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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 The University of Belgrade () is a public university, public research university in Belgrade, Serbia. It is the oldest and largest modern university in Serbia. Founded in 1808 as the Belgrade Higher School in revolutionary Serbia, by 1838 it me ...
, a member of the
Yugoslav national basketball team The Yugoslavia men's national basketball team ( sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Košarkaška reprezentacija Jugoslavije, Кошаркашка репрезентација Југославије; ; ) represented the Socialist Federal Republic of Yu ...
and, later, an official of the
Basketball Federation of Yugoslavia The Basketball Federation of Yugoslavia ( sh-Latn-Cyrl, Košarkaški savez Jugoslavije, Кошаркашки савез Југославије; ; ) was a non-profit organization and the national sports governing body for basketball in Socialist Fe ...
and President of the Technical Commission of
FIBA The International Basketball Federation (FIBA ; French language, French: ) is an association of national organizations which governs the sport of basketball worldwide. FIBA defines the rules of basketball, specifies the Basketball equipment ...
. He was awarded the FIBA Order of Merit in 1999, and was inducted into the
FIBA Hall of Fame The FIBA Hall of Fame, or FIBA Basketball Hall of Fame, honors players, coaches, teams, referees, and administrators who have greatly contributed to international competitive basketball. It was established by FIBA in 1991. Originally built in ...
, in 2007.


Life

Radomir Šaper was born to a Greek father, Panagiotis Siaperas - Panche Shapkar, a retailer from the village of Eratyra in northern
Greece Greece, officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. Located on the southern tip of the Balkan peninsula, it shares land borders with Albania to the northwest, North Macedonia and Bulgaria to the north, and Turkey to th ...
, and a Serbian mother, Vukosava Mihajlović. In 1919, after
World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...
, his father moved to
Belgrade Belgrade is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Serbia, largest city of Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers and at the crossroads of the Pannonian Basin, Pannonian Plain and the Balkan Peninsula. T ...
where he changed his name to Panta Šaper from Shapkar.Shapka meaning hat usually hat manufacturer was called Shapkar.The couple's first son Svetislav "Sveta" was born in early 1924, Radomir, some twenty months later in the family home in Stevan Sremac's Street in Belgrade. Young Radomir attended the "Vuk Karadžić" primary school and the Second Men's Gymnasium in Belgrade, from which he graduated in 1944. In 1946, he enrolled in the Faculty of Technology and Metallurgy of the University of Belgrade, graduating in 1950. He earned his doctorate degree in 1964, became an associate professor in 1968, and a full professor at the Faculty four years later. In 1980, Professor Šaper was appointed Vice-Dean of the Faculty and worked there until his retirement in 1991. While teaching at the Faculty of Technology and Metallurgy, Professor Šaper published more than 150 scientific and professional papers. He was the author or co-author of five books on analytical chemistry and automatic regulation of chemical processes.


