Trajko Rajković ( sr-cyr, Трајко Рајковић; 7 December 1937 – 27 May 1970) was a Yugoslav 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. He represented

Yugoslavia Yugoslavia (; sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Jugoslavija, Југославија ; sl, Jugoslavija ; mk, Југославија ;; rup, Iugoslavia; hu, Jugoszlávia; rue, label=Pannonian Rusyn, Югославия, translit=Juhoslavija ...

internationally.

Playing career

Rajković played for

OKK Beograd Omladinski košarkaški klub Beograd ( sr-cyr, Омладински кошаркашки клуб Београд), commonly referred to as OKK Beograd, is a men's professional basketball club based in Belgrade, Serbia. They are currently competi ...

, during their so-called "Golden Era", in the late 1950s, and the first half of the 1960s, in the

Yugoslav First League The Yugoslav First Federal Football League ( Serbian: Прва савезна лига у фудбалу / ''Prva savezna liga u fudbalu'', hr, Prva savezna liga u nogometu, sl, Prva zvezna nogometna liga, mk, Прва сојузна лига, ...

. Some of his teammates were:

Radivoj Korać Radivoj Korać ( sr-cyrl, Радивој Кораћ; 5 November 1938 – 2 June 1969) was a Serbian and Yugoslav professional basketball player. He represented the Yugoslavia national basketball team internationally. Korać is well-known ...

Miodrag Nikolić Miodrag "Sija" Nikolić ( sr-cyr, Миодрaг "Сија" Николић; 22 August 1938 – 17 February 2005) was a Serbian professional basketball player and coach. He represented the Yugoslavia national basketball team internationally. P ...

Bogomir Rajković Bogomir "Đakica" Rajković ( sr-cyr, Богомир "Ђакица" Рајковић; born 17 July 1932), is a Serbian former professional basketball player. Playing career Rajković played a point guard position. He played for Radnički Beogr ...

Slobodan Gordić Slobodan "Rica" Gordić ( sr-cyr, Слободан "Рица" Гордић; born 28 September 1937)Milorad Erkić Milorad Erkić ( sr-cyr, Милорад Еркић; 17 July 1932 – 10 August 2009), was a Serbian professional basketball coach, player and executive. Early life and education Erkić grew up playing basketball with his hometown team Radničk ...

. OKK Beograd's

head coach A head coach, senior coach or manager is a professional at training and developing athletes. They typically hold a more public profile and are paid more than other coaches. In some sports, the head coach is instead called the "manager", as in assoc ...

es during that time were,

Borislav Stanković ),Boris (Борис) , image = Borislav Bora Stanković.jpg , imagesize = , caption = , order = 2nd , office = Secretary General of FIBA , term_start = 1 January 1976 , ter ...

and

Aleksandar Nikolić Aleksandar "Aca" Nikolić ( sr-cyr, Александар "Аца" Николић; 28 October 1924 – 12 March 2000) was a Serbian professional basketball player and coach. He was also a professor at the University of Belgrade's Faculty of Sp ...

, and the club's sports director at the time was

Radomir Šaper Radomir “Raša” Šaper ( sr-cyr, Радомир Шапер; 9 December 1925 – 6 December 1998), was a Serbian professor and Vice-Dean at the Faculty of Technology and Metallurgy of the University of Belgrade, a member of the Yugoslav nation ...

. In that period, the club won three

Yugoslav League The Yugoslav First Federal Football League (Serbian: Прва савезна лига у фудбалу / ''Prva savezna liga u fudbalu'', hr, Prva savezna liga u nogometu, sl, Prva zvezna nogometna liga, mk, Прва сојузна лига, ...

championships, and two Yugoslav Cups. Rajković went to

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

in 1967, where he played two seasons, with Libertas Livorno and

Reyer Venezia S.S.P. Reyer Venezia Mestre, commonly known as Reyer Venezia or simply Reyer, is an Italian professional basketball club that is based in Venice, Veneto. The club currently plays in the Lega Basket Serie A (LBA), the highest tier of basketball in ...

, of the

Lega Basket Serie A The Lega Basket Serie A (LBA) is a professional men's club basketball league that has been organised in Italy since 1920. Serie A is organised by Lega Basket, which is regulated by the Italian Basketball Federation (FIP). It is the highest-tier le ...

