Charles Edward Share (March 14, 1927 – June 7, 2012) was an American

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. Share has the distinction of being the first NBA draft pick ever: Share was the No. 1 draft pick in the first organized

National Basketball Association The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball 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 in the United St ...

draft on April 25, 1950. Share was selected by the Boston Celtics as the No. 1 overall pick in the inaugural 1950 NBA draft.

Early life

Share attended Western Hills High School in

Cincinnati, Ohio 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 wi ...

. He had an injured ankle and did not begin playing basketball until his junior year at Western Hills.

College career

Share attended

Bowling Green State University Bowling Green State University (BGSU) is a public research university in Bowling Green, Ohio. The main academic and residential campus is south of Toledo, Ohio. The university has nationally recognized programs and research facilities in the ...

Bowling Green, Ohio Bowling Green is a city in and the county seat of Wood County, Ohio, United States, located southwest of Toledo. The population was 30,028 at the 2010 census. It is part of the Toledo Metropolitan Area and a member of the Toledo Metropolitan ...

, after being recruited by Coach Harold Anderson. He was named a 1950 All-American his senior year. Share graduated as the Bowling Green College Falcons' all-time scoring leader with 1,730 points. With Share, Bowling Green won 28 games in 1946-47, 27 games in 1947-48, 24 games in 1948-49 and 19 games in 1949-50. Share has his career-high 39 points against Loyola (Calif.) on Dec. 22, 1949 in Madison Square Garden.

NBA career

Celtics/ Waterloo Hawks

Share was drafted by the Celtics, whose fans wanted the team to draft local Holy Cross star,

Bob Cousy Robert Joseph Cousy (, born August 9, 1928) is an American former professional basketball player. Cousy played point guard for the Boston Celtics from 1950 to 1963, and briefly with the Cincinnati Royals during the 1969–70 season. A 13-time NBA ...

with the pick. The Celtics' new Coach

Red Auerbach Arnold Jacob "Red" Auerbach (September 20, 1917 – October 28, 2006) was an American professional basketball coach and executive. He served as a head coach in the National Basketball Association (NBA), most notably with the Boston Celtics. ...

defended the unpopular pick of Share, saying "We need a big man. Little men are a dime a dozen. I'm supposed to win, not go after local yokels." In an irony, future Hall of Famer Cousy ended up being drafted third by the

Tri-Cities Blackhawks Tri-Cities most often refers to: *Tri-Cities, Tennessee, United States *Tri-Cities, Washington, United States Tri-City, Tricity or Tri-Cities may also refer to: Populated places Americas Canada *Tri-Cities (British Columbia), consisting of Co ...

. Cousy then balked at playing in

Moline, Illinois Moline ( ) is a city located in Rock Island County, Illinois, United States. With a population of 42,985 in 2020, it is the largest city in Rock Island County. Moline is one of the Quad Cities, along with neighboring East Moline and Rock Island ...

, eventually forcing his rights to be sold to the Chicago Stags. The Stags then folded before the season and the Celtics chose Cousy in the dispersal draft. For his part, Share did not sign with the Celtics. Instead he signed with the Waterloo Hawks in the fledgling National Professional Basketball League (1950–51), playing for Coach

Jack Smiley Arthur John Smiley (December 22, 1922 – July 30, 2000) was an American professional basketball player. Smiley played basketball for Waterman High School, in Waterman, Illinois. With Gene Vance, Andy Phillip, Ken Menke, and Art Mathisen, Smiley w ...

. Share averaged 11.0 points for the Hawks, playing in 19 games. The NPBL, composed of some former NBA teams in small markets and new teams in major markets, folded after the season. Then on April 26, 1951, Share's rights were traded by the Celtics to the

Fort Wayne Pistons A fortification is a military construction or building designed for the defense of territories in warfare, and is also used to establish rule in a region during peacetime. The term is derived from Latin ''fortis'' ("strong") and ''facere'' ...

for future Hall of Famer Bill Sharman, who had refused to sign with the Pistons. In two-and-a-half seasons with Fort Wayne, Share averaged 4.2 points and 5.1 rebounds in limited playing time.

