Robert J. Houbregs (March 12, 1932 – May 28, 2014) was a Canadian 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. Houbregs was inducted into the

Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame The Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame is an American history museum and hall of fame, located at 1000 Hall of Fame Avenue in Springfield, Massachusetts. It serves as basketball's most complete library, in addition to promoting and prese ...

in 1987.

Basketball career

A 6-foot 8-inch, 225-pound forward-centre, from Queen Anne High School in

Seattle, Washington Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest region ...

, Houbregs played for the

University of Washington Huskies The Washington Huskies are the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent the University of Washington, located in Seattle. The school competes at the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I level as a member of the Pac ...

from 1949 to 1953 (his family moved to Seattle from

Vancouver, British Columbia Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the city, up from 631,486 in 2016. The ...

when he was a child). In 1952, Houbregs was a Second Team Consensus All-America selection. In 1953, as a senior, he was named NCAA Player of the Year, was a Consensus All-America selection, helped lead the University of Washington to the Final Four, and was named to the All-Tournament team after averaging 34.8 points per game in the post-season. Houbregs was drafted by the NBA's Milwaukee Hawks with the second overall pick in

1953 Events January * January 6 – The Asian Socialist Conference opens in Rangoon, Burma. * January 12 – Estonian émigrés found a government-in-exile in Oslo. * January 14 ** Marshal Josip Broz Tito is chosen President of Yugosl ...

and played five seasons (1953–1958) in the NBA with four teams: the Hawks, the Baltimore Bullets, the

Boston Celtics The Boston Celtics ( ) are an American professional basketball team based in Boston. The Celtics compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Atlantic Division. Founded in 1946 as one of t ...

, and the Fort Wayne (later Detroit) Pistons. Houbregs' career scoring average was 9.3 points per game. Houbregs served as general manager of the

Seattle SuperSonics The Seattle SuperSonics (commonly known as the Seattle Sonics) were an American professional basketball team based in Seattle. The SuperSonics competed in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member club of the league's Western Confe ...

from 1970 to 1973.

Personal life

Houbregs' father John was a minor league

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an ice skating rink with lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. In ice hockey, two opposing teams use ice ...

player who moved to Seattle in 1934/35 with his family in order to play for the Seattle Sea Hawks of the

North West Hockey League The North West Hockey League was an ice hockey minor league with teams in the western United States and western Canada that existed from 1933 to 1936. It was formed from the Calgary and Vancouver franchises of the Western Canada Hockey League (min ...

. Houbregs was a member of

Alpha Sigma Phi Alpha Sigma Phi (), commonly known as Alpha Sig, is an intercollegiate men's social fraternity with 181 active chapters and provisional chapters. Founded at Yale in 1845, it is the 10th oldest Greek letter fraternity in the United States. The ...

fraternity. Houbregs was elected to the

in 1987. In 2000, Houbregs was inducted into the Canadian Basketball Hall of Fame for his significant contributions to the sport as a player. Houbergs died on May 28, 2014.

References

External links

Hoophall.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Houbregs, Bob 1932 births 2014 deaths All-American college men's basketball players American men's basketball players Baltimore Bullets (1944–1954) players Basketball people from British Columbia Boston Celtics players Canadian expatriate basketball people in the United States Canadian men's basketball players Canadian people of Dutch descent Centers (basketball) Detroit Pistons players Fort Wayne Pistons players Forwards (basketball) Milwaukee Hawks draft picks Milwaukee Hawks players Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame inductees National Basketball Association players from Canada Seattle SuperSonics general managers Basketball players from Vancouver Washington Huskies men's basketball players Basketball players from Seattle