Walter E. Hirsch (July 15, 1929May 10, 2022) was an American college

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. He is known for winning three

NCAA championships The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges and ...

at the

University of Kentucky The University of Kentucky (UK, UKY, or U of K) is a public land-grant research university in Lexington, Kentucky. Founded in 1865 by John Bryan Bowman as the Agricultural and Mechanical College of Kentucky, the university is one of the state ...

, and for being a central figure in the point shaving scandal that impacted American college basketball in the 1950s.

Early life

Hirsch was born in

Dayton, Ohio Dayton () is the sixth-largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Montgomery County. A small part of the city extends into Greene County. The 2020 U.S. census estimate put the city population at 137,644, while Greater D ...

, on July 15, 1929. He attended Northridge High School in his hometown, where he received All-Ohio honors, and was part of the school's basketball team that won the Class B state championship in 1945.

College career

After graduating from high school in 1947, Hirsch was awarded a scholarship to study at the

. There he played for the

Wildcats The wildcat is a species complex comprising two small wild cat species: the European wildcat (''Felis silvestris'') and the African wildcat (''F. lybica''). The European wildcat inhabits forests in Europe, Anatolia and the Caucasus, while the ...

under future Hall of Fame coach

Adolph Rupp Adolph Frederick Rupp (September 2, 1901 – December 10, 1977) was an American college basketball coach. He is ranked seventh in total victories by a men's NCAA Division I college coach, winning 876 games in 41 years of coaching at the Univ ...

. During his time at UK, Hirsch was a part of three championship teams, in 1948, 1949 and

1951 Events January * January 4 – Korean War: Third Battle of Seoul – Chinese and North Korean forces capture Seoul for the second time (having lost the Second Battle of Seoul in September 1950). * January 9 – The Government of the United ...

. As a freshman in 1947–48, Hirsch appeared in 13 regular-season games for the Wildcats. As a sophomore and junior, Hirsch moved into the Wildcats regular rotation, and as a senior was the captain of UK's 1950–51 championship team. While he made the SEC All-

tournament A tournament is a competition involving at least three competitors, all participating in a sport or game. More specifically, the term may be used in either of two overlapping senses: # One or more competitions held at a single venue and concentr ...

team in 1951, he was declared ineligible for the 1951 NCAA tournament as he was a fourth year varsity player (prohibited at that time). After his career was over, Hirsch became embroiled in a

point shaving In organized sports, point shaving is a type of match fixing where the perpetrators try to change the final score of a game without changing who wins. This is typically done by players colluding with gamblers to prevent a team from covering a p ...

scandal that implicated players from seven different schools across the nation. Hirsch, along with former UK teammates Bill Spivey and Jim Line, was accused of taking money to affect the outcome of several games during the 1950–51 season. Hirsch and Line admitted to shaving points and implicated Spivey as well. However, Hirsch was never formally charged. Hirsch's involvement with gamblers led to a ban from minor league baseball for the promising

first baseman A first baseman, abbreviated 1B, is the player on a baseball or softball team who fields the area nearest first base, the first of four bases a baserunner must touch in succession to score a run. The first baseman is responsible for the majori ...

prospect. He was coming off a strong 1952 season for the Danville Dans of the Mississippi–Ohio Valley League, but Minor League president George Trautman (a former college basketball coach himself at

Ohio State The Ohio State University, commonly called Ohio State or OSU, is a public land-grant research university in Columbus, Ohio. A member of the University System of Ohio, it has been ranked by major institutional rankings among the best public ...

) declared him permanently banned from minor league baseball.

Personal life

Hirsch married Vicki Pals in October 1960. They met while he was working in

Waterloo, Iowa Waterloo is a city in and the county seat of Black Hawk County, Iowa, United States. As of the 2020 United States Census the population was 67,314, making it the eighth-largest city in the state. The city is part of the Waterloo – Cedar Falls ...

, and remained married until her death. Together, they had two children: Pam and Nancy. Hirsch joined the

US Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cla ...

after completing his studies at Kentucky and served from 1952 to 1954. Upon his return from military service, he was employed by the Rath Packing Company. He died on May 10, 2022, in

Mason City, Iowa Mason City is a city and the county seat of Cerro Gordo County, Iowa, United States. The population was 27,338 in the 2020 census, a decline from 29,172 in the 2000 census. The Mason City Micropolitan Statistical Area includes all of Cerro G ...

. He was 92, and suffered from a brief unspecified illness prior to his death.

References

External links

College statisticsMinor League baseball statistics
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hirsch, Walter 1929 births 2022 deaths American men's basketball players Basketball players from Dayton, Ohio Danville Dans players Forwards (basketball) Kentucky Wildcats baseball players Kentucky Wildcats men's basketball players Military personnel from Dayton, Ohio