DiscoverSports Basketball
DAVE COWENS Hall of fame: Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame Year of induction: 1991 Local connection: Cowens was born in Newport in 1948. Career notes: The 6-foot-9 center played college ball at Florida State and went on to an 11-year NBA career. Cowens played for the Boston Celtics’ 1974 and 1976 NBA championship teams. He was an NBA All-Star from 1972-1978. Named one of the 50 greatest players in NBA history in 1996 by a league-appointed panel. OSCAR ROBERTSON Hall of fame: Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame Year of induction: 1980 Local connection: Former University of Cincinnati and Cincinnati Royals player. Career notes: The Big O set 19 school records and 14 NCAA records during his tenure, and – in 1959 and 1960 – led the Bearcats to a 79-9 record and consecutive NCAA Tournament third-place finishes. He won a gold medal as a member of the 1960 Olympic basketball team. He went on to play for the NBA’s Cincinnati Royals and Milwaukee Bucks. In the 1961-62 season, he averaged a triple double (30.8 points, 11.4 assist and 12.5 rebounds). Named one of the 50 greatest players in NBA history in 1996. JOHN K. “JACK” TWYMAN Hall of fame: Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame Year of induction: 1983 Local connection: Former University of Cincinnati and Cincinnati Royals player. Career notes: Twyman scored 1,598 points at UC and finished his career as the program’s scoring leader. He played his 11-year NBA career with Rochester/Cincinnati and averaged 31.2 points a game in 1960. Twyman was also known for his humanitarian aid: He became the legal guardian of his former teammate, Maurice Stokes, after Stokes was paralyzed following a head injury in a game.
Bowling
OTHER CINCINNATI ROYALS CONNECTIONS TO THE NAISMITH MEMORIAL BASKETBALL HALL OF FAME
CATHERINE BURLING Hall of fame: United States Bowling Congress Hall of Fame Year of induction: 1958 Local connection: Burling is a Cincinnati native. Career notes: She competed in 50 Women’s International Bowling Congress Championship tournaments. And she won the grand slam of the Cincinnati Women’s Bowling Association Tournament four times.
Nate Archibald (1991) spent his first two years (1970-72) with the Royals before the team moved to Kansas City. He was a six-time All-Star and was named one of the 50 greatest players in NBA history in 1996. Bob Cousy (1971) was on the Boston Celtics team that beat the Royals in the 1964 NBA Finals, then returned to coach the Royals in 1969. He stayed with the team after it moved to Kansas City in 1972. Named one of the 50 greatest players in NBA history in 1996. Jerry Lucas (1980), born in Middletown, he starred at Ohio State before joining the Royals in 1963. He was traded to the San Francisco Warriors during the 1969-70 season. Named one of the 50 greatest players in NBA history in 1996. Maurice Stokes (2004), was the NBA’s rookie of the year in the 1955-56 season; he led the NBA in rebounds and ranked third in assists the following season. But on March 12, 1958, in the final regular-season game of the Royals’ first season in Cincinnati, he fell and hit his head on the court at Minneapolis and was knocked out. With inflammation of the brain, he later fell into a coma and wound up paralyzed. He would die at age 36 in 1970.
OTHER CINCINNATIANS IN THE UNITED STATES BOWLING CONGRESS HALL OF FAME Steve Fehr (1993) Nancy Fehr (2006) Eddie Jackson (1988) Don Scudder (1999)
Provided
Ezzard Charles beat Jersey Joe Walcott for the world heavyweight title in 1949.
Boxing
Enquirer file photos
Oscar Robertson (above left) and Dave Cowens are in the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. THE ENQUIRER
EZZARD CHARLES Hall of fame: International Boxing Hall of Fame Year of induction: 1990 Local connection: He wasn’t born here, but he was known as “The Cincinnati Cobra.” He grew up in the West End, and began boxing at Woodward High School. Career notes: Charles won the 1939 AAU National middleweight title before he went pro in 1940. He had many wins over big-name boxers like Teddy Yarosz, Charley Burley and Joey Maxim. He defeated Jersey Joe Walcott for the National Boxing Association world heavyweight title in 1949. Charles, who died in 1975, had 96 wins in 122 bouts, with 59 knockouts. Please see next page
CINCINNATI.COM/DISCOVER SUMMER 2008
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