Lloyd "Sonny" Dove (August 16, 1945 – February 14, 1983) was a Native 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. As a star at St. John's University in New York, in his last season of 1967, Dove won the

Haggerty Award __NOTOC__ The Lt. Frank J. Haggerty Award is given to the All-New York Metropolitan NCAA Division I men's college basketball player of the year, presented by the National Invitation Tournament (NIT) and the Met Basketball Writers Association (MBWA) ...

. That year he was part of the United States basketball team that won the gold medal at the Pan American Games in

Winnipeg Winnipeg () is the capital and largest city of the province of Manitoba in Canada. It is centred on the confluence of the Red and Assiniboine rivers, near the longitudinal centre of North America. , Winnipeg had a city population of 749, ...

. His record has continued to make him one of the top players ever at St. John's. In 2005 Dove was among the first ten men selected for "Basketball Legacy Honors" at the university. In 2011 Dove was inducted into the New York City Basketball Hall of Fame.

Early life and education

Lloyd Leslie Dove Jr. was born at

Cape Cod Hospital Cape Cod Hospital is a not-for-profit regional medical center located in Hyannis, Massachusetts. Founded in 1920, as of 2011 it is the largest hospital on Cape Cod. The administration is headed by CEO Michael K. Lauf. The hospital has 283 bed ...

in Hyannis,

Massachusetts Massachusetts (Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut Massachusett_writing_systems.html" ;"title="nowiki/> məhswatʃəwiːsət.html" ;"title="Massachusett writing systems">məhswatʃəwiːsət">Massachusett writing systems">məhswatʃəwiːsət'' En ...

in 1945 and nicknamed "Sonny." His father was Lloyd Dove, an African-American from New Bern, North Carolina. Sonny's mother Adeline B. Dove (1921–2010) was Mashpee Wampanoag and the sister of Earl Mills Sr. (Flying Eagle), the hereditary

sachem Sachems and sagamores are paramount chiefs among the Algonquians or other Native American tribes of northeastern North America, including the Iroquois. The two words are anglicizations of cognate terms (c. 1622) from different Eastern Al ...

since 1956 of this people.Staff, "Obituary of Adeline B. Hicks"
''Barnstable Patriot'', 2 April 2010, accessed 19 November 2011 His siblings are Larry Dove of Mashpee and Gladys Dove Barnes of Queens, N.Y. By Wampanoag

matrilineal Matrilineality is the tracing of kinship through the female line. It may also correlate with a social system in which each person is identified with their matriline – their mother's lineage – and which can involve the inheritance ...

tradition, the children are considered to belong to the mother's clan. The Doves divorced and the father moved to New York City where Sonny would ultimately move. In 1951 Adeline Dove married Donald Hicks Sr. of

Mashpee, Massachusetts Mashpee ( wam, Mâseepee) is a town in Barnstable County, Massachusetts, United States, on Cape Cod. The population was 15,060 as of 2020. The town is the site of the headquarters and most members of the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe, one of two fed ...

. She had more children with Donald: Donnella Hicks Pocknett, Errol Hicks, Donald Hicks Jr., and Gary Hicks, all of Mashpee. Dove graduated from St. Francis Preparatory School in Brooklyn, where his skill at basketball was noted. He was recruited for St. John's University by

Lou Carnesecca Luigi P. Carnesecca (born January 5, 1925) is an American retired college basketball coach at St. John's University. Carnesecca also coached at the professional level, leading the New York Nets of the American Basketball Association for three sea ...

, the assistant basketball coach at the time.

