Richard Floyd Triptow Jr. (November 3, 1922 – February 20, 2015) was an American professional

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular court, compete with the primary objective of shooting a basketball (approximately in diameter) through the defender's h ...

player and coach. At 6'0" and 170 pounds, he played as a

guard Guard or guards may refer to: Professional occupations * Bodyguard, who protects an individual from personal assault * Crossing guard, who stops traffic so pedestrians can cross the street * Lifeguard, who rescues people from drowning * Prison ...

and a forward. Triptow attended Lane Tech High School and

DePaul University DePaul University is a private, Catholic research university in Chicago, Illinois. Founded by the Vincentians in 1898, the university takes its name from the 17th-century French priest Saint Vincent de Paul. In 1998, it became the largest Ca ...

, both in

Chicago, Illinois (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

. From 1944 to 1949, he played professional basketball in the National Basketball League and

National Basketball Association The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America. The league is composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada) and is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United St ...

as a member of the

Chicago American Gears The Chicago American Gears were a National Basketball League (NBL) team who played from 1944 to 1947. The team also played in the Professional Basketball League of America (PBLA) in 1947–48 after leaving the NBL. About They are notable in prof ...

, the

Tri-Cities Blackhawks Tri-Cities most often refers to: *Tri-Cities, Tennessee, United States *Tri-Cities, Washington, United States Tri-City, Tricity or Tri-Cities may also refer to: Populated places Americas Canada *Tri-Cities (British Columbia), consisting of Co ...

, the

Fort Wayne Zollner Pistons The Detroit Pistons are an American professional basketball team based in Detroit. The Pistons compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference (NBA), Eastern Conference Central Division (NBA), ...

, and the Baltimore Bullets. Playing alongside

George Mikan George Lawrence Mikan Jr. (; June 18, 1924 – June 1, 2005), nicknamed "Mr. Basketball", was an American professional basketball player for the Chicago American Gears of the National Basketball League (NBL) and the Minneapolis Lakers of ...

, Triptow won an NBL championship with the Gears in 1947. Triptow coached the

Lake Forest College Lake Forest College is a private liberal arts college in Lake Forest, Illinois. Founded in 1857 as Lind University by a group of Presbyterian ministers, the college has been coeducational since 1876 and an undergraduate-focused liberal arts i ...

men's basketball team from 1959 to 1973. In 1997, Triptow wrote a book about his experiences with the Chicago American Gears, called ''The Dynasty That Never Was'' ().

BAA/NBA career statistics

Regular season

External links

Association for Professional Basketball Research's NBL statistics - downloadable database

References

1922 births 2015 deaths All-American college men's basketball players American men's basketball coaches American men's basketball players Baltimore Bullets (1944–1954) players Basketball coaches from Illinois Basketball players from Chicago Chicago American Gears players College men's basketball head coaches in the United States DePaul Blue Demons men's basketball players Fort Wayne Pistons players Fort Wayne Zollner Pistons players Lake Forest Foresters men's basketball coaches Professional Basketball League of America players Shooting guards Small forwards Tri-Cities Blackhawks players {{1920s-US-basketball-bio-stub