Basketball career

Šaper learned his first basketball moves at the Second Men's grammar school from his teacher, Đoka Ilić, and shared enthusiasm for basketball with his elder brother Sveta. They began playing basketball together with the BASK basketball club, which officially marked the beginning of Raša's basketball career. The
International Basketball Federation The International Basketball Federation (FIBA ; French: ) is an association of national organizations which governs the sport of basketball worldwide. FIBA defines the rules of basketball, specifies the equipment and facilities required, ...
was formed in 1936, and four years later, on 20 November 1940, the
Basketball Federation of Yugoslavia The Basketball Federation of Yugoslavia ( sh-Latn-Cyrl, Košarkaški savez Jugoslavije, Кошаркашки савез Југославије; ; ) was a non-profit organization and the national sports governing body for basketball in Socialist Fe ...
was established and became a member of FIBA, which had 36 members at the time. The Belgrade Championship was held in 1942, and the history of Yugoslavian basketball began, with Raša and Sveta Šaper defending the colours of BASK. At first, basketball was played in the House of King Alexander, then in Sokolana, but the sport of basketball did not truly come alive until early 1945. The generation of players that grew up during the war years welcomed the end of the war in the spring of 1945, and the first basketball court was laid out on the tennis courts at Mali Kalemegdan. It was at this time that Raša and his fellow players joined the newly formed
Red Star A red star, five-pointed and filled, is a symbol that has often historically been associated with communist ideology, particularly in combination with the hammer and sickle, but is also used as a purely socialist symbol in the 21st century. ...
basketball club. Just four months after the war ended, the boys from Kalemegdan played in
Subotica Subotica (, ; , , ) is a List of cities in Serbia, city in Central Europe and the administrative center of the North Bačka District in the autonomous province of Vojvodina, Serbia. Formerly the largest city of Vojvodina region, contemporary Sub ...
as the Serbian team in the first national championship. The team consisted of Raša and Sveta Šaper, Nebojša Popović, Vasilije Stojković, Pavle Kostić, Ivan Dimić, Miodrag Stefanović and Mile Nikolić. In the final game, the Yugoslav Army team defeated the Serbian team with 21-16. The rivalry between the clubs intensified year after year in all sports, including basketball. Particularly interesting championships were held in 1950 and 1951 when Partizan and Red Star scored the same number of points, but Red Star won both titles thanks to a better points-difference. Radomir Šaper played for Partizan from 1946 until 1953. Bora Stanković, Vilmoš Loci, Lajoš Engler, Mirko Marjanović, Boža Munćan, and others played alongside him. The Yugoslav national team played its first international game in
Bucharest Bucharest ( , ; ) is the capital and largest city of Romania. The metropolis stands on the River Dâmbovița (river), Dâmbovița in south-eastern Romania. Its population is officially estimated at 1.76 million residents within a greater Buc ...
in 1946, losing to
Romania Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern and Southeast Europe. It borders Ukraine to the north and east, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Bulgaria to the south, Moldova to ...
. Their first victory came two days later against
Albania Albania ( ; or ), officially the Republic of Albania (), is a country in Southeast Europe. It is located in the Balkans, on the Adriatic Sea, Adriatic and Ionian Seas within the Mediterranean Sea, and shares land borders with Montenegro to ...
. At the European Championships in Czechoslovakia in 1947, the team finished next to last, after which Frenchman Henri Hell became the Yugoslav national team coach. He invited Radomir Šaper to
Opatija Opatija (; ; ) is a List of cities and towns in Croatia, town and a municipality in Primorje-Gorski Kotar County in northwestern Croatia. The traditional seaside resort on the Kvarner Gulf is known for its Mediterranean climate and its historic bu ...
to prepare for the qualifying tournament in Nice, where Raša played his first game with the national team.


