Eddie Donovan (June 2, 1922 in Elizabeth, New Jersey – January 20, 2001) was a 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 ...

coach and executive. He coached the

New York Knickerbockers The New York Knickerbockers were one of the first organized baseball teams which played under a set of rules similar to the game today. Founded as the "Knickerbocker Base Ball Club" by Alexander Cartwright in 1845, the team remained active unti ...

from 1961 through 1965, and was the coach on the opposing sideline when Philadelphia Warriors

center Center or centre may refer to: Mathematics *Center (geometry), the middle of an object * Center (algebra), used in various contexts ** Center (group theory) ** Center (ring theory) * Graph center, the set of all vertices of minimum eccentrici ...

Wilt Chamberlain Wilton Norman Chamberlain (; August 21, 1936 – October 12, 1999) was an American professional basketball player who played as a center. Standing at tall, he played in the National Basketball Association (NBA) for 14 years and is widely reg ...

had his record-setting 100-point game in

Hershey, Pennsylvania Hershey is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) in Derry Township, Dauphin County, Pennsylvania, United States. It is home to The Hershey Company, which was founded by candy magnate Milton S. Hershey. The community is lo ...

on March 2, 1962. He later became the team's general manager. In that role, he drafted

Willis Reed Willis Reed Jr. (born June 25, 1942) is an American retired basketball player, coach and general manager. He spent his entire professional playing career (1964–1974) with the New York Knicks. In 1982, Reed was inducted into the Naismith Me ...

and traded for

Dave DeBusschere David Albert DeBusschere (October 16, 1940 – May 14, 2003) was an American professional National Basketball Association (NBA) player and coach and Major League Baseball (MLB) player. He played for the Chicago White Sox of MLB in 1962 and 1963 a ...

, two moves leading up to the Knicks winning the NBA title in 1970. Donovan later became an executive with the

Buffalo Braves The Buffalo Braves were an American professional basketball franchise based in Buffalo, New York. The Braves competed in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member club of the league's Eastern Conference Atlantic Division from 1970 ...

, where he won the NBA Executive of the Year Award for the 1973–74 season. Prior to his career with the Knicks, Donovan was the head men's basketball coach at St. Bonaventure University from 1953 through 1961.

Death

Eddie Donovan died on January 20, 2001, when he was 78. The cause for his death was said to be the complications of stroke.

References

External links

BasketballReference.com: Eddie Donovan
1922 births 2001 deaths American men's basketball coaches Basketball coaches from New Jersey Buffalo Braves personnel College men's basketball head coaches in the United States Los Angeles Clippers executives National Basketball Association general managers New York Knicks head coaches Sportspeople from Elizabeth, New Jersey St. Bonaventure Bonnies men's basketball coaches St. Bonaventure Bonnies men's basketball players {{US-basketball-coach-stub