Roman "Doc" Turmon (March 14, 1933 – June 9, 2001) 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.

High school and college career

Turmon was born on March 14, 1933, and was a native of

Shady Dale, Georgia Shady Dale is a town in Jasper County, Georgia, United States. The population was 249 at the 2010 census. History Shady Dale was founded ''ca.'' 1880 on the site of a former Creek Indian settlement. The name "Shady Dale" was descriptively applied ...

. He was a three-time all-state selection in basketball and

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

while he attended Thomaston Training School in

Thomaston, Georgia Thomaston is a city in and the county seat of Upson County, Georgia, United States. The population was 9,170 at the 2010 census. It is the principal city of and is included in the Thomaston, Georgia Micropolitan Statistical Area, which is includ ...

. In 1951, Turmon became the first athlete to receive a full scholarship to Clark College (now

Clark Atlanta University Clark Atlanta University (CAU or Clark Atlanta) is a private, Methodist, historically black research university in Atlanta, Georgia. Clark Atlanta is the first Historically Black College or University (HBCU) in the Southern United States. Found ...

). He was named all-conference in basketball, football and

track and field Track and field is a sport that includes athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name is derived from where the sport takes place, a running track and a grass field for the throwing and some of the jumping events ...

specializing in

shot put The shot put is a track and field event involving "putting" (throwing) a heavy spherical ball—the ''shot''—as far as possible. The shot put competition for men has been a part of the modern Olympics since their revival in 1896, and women's ...

while at Clark. Turmon led the basketball team to the

Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference The Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SIAC) is a college athletic conference affiliated with the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) at the Division II level. Formed in 1913, it consists mostly of historically black co ...

(SIAC) championship in 1954. His 21.9 rebounds per game is the eighth highest career total in

NCAA Division II NCAA Division II (D-II) is an intermediate-level division of competition in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). It offers an alternative to both the larger and better-funded Division I and to the scholarship-free environmen ...

history.

Playing career

Turmon played for 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 ...

and was named the team's most valuable player in 1958. He joined the

Allentown Jets The Allentown Jets were a minor league basketball team that played in the Eastern Professional Basketball League (later the Eastern Basketball Association and Continental Basketball Association) from 1958 to 1981. The team was one of the most succ ...

of the

Eastern Professional Basketball League The Continental Basketball Association (CBA) (originally known as the Eastern Pennsylvania Basketball League, and later as the Eastern Professional Basketball League and the Eastern Basketball Association) was a men's professional basketball mi ...

(EPBL) in 1959 and played with the team for five seasons. Turmon was named the EPBL Most Valuable Player in 1962 and earned four consecutive All-EPBL team appearances. Despite standing at only , he led the league in rebounds for two seasons: 582 in 1960–61, and 538 in 1961–62. The Jets were EPBL champions in 1962 and 1963.

Later life

In 1964, Turmon was reading ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'' when he noticed an advertisement offering

Chicken Delight Chicken Delight is a chain of restaurants offering eat-in, take-out, and delivery service with a menu featuring chicken, pizza, and ribs. Based in Winnipeg, the chain mostly has outlets in that city and throughout Manitoba. Although as of 2019, s ...

franchises. He had been saving money from his athletic career for a future business investment and signed with Chicken Delight officials. Turmon opened his first store in

Harlem, New York Harlem is a neighborhood in Upper Manhattan, New York City. It is bounded roughly by the Hudson River on the west; the Harlem River and 155th Street (Manhattan), 155th Street on the north; Fifth Avenue on the east; and 110th Street (Manhattan), ...

, and broke all records for opening-day sales in the chain. He and his brother-in-law opened a second store in

Brooklyn Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...

. Turmon grossed $35,000 a month from his business in 1966. He operated the two franchises for 14 years. Turmon died on June 9, 2001, in

Manhattan, New York Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...

. Turmon was inducted into the

Georgia Sports Hall of Fame The Georgia Sports Hall of Fame is located in Macon, Georgia. It is the largest state sports hall of fame in the United States at . Exhibitions The Hall of Fame houses over of exhibit space broken down into sections including Hall of Fame Induc ...

in 2009.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Turmon, Roman 1933 births 2001 deaths Allentown Jets players American men's basketball players Basketball players from Georgia (U.S. state) Clark Atlanta Panthers men's basketball players Forwards (basketball) Harlem Globetrotters players People from Jasper County, Georgia