. Rajković was the best scorer of the Italian League's 1967– 68 season, with 521 total points scored.

National team career

Rajković played with the senior

Yugoslavian national basketball team The Yugoslavia men's national basketball team ( sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Košarkaška reprezentacija Jugoslavije, Кошаркашка репрезентација Југославије; sl, Jugoslovanska košarkarska reprezentanca; mk, ...

, from 1963 to 1970. During his senior national team career,

won two

EuroBasket EuroBasket, also commonly referred to as the European Basketball Championship, is the main international basketball competition that is contested quadrennially, by the senior men's national teams that are governed by FIBA Europe, which is the E ...

silver medals (

1965 Events January–February * January 14 – The Prime Minister of Northern Ireland and the Taoiseach of the Republic of Ireland meet for the first time in 43 years. * January 20 ** Lyndon B. Johnson is Second inauguration of Lyndo ...

and 1969), and one bronze medal (

1963 Events January * January 1 – Bogle–Chandler case: Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation scientist Dr. Gilbert Bogle and Mrs. Margaret Chandler are found dead (presumed poisoned), in bushland near the Lane Cov ...

). They also won an

Olympics The modern Olympic Games or Olympics (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques) are the leading international sporting events featuring summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a var ...

silver medal ( 1968), in

Mexico City Mexico City ( es, link=no, Ciudad de México, ; abbr.: CDMX; Nahuatl: ''Altepetl Mexico'') is the capital and largest city of Mexico, and the most populous city in North America. One of the world's alpha cities, it is located in the Valley o ...

. He also won a FIBA World Cup silver medal (

), and a gold medal ( 1970, in Ljubljana, Slovenia). He played in a total of 113

games A game is a structured form of play, usually undertaken for entertainment or fun, and sometimes used as an educational tool. Many games are also considered to be work (such as professional players of spectator sports or games) or art (such ...

with the senior Yugoslav national team.

Death

Rajković died in his sleep due to a heart defect, on 28 May 1970, just four days after winning the

World Championship A world championship is generally an international competition open to elite competitors from around the world, representing their nations, and winning such an event will be considered the highest or near highest achievement in the sport, game, ...

with Yugoslavia (Yugoslavia's first-ever gold at the competition). He is interred in the

Alley of Distinguished Citizens The New Cemetery ( sr, Ново гробље, ''Novo groblje'') is a cemetery complex in Belgrade, Serbia, with a distinct history. It is located in Ruzveltova street in Zvezdara municipality. The cemetery was built in 1886 as the third Christia ...

in the

Belgrade New Cemetery The New Cemetery ( sr, Ново гробље, ''Novo groblje'') is a cemetery complex in Belgrade, Serbia, with a distinct history. It is located in Ruzveltova street in Zvezdara municipality. The cemetery was built in 1886 as the third Christia ...

Personal life

He had a wife, Biljana, and a son, Vladimir.Rajkovic Profile
at OKK Beograd website

Career achievements

champion: 3 (with

: 1960,

and 1964). *

Yugoslav Cup The Yugoslav Cup ( hr, Pokal Jugoslavije; sr, Куп Југославије; sl, Pokal Jugoslavije, mk, Куп на Југославија), officially known between 1923 and 1940 as the King Alexander Cup ( sh-Latn-Cyrl, Kup kralja Aleksandra, ...

winner: 2 (with

: 1960, 1962).

References

External links

* 1937 births 1970 deaths Sportspeople from Leskovac Serbian men's basketball players Olympic basketball players of Yugoslavia Olympic silver medalists for Yugoslavia Olympic medalists in basketball OKK Beograd players KK Železničar Beograd players Medalists at the 1968 Summer Olympics Basketball players at the 1964 Summer Olympics Basketball players at the 1968 Summer Olympics Reyer Venezia players Serbian expatriate basketball people in Italy FIBA World Championship-winning players Burials at Belgrade New Cemetery Centers (basketball) Yugoslav men's basketball players 1963 FIBA World Championship players 1967 FIBA World Championship players 1970 FIBA World Championship players {{Yugoslavia-sport-bio-stub