Charles E. Hanger (February 23, 1924 – July 23, 1995) 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 Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...

player, known for his career as a collegian at the

University of California, Berkeley The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California), is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Berkeley, California, United States. Founded in 1868 and named after t ...

(Cal) and as an All-American player in the

Amateur Athletic Union The Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) is an amateur sports organization based in the United States. A multi-sport organization, the AAU is dedicated exclusively to the promotion and development of amateur sports and physical fitness programs. It h ...

(AAU) in the late 1940s and early 1950s. Hanger attended Berkeley High School in

Berkeley, California Berkeley ( ) is a city on the eastern shore of San Francisco Bay in northern Alameda County, California, United States. It is named after the 18th-century Anglo-Irish bishop and philosopher George Berkeley. It borders the cities of Oakland, Cali ...

before moving to hometown Cal. After playing his first two seasons at Cal, Hanger enlisted in the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary Land warfare, land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of th ...

in 1943 to fight in

World War II 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 ...

. While in combat in Belgium, Hanger was captured on December 19, 1944, and held until released by American forces in April 1945. Following his service, Hanger returned to the Bears' lineup for the 1946–47 and 1947–48 seasons. As a senior, he was honored as an All-Pacific Coast Conference selection alongside teammate Andy Wolfe. Following the close of his college career, Hanger was drafted by the

Minneapolis Lakers The Los Angeles Lakers franchise has a long and storied history, having played and won championships in both the National Basketball League (United States), National Basketball League (NBL) and the Basketball Association of America (BAA) prior to ...

in the

1948 BAA draft The 1948 BAA draft was the second annual draft of the Basketball Association of America (BAA), which later merged with the National Basketball League (NBL) to become the National Basketball Association (NBA). The draft was held on May 10, 1948, ...

. However, he decided to instead play closer to home in the AAU, which was a common route for players of his generation. The 6'6" forward played for the Oakland Bittners and Oakland Blue n' Gold Atlas for four seasons. He won an AAU championship alongside

Hall of Fame A hall, wall, or walk of fame is a list of individuals, achievements, or other entities, usually chosen by a group of electors, to mark their excellence or Wiktionary:fame, fame in their field. In some cases, these halls of fame consist of actu ...

player Don Barksdale with the Bittners in 1949 and was twice named an AAU All-American (in 1949 and 1950). After leaving basketball, Hanger was an attorney in the Bay Area for over 30 years. He died on July 23, 1995.

References

External links

Cal Golden Bears HOF bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hanger, Chuck 1924 births 1995 deaths 20th-century American lawyers Amateur Athletic Union men's basketball players American men's basketball players American prisoners of war in World War II Basketball players from Berkeley, California Berkeley High School (Berkeley, California) alumni California Golden Bears men's basketball players California Golden Bears men's track and field athletes California lawyers Forwards (basketball) Minneapolis Lakers draft picks United States Army personnel of World War II World War II prisoners of war held by Germany