Valdemārs Kristaps Baumanis (19 April 1905 – 24 April 1992) was a Latvian basketball player, basketball and football coach. He was head coach of Latvia national basketball team in EuroBasket 1935 and

EuroBasket 1939 The 1939 FIBA European Championship, commonly called FIBA EuroBasket 1939, was the third FIBA EuroBasket regional basketball championship, held by FIBA. Eight national teams affiliated with the International Basketball Federation (FIBA) took par ...

. In 1935, Latvia won the tournament, becoming the first ever European champions. In 1939, Latvia won silver medals. The 2012 Latvian film '' Dream Team 1935'' is based on the events of the EuroBasket 1935. It tells the story of the Latvian national basketball team, the winners of the tournament.

Biography

Early life and military career

Valdemārs Baumanis was born in

Liepāja Liepāja () (formerly: Libau) is a Administrative divisions of Latvia, state city in western Latvia, located on the Baltic Sea. It is the largest city in the Courland region and the third-largest in the country after Riga and Daugavpils. It is an ...

19 April 1905. After the

First World War 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 ...

, he travelled to

Riga Riga ( ) is the capital, Primate city, primate, and List of cities and towns in Latvia, largest city of Latvia. Home to 591,882 inhabitants (as of 2025), the city accounts for a third of Latvia's total population. The population of Riga Planni ...

where he graduated Riga City gymnasium No.4. He started to play basketball in 1922 while still at school. From 1925 until 1927, Baumanis studied

economics Economics () is a behavioral science that studies the Production (economics), production, distribution (economics), distribution, and Consumption (economics), consumption of goods and services. Economics focuses on the behaviour and interac ...

at the University of Latvia. In 1927, he was drafted into Latvian Army where he served in the 6th Riga infantry regiment. In the same year, he also was accepted into Latvian military academy which he graduated in 1929 with the rank of

lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a Junior officer, junior commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations, as well as fire services, emergency medical services, Security agency, security services ...

During

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

in 1943 Baumanis as an officer of Latvian army was conscripted into Latvian Legion. He served in general staff of the Legion. Later he was deployed to staff of the 15th Waffen Grenadier Division of the SS. In 1944, he was promoted to the rank of captain and became commander of the divisions supply battalion. In March 1945 he was promoted to the rank of major and became commander of the all supply units of the 15th Waffen Grenadier Division. At the last days of the war, he led around 4000 Latvian soldiers to the Western Allies thus saving them from Soviet

Red army The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army, often shortened to the Red Army, was the army and air force of the Russian Soviet Republic and, from 1922, the Soviet Union. The army was established in January 1918 by a decree of the Council of People ...

and further repressions. He was held captive in a POW camp in Putloss, Germany. After release he lived in Germany until 1947 when he traveled to

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

and lived in

Lorient Lorient (; ) is a town (''Communes of France, commune'') and Port, seaport in the Morbihan Departments of France, department of Brittany (administrative region), Brittany in western France. History Prehistory and classical antiquity Beginn ...

until 1956. In 1956, he travelled to the United States and for the rest of the life lived in

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

Playing career

From 1923 until 1930, Baumanis played basketball for the JKS team (Latvian Christian Youth) and became two-time Latvian champion (1925 & 1929). He has played six games for Latvian national basketball team including the national team's first international game against

Estonia Estonia, officially the Republic of Estonia, is a country in Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland across from Finland, to the west by the Baltic Sea across from Sweden, to the south by Latvia, and to the east by Ru ...

in 1924.

Coaching career

He started his coaching career in 1931 when after injury he was forced to leave the JKS team. From 1931 until 1940, Baumanis was a head coach of the army team Rīgas ASK. He became three time Latvian champion with Rīgas ASK (1932; 1939–1940). During Nazi occupation of Latvia, he returned as the head coach of the Rīgas ASK and became Latvian champions for another two times (1942–1943). In 1942-43, season he also coached Rīgas ASK women basketball team. Also, he was appointed as the head coach of the Latvian national basketball team for four years (1935, 1938-1940). In 1935 Latvia won the tournament and became the first European champions but in 1939, Latvia lost in the final and thus won silver medals. Baumanis was also first Latvian basketball referee with

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 ...

category and in 1936, he was one of the referees of Olympic basketball tournament in Berlin. Also he was a board member of the Latvia Basketball Association for many years. In 1939, Baumanis attended summer school for basketball coaches in

Long Island Long Island is a densely populated continental island in southeastern New York (state), New York state, extending into the Atlantic Ocean. It constitutes a significant share of the New York metropolitan area in both population and land are ...

, United States. In 1945, Baumanis left to Germany and an after the Second World War was an active promoter of sports in Latvian exile community. In 1946, he established a football team out of former Latvian football players in Germany and this team played several matches against German football clubs. From 1946 until 1947, he coached basketball team ''Riga'' in

Lübeck Lübeck (; or ; Latin: ), officially the Hanseatic League, Hanseatic City of Lübeck (), is a city in Northern Germany. With around 220,000 inhabitants, it is the second-largest city on the German Baltic Sea, Baltic coast and the second-larg ...

which consisted mainly of Latvians. In the years 1948–1954, he moved to France and served as the head coach of the French basketball team CEP Lorient. Since 1956, he lived in Chicago where he actively organized sport and basketball events for Latvian community in the US. He led the sport department of the American Latvian Association and coached the basketball team of the Latvian military veteran organisation ''Daugavas Vanagi'' which became champions of Latvian community in US for several years. Baumanis died in Chicago on 24 April 1992.

References

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