St. Louis: 3 NBA Finals, Championship

On December 21, 1953, Share was traded by the Fort Wayne Pistons to the Milwaukee Hawks for

Max Zaslofsky Max "Slats" Zaslofsky (December 7, 1925 – October 15, 1985) was an American professional basketball player and coach. He was first-team All- NBA in the league's first four seasons. In the 1947–48 BAA season, at 21 years of age, he led the BAA ...

. In seven seasons with the Milwaukee/St Louis Hawks, Share averaged a near

double-double In basketball, a double-double is a single-game performance in which a player accumulates ten or more in two of the following five statistical categories: points, rebounds, assists, steals, and blocked shots. The first "double" in the term ...

of 9.2 points and 9.9 rebounds. His role as a rebounding force in the middle, setting screens and playing strong defense freed

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 ...

teammates

Bob Pettit Robert Lee Pettit Jr. (born December 12, 1932) is an American former professional basketball player. He played 11 seasons in the NBA, all with the Milwaukee/St. Louis Hawks (1954–1965). In 1956, he became the first recipient of the NBA's M ...

Ed Macauley Charles Edward Macauley (March 22, 1928 – November 8, 2011) was a professional basketball player and coach. His playing nickname was "Easy Ed". Early life Macauley spent his prep school days at St. Louis University High School, then went on to ...

Cliff Hagan Clifford Oldham Hagan (born December 9, 1931) is an American former professional basketball player. A 6-4 forward who excelled with the hook shot, Hagan, nicknamed "Li'l Abner", played his entire 10-year NBA career (1956–1966) with the St. ...

and Slater Martin to better play their games. Share was named as the team captain and the Hawks made the NBA Finals against the Celtics for three consecutive years. Share was the captain of the 1958 NBA champion St. Louis Hawks team. In the 1958 NBA Finals victory against the Celtics, Share averaged 6.2 points and 6.0 rebounds in the six game series, in a key reserve role. On February 1, 1960, the Hawks traded Share, Nick Mantis and Willie Merriweather to the Minneapolis Lakers for Larry Foust. Initially, Share refused to go to the Lakers, but he reconsidered and went to Minneapolis in time for the playoffs. The Lakers were eventually defeated by the Hawks in the Western Division Finals. Share then retired at the end of the 1959-1960 season. Overall, Share played nine years in the NBA for the

, Milwaukee/St. Louis Hawks and the

Minneapolis Lakers The Los Angeles Lakers franchise has a long and storied history, predating the formation of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Founded in 1947, the Lakers are one of the NBA's most famous and successful franchises. As of summer 2012, th ...

. He played 596 games, with 4,928 points and 4,986 rebounds. His career averages were 8.3 points and 8.4 rebounds. Share led the NBA in disqualifications during the 1954–55 season.

Personal life

After retiring from basketball, Share never left the St. Louis area and pursued business ventures. Share started Sharick Packaging, Inc.and then sold Sharick in 1985. He then formed Sylvan-Edge Farm with his wife, Rose. Share died on June 7, 2012 in

Chesterfield, Missouri Chesterfield is a city in St. Louis County, Missouri, United States. It is a western suburb of St. Louis. As of the 2020 census, the population was 49,999, . The broader valley of Chesterfield was originally referred to as "Gumbo Flats", deriv ...

, at age 85. He had lived in

Creve Coeur, Missouri Creve Coeur is a city located in mid St. Louis County, Missouri, United States, a part of Greater St. Louis. Its population was 18,834 at the 2020 census. Creve Coeur borders and shares a ZIP code (63141) with the neighboring city of Town and ...

and was survived by his wife Rose and daughters Ann and Cindy.

Honors

* Share was inducted into the St. Louis Sports Hall of Fame in 2017. * Share was inducted into the Bowling Green State University Athletics Hall of Fame in 1964.

References

External links

Career statistics
{{DEFAULTSORT:Share, Chuck 1927 births 2012 deaths All-American college men's basketball players American men's basketball players Basketball players from Akron, Ohio Boston Celtics draft picks Bowling Green Falcons men's basketball players Centers (basketball) Fort Wayne Pistons players Milwaukee Hawks players Minneapolis Lakers players St. Louis Hawks players Waterloo Hawks players