Don "Monk" Meineke (October 30, 1930 – September 3, 2013) 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 court, compete with the primary objective of shooting a basketball (approximately in diameter) through the defender's h ...
player.
Meineke averaged 20.6 points as a junior for the
Dayton Flyers
The Dayton Flyers are the intercollegiate athletic teams of the University of Dayton of Dayton, Ohio. All Flyers intercollegiate sports teams participate at the NCAA Division I level. The football team competes in the Division I FCS non-schola ...
, carrying the team to an
NIT runner-up finish in 1951. He averaged 21.1 points per game as a senior and led the team to another
second-place finish in the NIT in 1952.
Meineke was an AP second-team All-American selection after his senior year.
Meineke received the
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 St ...
's first
Rookie of the Year Award after the
1952–53 NBA season
The 1952–53 NBA season was the seventh season of the National Basketball Association. The season ended with the Minneapolis Lakers winning the NBA Championship, beating the New York Knicks 4 games to 1 in the NBA Finals.
Notable occurrences
* ...
while playing for the
Fort Wayne Pistons
A fortification is a military construction or building designed for the defense of territories in warfare, and is also used to establish rule in a region during peacetime. The term is derived from Latin ''fortis'' ("strong") and ''facere'' ...
. Meineke led the league in personal fouls and disqualifications the same season. The 26 disqualifications he had in his first year is still the NBA single-season record. His 334 personal fouls in only 68 games gave him an average of more than 4.9 fouls per game.
Meineke played for 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 ...
in the
1955–56 season, and after sitting out the
1956–57 season, rejoined the relocated
Cincinnati 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 ...
in
1957–58.
Don Meineke was married to Mary Jane (Hautman) and had 4 children: Donald (Kara), Greg (Laura), Jeff, and Jennifer Meineke McLaughlin. He is also survived by 8 grandchildren: Jacqueline Meineke (Donald); Emily, Quinn, Jack, and Joe Meineke (Greg); and Jacob, Danielle, and Nicole (Jennifer)
NBA career statistics
Regular season
{, class="wikitable sortable" style="font-size:95%; text-align:right;"
!Year
!Team
!GP
!MPG
!FG%
!FT%
!RPG
!APG
!PPG
, -
, style="text-align:left;" ,
1952–53
, style="text-align:left;" ,
Fort Wayne
, 68
, 33.1
, .381
, .783
, 6.9
, 2.2
, 10.7
, -
, style="text-align:left;" ,
1953–54
, style="text-align:left;" ,
Fort Wayne
, 71
, 20.9
, .344
, .805
, 5.2
, 1.1
, 5.7
, -
, style="text-align:left;" ,
1954–55
, style="text-align:left;" ,
Fort Wayne
, 68
, 15.1
, .372
, .700
, 3.6
, 0.9
, 5.8
, -
, style="text-align:left;" ,
1955–56
, style="text-align:left;" ,
Rochester
Rochester may refer to:
Places Australia
* Rochester, Victoria
Canada
* Rochester, Alberta
United Kingdom
*Rochester, Kent
** City of Rochester-upon-Medway (1982–1998), district council area
** History of Rochester, Kent
** HM Prison ...
, 69
, 18.1
, .372
, .700
, 3.6
, 1.5
, 7.1
, -
, style="text-align:left;" ,
1957–58
, style="text-align:left;" ,
Cincinnati
Cincinnati ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located at the northern side of the confluence of the Licking and Ohio rivers, the latter of which marks the state line wit ...
, 67
, 11.8
, .356
, .647
, 3.4
, 0.6
, 4.9
, - class="sortbottom"
, colspan="2" style="text-align:center;" , Career
, 343
, 19.8
, .367
, .756
, 4.7
, 1.3
, 6.8
Playoffs
{, class="wikitable sortable" style="font-size:95%; text-align:right;"
!Year
!Team
!GP
!MPG
!FG%
!FT%
!RPG
!APG
!PPG
, -
, style="text-align:left;" ,
1953
Events
January
* January 6 – The Asian Socialist Conference opens in Rangoon, Burma.
* January 12 – Estonian émigrés found a government-in-exile in Oslo.
* January 14
** Marshal Josip Broz Tito is chosen President of Yug ...
, style="text-align:left;" ,
Fort Wayne
, 8
, 28.4
, .375
, .682
, 3.3
, 1.3
, 7.5
, -
, style="text-align:left;" ,
1954
, style="text-align:left;" ,
Fort Wayne
, 4
, 21.8
, .261
, .636
, 3.8
, 1.5
, 4.8
, -
, style="text-align:left;" ,
1955
, style="text-align:left;" ,
Fort Wayne
, 11
, 14.7
, .450
, .920
, 4.4
, 0.8
, 5.4
, -
, style="text-align:left;" ,
1958
Events
January
* January 1 – The European Economic Community (EEC) comes into being.
* January 3 – The West Indies Federation is formed.
* January 4
** Edmund Hillary's Commonwealth Trans-Antarctic Expedition completes the third ...
, style="text-align:left;" ,
Cincinnati
Cincinnati ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located at the northern side of the confluence of the Licking and Ohio rivers, the latter of which marks the state line wit ...
, 2
, 16.0
, .091
, .750
, 5.5
, 0.5
, 4.0
, - class="sortbottom"
, colspan="2" style="text-align:center;" , Career
, 25
, 20.3
, .351
, .750
, 4.0
, 1.0
, 5.8
References
External links
Where Are They Now- Don Meineke@ nbrpa.com
at basketball-reference.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Meineke, Don
1930 births
2013 deaths
All-American college men's basketball players
American men's basketball players
Basketball players from Dayton, Ohio
Centers (basketball)
Cincinnati Royals players
Dayton Flyers men's basketball players
Fort Wayne Pistons draft picks
Fort Wayne Pistons players
Power forwards (basketball)
Rochester Royals players