Stepas Butautas (alternate spellings: Stiepas, Butaustas) (25 August 1925 – 22 March 2001 in

Kaunas Kaunas (; ; also see other names) is the second-largest city in Lithuania after Vilnius and an important centre of Lithuanian economic, academic, and cultural life. Kaunas was the largest city and the centre of a county in the Duchy of Trakai ...

) was a Soviet and

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 professional basketball player and

coach Coach may refer to: Guidance/instruction * Coach (sport), a director of athletes' training and activities * Coaching, the practice of guiding an individual through a process ** Acting coach, a teacher who trains performers Transportation * Co ...

. He trained at the VSS Žalgiris, in

. He played with the Soviet Union men's national basketball team at the

1952 Summer Olympic Games The 1952 Summer Olympics ( fi, Kesäolympialaiset 1952; sv, Olympiska sommarspelen 1952), officially known as the Games of the XV Olympiad ( fi, XV olympiadin kisat; sv, Den XV olympiadens spel) and commonly known as Helsinki 1952 ( sv, Helsin ...

, where he won a silver medal. During the tournament, he played in all eight games. He was named one of FIBA's 50 Greatest Players in 1991.

Playing career

Club playing career

Butautas started his career with Dinamo Kaunas in 1944. He then played with ASK Kaunas in 1945, before returning to Dinamo Kaunas in 1946. He played with Žalgiris Kaunas, from 1947 to 1956. With Zalgiris, he won the USSR Premier Basketball League championship in 1947 and 1951. He also won 6 Lithuanian SSR championships (1945, 1950, 1952, 1953, 1954, 1955).

National team playing career

Butautas was a member of the Soviet Union men's national basketball team, from 1947 to 1954. With the Soviet Union, he won gold medals at the EuroBasket 1947, the EuroBasket 1951, and the EuroBasket 1953. He also won a silver medal at the

.Soviet Union 4 - Stepas Butaustas.
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Coaching career

Clubs

After he retired from playing basketball, Butautas began a career working as a basketball coach. On the club level, he was the head coach of Politechnika Kaunas women's team, from 1960 to 1966. He was then the head coach of Žalgiris Kaunas, from 1975 to 1979.

Soviet Union women's national team

Butautas was the head coach of the Soviet Union women's national basketball team, from 1958 to 1964. He led them to gold medals at the

1959 FIBA World Championship for Women The 1959 FIBA World Championship for Women (Russian: Чемпионат мира по баскетболу среди женщин 1959) was the third FIBA World Championship for Women basketball championship held by FIBA. It was held in the Sovi ...

, and the

1964 FIBA World Championship for Women The 1964 FIBA World Championship for Women (Spanish: 1964 Campeonato Mundial FIBA Femenino) was hosted in Peru from 1964. The Soviet Union won the tournament. Preliminary round Group A Group B Group C Class ...

. He also won gold medals at the EuroBasket Women 1960, the EuroBasket Women 1962, and the EuroBasket Women 1964. He also won the silver medal at the EuroBasket Women 1958.

Cuba national team

Butautas was also the head coach of the Cuba men's national basketball team, from 1967 to 1968, and in 1970. He coached Cuba at the 1967 CentroBasket, the

1968 Summer Olympic Games The 1968 Summer Olympics ( es, Juegos Olímpicos de Verano de 1968), officially known as the Games of the XIX Olympiad ( es, Juegos de la XIX Olimpiada) and commonly known as Mexico 1968 ( es, México 1968), were an international multi-sport eve ...

, and at the

1970 FIBA World Championship The 1970 FIBA World Championship was the 6th FIBA World Championship, the international basketball world championship for men's teams. It was hosted by Yugoslavia in Sarajevo, Split, Karlovac, Skopje and Ljubljana, from 10 to 24 May 1970. It was ...

Managerial career

Butautas was the department head of the Lithuanian State Institute of Physical Education (now

Lithuanian Sports University Lithuanian Sports University or LSU is a university in Kaunas, Lithuania, specializing in sports, physical activities, and physiology. It is headquartered in Žaliakalnis neighbourhood, in close proximity to the Kaunas Sports Hall and the S. Dar ...

), from 1978 to 1985. He was the President of the Lithuanian SSR Basketball Federation, from 1959 to 1961. He was also the Chairman of the Lithuanian SSR Basketball Coaches Commission, from 1980 to 1989.

Personal life

His son, Ramūnas Butautas, was the

head A head is the part of an organism which usually includes the ears, brain, forehead, cheeks, chin, eyes, nose, and mouth, each of which aid in various sensory functions such as sight, hearing, smell, and taste. Some very simple animals may ...

coach of the Lithuania men's national basketball team.

References

External links

FIBA Profile 1Sports-Reference.com Profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Butautas, Stepas 1925 births 2001 deaths Communist Party of the Soviet Union members Honoured Masters of Sport of the USSR Knight's Crosses of the Order of the Lithuanian Grand Duke Gediminas Merited Coaches of the Soviet Union Recipients of the Order of the Red Banner of Labour Basketball players at the 1952 Summer Olympics BC Žalgiris coaches BC Žalgiris players FIBA EuroBasket-winning players Lithuanian basketball coaches Lithuanian men's basketball players Medalists at the 1952 Summer Olympics Olympic basketball players of the Soviet Union Olympic medalists in basketball Olympic silver medalists for the Soviet Union Basketball players from Kaunas Soviet basketball coaches Soviet men's basketball players