John Stanich ( January 18, 1925 – April 1, 2020) was an American basketball player. He was an All-American college player at UCLA and represented the United States in the 1950 FIBA World Championship[1] where he was named to the FIBA Basketball World Cup All-Tournament Team.[2]
 Stanich with the Phillips 66ers. | |||||||||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||||||||
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| Born | January 18, 1925 Sacramento, California, U.S. | ||||||||||||||
| Died | April 1, 2020 (aged 95) Houston, Texas, U.S. | ||||||||||||||
| Listed height | 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) | ||||||||||||||
| Listed weight | 170 lb (77 kg) | ||||||||||||||
| Career information | |||||||||||||||
| High school | Sacramento (Sacramento, California) | ||||||||||||||
| College |
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| BAA draft | 1948: 10th round | ||||||||||||||
| Selected by the New York Knicks | |||||||||||||||
| Position | Guard / forward | ||||||||||||||
| Career history | |||||||||||||||
| 1948–1950 | Phillips 66ers | ||||||||||||||
| 1950–1951 | Denver Chevrolets | ||||||||||||||
| 1951–1952 | Denver Central Bankers | ||||||||||||||
| Career highlights and awards | |||||||||||||||
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| Stats at Basketball Reference | |||||||||||||||
Medals
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Background
editAt the age of four, Stanich lost three fingers on his left hand when he tried to crank the engine of a Model T, getting tem caught between the crossbar and the crank spring.[3] Stanich graduated from Sacramento High School and attended hometown Sacramento City College. Stanich led the Panthers in scoring in both of his seasons there and as a sophomore in 1945–46 led the Panthers to the junior college national championship.[4] Following his junior college career, Stanich teamed with his younger brother George at UCLA.[5] As a senior in 1947–48, Stanich captained the Bruins squad and was named first team All-Conference[6] and an honorable mention All-American by the Associated Press.[7]
Career
editFollowing the close of his college career, Stanich was drafted by the New York Knicks in the 1948 BAA draft. However, he chose to play for the Phillips Petroleum Company's Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) power Phillips 66ers. Stanich was named an AAU All-American in 1949 and won an AAU championship in 1950. After the season, Stanich moved to the Denver Chevrolets.
Also in 1950, Stanich was named to the United States' team for the inaugural FIBA World Championship (now called the FIBA World Cup). The Americans lost 64–50 to host country Argentina. Stanich finished second on the team in scoring, averaging 7.2 points per game in the tournament, and was the lone American named to the all-tournament team.[8][9]
References
edit- ^ "John Stanich 1925 - 2020". Houston Chronicle. Retrieved 15 October 2021.
- ^ "The Best of World Cup 1950: Argentina's first Night of the Torches, Denver Chevrolets and 20,000 fans". fiba.basketball. FIBA. 10 March 2023. Retrieved 20 August 2024.
- ^ Bill Paterson (10 September 1992). "Sweet memories". The Sacramento Bee. pp. 11, 48. Retrieved 20 August 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Sacramento City College Court of Honor 2000". Retrieved September 20, 2014.
- ^ Crowe, Jerry (June 20, 2010). "John Wooden's first All-American at UCLA stood out in other arenas". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved September 20, 2014.
- ^ "Hanger and Wolfe Named On All Stars". Santa Cruz Sentinel. 2 March 1948. p. 4. Retrieved September 20, 2014 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Iowa's Murray Wier on 1st All-American". Mason City Globe-Gazette. 11 March 1948. p. 13. Retrieved September 20, 2014 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "First World Championship - 1950". USA Basketball. Archived from the original on October 1, 2014. Retrieved September 20, 2014.
- ^ "Argentina Cops World's Amateur Hardwood Crown". The Pantagraph. 5 November 1950. p. 27. Retrieved September 20, 2014 – via Newspapers.com.
