Robert Francis Wanzer (June 4, 1921 – January 23, 2016) was an American 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 and coach. A five time

NBA All-Star The National Basketball Association (NBA) All-Star Game is an annual exhibition basketball game. It is the main event of the NBA All-Star Weekend. Originally, the All-Star Game featured a conference-based format, featuring a team composed of ...

and three time

All-NBA Second Team The All-NBA Team is an annual National Basketball Association (NBA) honor bestowed on the best players in the league following every NBA season. The voting is conducted by a global panel of sportswriters and broadcasters. The team has been sel ...

selection, Wanzer played his entire professional career for the

Rochester Royals The Sacramento Kings are an American professional basketball team based in Sacramento, California. The Kings compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Western Conference Pacific Division. The Kings are the oldest ...

of the

Basketball Association of America The Basketball Association of America (BAA) was a professional basketball league in North America, founded in 1946. Following its third season, 1948–49, the BAA absorbed most of National Basketball League (NBL) and rebranded as the National Ba ...

(BAA) and

National Basketball Association The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball sports league, league in North America. The league is composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada) and is one of the major professional sports leagues i ...

(NBA). He won an

NBA championship The NBA Finals is the annual championship series of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The Eastern and Western Conference champions play a best-of-seven game series to determine the league champion. The team that wins the series is a ...

with the Royals in

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 ...

. During his final two years as a player, he served as the team's

player-coach A player-coach (also playing coach, captain-coach, or player-manager) is a member of a sports team who simultaneously holds both playing and coaching duties. A player-coach may be a head coach or an assistant coach. They may make changes to the sq ...

. After he retired from playing in 1957, he remained as a coach with the Royals for one season, before he became the head coach of the St. John Fisher Cardinals college basketball team in 1963. He stayed in the role with the college for 24 years until his retirement in 1987. Wanzer was inducted into the

Naismith Memorial 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 pres ...

in 1987.

College career and military service

A 6'0" guard, Wanzer played collegiately at

Seton Hall University Seton Hall University (SHU) is a private Catholic research university in South Orange, New Jersey. Founded in 1856 by then-Bishop James Roosevelt Bayley and named after his aunt, Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton, Seton Hall is the oldest diocesa ...

. After leading Seton Hall to a 16-2 record as a sophomore, Wanzer enlisted in the

United States Marine Corps The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines, is the maritime land force service branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for conducting expeditionary and amphibious operations through c ...

. He made the All-Pacific Armed Forces All-Star basketball team, and participated in the occupation of

Guam Guam (; ch, Guåhan ) is an organized, unincorporated territory of the United States in the Micronesia subregion of the western Pacific Ocean. It is the westernmost point and territory of the United States (reckoned from the geographic cent ...

Professional career

Wanzer was selected by the

in 1948. Royals star

Bob Davies Robert Edris Davies (January 15, 1920 – April 22, 1990) was an American professional basketball player. Alongside Bobby Wanzer he formed one of the best backcourt duos in the National Basketball Association's early years. Davies and Wanzer led ...

was a Seton Hall coach and steered the star guard to the NBL contender. Initially a reserve behind

Al Cervi Alfred Nicholas Cervi (February 12, 1917 – November 9, 2009) was an American professional basketball player and coach in the National Basketball League (NBL) and National Basketball Association (NBA). One of the strongest backcourt players of ...

and

Red Holzman William "Red" Holzman (August 10, 1920 – November 13, 1998) was an American professional basketball player and coach. He is best known as the head coach of the New York Knicks of the National Basketball Association (NBA) from 1967 to ...

, Wanzer later teamed with Davies to form a potent backcourt for the day. The Royals were very successful from 1947–1954, and their smaller stars, like Wanzer, were considered their biggest assets. With Wanzer, Rochester won the 1950–51

(NBA) title. Wanzer played his entire career with the Royals, retiring from play after the end of the 1957 season. He was a five-time All-Star with the Royals, made the

three consecutive times and, in the 1951–52 season, Wanzer became the first player to ever shoot over 90% from the

free throw In basketball, free throws or foul shots are unopposed attempts to score points by shooting from behind the free-throw line (informally known as the foul line or the charity stripe), a line situated at the end of the restricted area. Free throws ...

line in a season.

Coaching career

Wanzer served as the

of the Royals for two years, and then, after the franchise moved to

Cincinnati Cincinnati ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located at the northern side of the confluence of the Licking and Ohio rivers, the latter of which marks the state line w ...

, coached for another season. His 1957–58 Cincinnati Royals team were an NBA championship contender, but injuries stopped the team short. When star

Maurice Stokes Maurice Stokes (June 17, 1933 – April 6, 1970) was an American professional basketball player. He played for the Cincinnati/Rochester Royals of the National Basketball Association (NBA) from 1955 to 1958. Stokes was a three-time NBA All-Star, ...

was permanently injured, Wanzer moved on early the following NBA season. In 1962, Wanzer became the first coach at

St. John Fisher College St. John Fisher University is a private liberal arts college in Pittsford, New York. It is named after John Fisher, an English Catholic cardinal and saint. It was named St. John Fisher College until July 1, 2022. History St. John Fisher Univers ...

Pittsford, New York Pittsford is a town in Monroe County, New York. A suburb of Rochester, its population was 30,617 at the time of the 2020 census. The Town of Pittsford (formerly part of the town of Northfield) was settled in 1789 and incorporated in 1796. The ...

. He coached there for 24 seasons and also served as the school's athletic director.

Personal life

Wanzer died on January 23, 2016 at his home in Pittsford, New York. Pre-deceased by his wife, Nina Penrose Wanzer and son-in-law Darrel Dupra he was survived by daughters, Mary and Beth Wanzer and son, Bobby (Nancy) Wanzer; grandchildren Jeff, Zach and Whitney Dupra, Marti and Madison Wanzer; great-granddaughter Seneca Hernandez Dupra; and sister, Marilyn (Robert) Ulrich.

Legacy

He was inducted into the

in 1987. He is also a member of the Seton Hall College Hall of Fame, among others. On August 17, 2007, Wanzer was inducted into the United States Marine Corps Sports Hall of Fame.

BAA/NBA career statistics

Regular season

Playoffs

References

External links

*
Basketball-Reference.com: Bobby Wanzer (as player)

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Wanzer, Bobby 1921 births 2016 deaths Amateur Athletic Union men's basketball players American men's basketball coaches American men's basketball players Basketball coaches from New York (state) Basketball players from New York City Cincinnati Royals head coaches College men's basketball head coaches in the United States Guards (basketball) Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame inductees National Basketball Association All-Stars National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame inductees Player-coaches Rochester Royals draft picks Rochester Royals head coaches Rochester Royals players Seton Hall Pirates men's basketball players Sportspeople from Brooklyn United States Marine Corps personnel of World War II