in Philadelphia. The Eagles compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East division. The team plays ...
from 1953 to 1985. He was also the public address announcer for Philadelphia Phillies baseball games at Connie Mack Stadium in 1965 to 1966, succeeding the late Pete Byron, and replaced by Eddie Ferenz.
His son
Matt Guokas Jr. played in the NBA from 1966 to 1976, and later coached the
Philadelphia 76ers
The Philadelphia 76ers, colloquially known as the Sixers, are an American professional basketball team based in the Philadelphia metropolitan area. The 76ers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eas ...
and
Orlando Magic
The Orlando Magic are an American professional basketball team based in Orlando, Florida. The Magic compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Southeast Division. The franchise was establ ...
and worked as a broadcaster for the
NBA on NBC
The ''NBA on NBC'' is the branding used for presentations of National Basketball Association (NBA) games produced by the NBC television network in the United States. NBC held broadcast rights from 1955 to 1962 and again from 1990 (when it obta ...
and other sports networks.
Guokas and his son,
Matt Jr., were the first
father-son duo to both win
NBA championships
The NBA Finals is the annual championship series of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The Eastern and Western Conference champions play a best-of-seven game series to determine the league champion. The team that wins the series is awa ...
as players; this feat has since been repeated by the Barrys (
Rick
Rick may refer to:
People
*Rick (given name), a list of people with the given name
*Alan Rick (born 1976), Brazilian politician, journalist, pastor and television personality
*Johannes Rick (1869–1946), Austrian-born Brazilian priest and mycol ...
and
Brent), the Waltons (
Bill
Bill(s) may refer to:
Common meanings
* Banknote, paper cash (especially in the United States)
* Bill (law), a proposed law put before a legislature
* Invoice, commercial document issued by a seller to a buyer
* Bill, a bird or animal's beak
Plac ...
and
Luke
People
*Luke (given name), a masculine given name (including a list of people and characters with the name)
*Luke (surname) (including a list of people and characters with the name)
*Luke the Evangelist, author of the Gospel of Luke. Also known as ...
), the Thompsons (
Mychal and
Klay
KLAY (1180 AM broadcasting, AM) is a radio station broadcasting a news/talk/sports radio, sports information format. Located in Lakewood, Washington, Lakewood, Washington (U.S. state), Washington, United States, the station serves the Tacoma, Wa ...
), and the Paytons (
Gary
Gary may refer to:
*Gary (given name), a common masculine given name, including a list of people and fictional characters with the name
*Gary, Indiana, the largest city named Gary
Places
;Iran
*Gary, Iran, Sistan and Baluchestan Province
;Unit ...
and
Gary II).
BAA career statistics
Regular season
Playoffs
References
External links
Obituary
{{DEFAULTSORT:Guokas, Matt Sr.
1915 births
1993 deaths
All-American college men's basketball players
American men's basketball players
American people of Lithuanian descent
Basketball players from Philadelphia
National Football League announcers
Philadelphia Eagles announcers
Philadelphia Warriors players
Saint Joseph's Hawks men's basketball players
Shooting guards
Small forwards
Wilkes-Barre Barons players