Sports official

At the first World Basketball Championship in
Buenos Aires Buenos Aires, controlled by the government of the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires, is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Argentina. It is located on the southwest of the Río de la Plata. Buenos Aires is classified as an Alpha− glob ...
in 1950, Yugoslavia finished last, without achieving a single victory. Three years later, at the European Championship in
Moscow Moscow is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Russia, standing on the Moskva (river), Moskva River in Central Russia. It has a population estimated at over 13 million residents with ...
, Yugoslavia finished in sixth place. Following these results, Danilo Knežević, then President of the Basketball Federation of
Yugoslavia , common_name = Yugoslavia , life_span = 1918–19921941–1945: World War II in Yugoslavia#Axis invasion and dismemberment of Yugoslavia, Axis occupation , p1 = Kingdom of SerbiaSerbia , flag_p ...
, invited Radomir Šaper, Borislav Stanković, Nebojša Popović and Aleksandar Nikolić, all active athletes whose playing careers were in decline or completely over, to join his staff. In mid-1958, the new management decided to apply to organise the twelfth European Championship, which was scheduled to take place in 1961. Nineteen teams signed up for the championship because at that time there were no qualifying games. They played from dawn to dusk for eight days. With phenomenal performances, Yugoslavia managed to reach the finals against the then-invincible team from the Soviet Union. After an epic struggle, Yugoslavia was defeated, thus winning the silver medal. This first medal in the history of Yugoslav basketball was a result beyond expectations and created new opportunities to compete with the world’s best teams. Coach Aleksandar Popović led the winning team, and Korać won the title of Europe's best scorer with 216 points in nine games. This medal was followed by the rapid popularisation of basketball in the country; new clubs were sprouting up everywhere, and the number of players started to rise. Confirmation that a formula for success had been found came two years later in 1963 at the World Championship in
Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro, or simply Rio, is the capital of the Rio de Janeiro (state), state of Rio de Janeiro. It is the List of cities in Brazil by population, second-most-populous city in Brazil (after São Paulo) and the Largest cities in the America ...
, where the team again won the silver medal, behind
Brazil Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...
. In this Championship, they defeated both the USA (75-73) and the USSR (69-67). Later that year, at the European Championship in
Wrocław Wrocław is a city in southwestern Poland, and the capital of the Lower Silesian Voivodeship. It is the largest city and historical capital of the region of Silesia. It lies on the banks of the Oder River in the Silesian Lowlands of Central Eu ...
, they won another medal – this time bronze. In 1970, Yugoslavia was the host of the World Championship and beat the American team 70-63 in the final game, thus winning its first gold medal. Involved in this historical success of winning the country’s first world title were:
Ratomir Tvrdić Ratomir "Rato" Tvrdić (14 September 1943 – 20 August 2024) was a Croatian professional basketball player. Professional career Tvrdić played club basketball with the Croatian team KK Split. With Split, he won two national Yugoslav League ch ...
,
Ljubodrag Simonović Ljubodrag "Duci" Simonović ( sr-Cyrl, Љубодраг Дуци Симоновић, ); born 1 January 1949) is a Serbian philosopher, author and retired basketball player. He played with Red Star Belgrade, with which he won two National Champi ...
,
Vinko Jelovac Vinko Jelovac (alternate spelling: Vinto Jelovac) (born 18 November 1948 in Pazin, SR Croatia, Yugoslavia) is a former Slovenian-Croatian professional basketball player and coach. At a height of tall, and a weight of , he played at the center ...
, Trajko Rajković, Aljoša Žorga,
Dragan Kapičić Dragan Kapičić ( sr-cyr, Драган Капичић; 7 August 1948 – 24 June 2024) was a Serbian professional basketball player and executive. Club career Kapičić played with Crvena zvezda, in his hometown of Belgrade, in the Yugoslav ...
,
Ivo Daneu Ivo Daneu (born 6 October 1937) is a retired Slovenian professional basketball player and basketball coach, coach. During his playing career, at a height of tall, he played at the point guard and shooting guard positions. He represented the Yug ...
,
Krešimir Ćosić Krešimir "Krešo" Ćosić (; 26 November 1948 – 25 May 1995) was a Croatian professional basketball player and coach. He was a collegiate All-American at Brigham Young University. He revolutionized basketball in Yugoslavia and was the first ...
,
Damir Šolman Damir Šolman (7 September 1948 – 2 May 2023) was a Croatian professional basketball player. Professional career Šolman was a FIBA European Selection, in 1974. National team career Šolman competed with the senior Yugoslavian national basket ...
,
Nikola Plećaš Nikola Plećaš (born January 10, 1948) is a former Yugoslavian professional basketball player. At a height of tall, and a weight of , he played at the point guard and shooting guard positions. He was considered to be one of the greatest Europea ...
, Dragutin Čermak, Petar Skansi,
Ranko Žeravica Ranko Žeravica ( sr-cyr, Ранко Жеравица; 17 November 1929 – 29 October 2015) was a Serbian professional basketball coach. With a career that spanned over 50 years, he is most noted for his work with the senior Yugoslav national ...
, the coach, and the president of the Basketball Federation of Yugoslavia, Radomir Šaper. At the Basketball Federation of Yugoslavia Conference, held in Skopje on 26 June 1970, Raša Šaper was once again elected president along with vice-presidents Željko Cindrić and Nebojša Popović. Bora Stanković was elected secretary-general and Boris Kristančić chosen as president of the Advisory Committee. Šaper was the president of the Basketball Federation of Yugoslavia until 1973, when he was appointed secretary general. He was also the commissioner of the Yugoslav Basketball Cup and the creator and initiator of the YUBA League, a national championship organised and conceived to be the strongest tournament in the world after the American
NBA The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada). The NBA is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Ca ...
. At the Congress of the International Basketball Federation (FIBA) held on 24 August 1972, Radomir Šaper was elected president of its Technical Commission, a position in which he remained until his death in 1998. Together with Bora Stanković, he was a member of the Central Board. His contributions to the development and improvement of basketball in the world were invaluable, including introduction of new and innovative rules and improvement in the quality of refereeing. On the occasion of 20th anniversary of Radomir Šaper's death a memorial tournament. This tournament used some of the innovative rules of basketball for which Radomir Šaper advocated during his life (mixed male women's teams, different scoring, duration of the match). Organizers of the tournament were Sport Center "Radivoj Korać" and basketball clubs OKK Beograd and ŽKK Radivoj Korać, while the cup bearing the name Radomir Šaper was awarded by his son
Srđan Šaper Srđan Šaper ( sr-cyr, Срђан Шапер; born October 9, 1958) is a founder of I&F McCann Grupa. He was also a founder and a member of the Yugoslav new wave band Idoli in the 1980s.P. Janjatović, Idoli, YU rock enciklopedija 1960-1967, ...
.Sećanje na utemeljivača jugoslovneske košarke
blic.rs. Accessed 4 November 2022. The Basketball Foundation has publishe
"How Yugoslav Basketball Emerged"


See also

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


References


Sources


External links


FIBA Hall of Fame page on Shaper

Sećanje na Radomira Šapera
B92, December 9, 2008 {{DEFAULTSORT:Saper, Radomir 1925 births 1998 deaths Basketball players from Belgrade Serbian men's basketball players KK Crvena zvezda players KK BASK players KK Partizan players FIBA Hall of Fame inductees Serbian people of Greek descent Serbian basketball executives and administrators Yugoslav people of Greek descent Guards (basketball) 1942 Belgrade Basketball Championship players