College career

Dove attended St. John's University, where he was a forward and played for three seasons. He started under the legendary coach

Joe Lapchick Joseph Bohomiel Lapchick (April 12, 1900 – August 10, 1970) was an American professional basketball player, mostly known for playing with the Original Celtics in the 1920s and 1930s. He is commonly regarded as the best center of his era, overs ...

and was nicknamed the "Big Indian", as the team was called the Redmen. At St. John's, Dove as of 1983 was the fifth-highest scorer and second-ranked rebounder in its basketball history. In his last season of 1966–67, before being recruited by a professional team, Dove was captain of a team with a 23–5 record.GLENN FOWLER, Obituary: "Sonny Dove, St. John's Star In 1960's, Dies in Car Plunge"
''New York Times'', 15 February 1983, accessed 19 November 2011 As of 2008, when Dove was selected posthumously for the "All-Century Team" of St. John's, he was one of only two players in the university basketball program's history with more than 1,000 career points (he ranked 10th with 1,576 points) and more than 1,000 career rebounds (he ranked 2nd with 1,036).

Career and death

Dove was selected by the

Detroit Pistons The Detroit Pistons are an American professional basketball team based in Detroit. The Pistons compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Central Division and play their home games at L ...

with the fourth pick of the 1967 NBA draft. He played two years with the Pistons before joining the

New York Nets New is an adjective referring to something recently made, discovered, or created. New or NEW may refer to: Music * New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz Albums and EPs * ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013 * ''New'' (EP), by Regurgitator, ...

of the ABA, with whom he remained until 1972. In his NBA/ABA career, Dove averaged 11.1 points per game and 6.0 rebounds per game. His pro career ended when he shattered his leg in a bicycle accident.Vic Siegel, "The Gospel According to Lou"
''New York Magazine'', Vol. 16, No. 6, 7 February 1983 ISSN 0028-7369, accessed 19 November 2011 After his pro career, Dove returned to St. John's University and completed his degree. He went into sports radio broadcasting, often sharing comments on basketball games with other former pro players. In the 1980s he was partnered with Dave Halberstam in commenting on St. John's University basketball games. Dove was also a taxi driver. He died at age 37 from injuries in an accident when the taxi he was driving skidded off a partially open bridge into the

Gowanus Canal The Gowanus Canal (originally known as the Gowanus Creek) is a canal in the New York City borough of Brooklyn, on the westernmost portion of Long Island. Once a vital cargo transportation hub, the canal has seen decreasing use since the mid-2 ...

in Brooklyn in February 1983. A memorial Mass was held at St. Catherine of Siena Roman Catholic Church, St. Albans, Queens.

Marriage and family

Dove was married to Patricia. At the time of his death, Dove and his wife were separated."Ex-Cager Drowns in Cab, Family Sues for $100 Million"
''Jet'', Mar 14, 1983, Vol. 63, No. 26 ISSN 0021-5996, p. 46, accessed 19 November 2011 Dove had three children: Zaynid and Kimberly with Patricia, and Leslie with common-law wife Ellen.

Legacy and honors

*1967,

*1967, Consensus NCAA All-American Second Team *1967 gold medal for basketball team, Pan American Games,

*2005, named among the first 10 men selected for "Basketball Legacy Honors" at St. John's University *2008, named to St. John's University "All-Century Team"St. John's Names All-Century Team"
, College Hoop Nets, 29 May 2008, accessed 19 November 2011 *2011, inducted into the New York City Basketball Hall of Fame
''Amsterdam News'', 16 September 2011, accessed 19 November 2011

References

External links

"Earl Mills Sr., Flying Eagle, Chief"
Mashpee Wampanoag Website

* . {{DEFAULTSORT:Dove, Sonny 1945 births 1983 deaths All-American college men's basketball players Allentown Jets players American men's basketball players Basketball players at the 1967 Pan American Games Basketball players from New York City Detroit Pistons draft picks Detroit Pistons players New York Nets players Pan American Games gold medalists for the United States Power forwards (basketball) Road incident deaths in New York City Sportspeople from Brooklyn St. John's Red Storm men's basketball players Wampanoag people Pan American Games medalists in basketball Native American basketball players American taxi drivers Medalists at the 1967 Pan American Games 20th-century Native Americans African-American Catholics