Robert Blake Williams (October 18, 1924 – November 11, 2003) 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. He won two national championships at Oklahoma A&M University and represented the U.S. as a member of the

1950 FIBA World Championship The 1950 FIBA World Championship, also called the 1st World Basketball Championship – 1950, was the inaugural edition of the FIBA Basketball World Cup, World Cup basketball tournament for men's national teams. It was held by the Internatio ...

Buenos Aires, Argentina Buenos Aires, controlled by the government of the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires, is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Argentina. It is located on the southwest of the Río de la Plata. Buenos Aires is classified as an Alpha− glob ...

. Williams, a 6'2 guard from

Lawton, Oklahoma Lawton is a city in and the county seat of Comanche County, Oklahoma, Comanche County, in the U.S. state of Oklahoma. Located in western Oklahoma, approximately southwest of Oklahoma City, it is the principal city of the Lawton metropolitan ar ...

, attended Oklahoma A&M (subsequently renamed Oklahoma State Univ.) from 1944–48, winning championships with the Aggies in both

1945 1945 marked the end of World War II, the fall of Nazi Germany, and the Empire of Japan. It is also the year concentration camps were liberated and the only year in which atomic weapons have been used in combat. Events World War II will be ...

and

1946 1946 (Roman numerals, MCMXLVI) was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar, the 1946th year of the Common Era (CE) and ''Anno Domini'' (AD) designations, the 946th year of the 2nd millennium, the 46th year of the 20th centur ...

with future

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 ...

teammate

Bob Kurland Robert Albert Kurland (December 23, 1924 – September 29, 2013) was an American basketball center, who played for the two-time NCAA champion Oklahoma A&M Aggies (now Oklahoma State Cowboys). Standing tall, he has been credited as the first pe ...

. The Aggies were coached by future US Olympic team coach,

Henry Iba Henry Payne “Hank” Iba (; August 6, 1904 – January 15, 1993) was an American basketball coach and college athletics administrator. He served as the head basketball coach at Northwest Missouri State Teacher's College, now known as Northwes ...

. Williams was named first team All-

Missouri Valley Conference The Missouri Valley Conference (also called MVC or simply "The Valley") is the fourth-oldest collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference in the United States. The conference's members are primarily located in the Midwestern Unite ...

in 1946, in a year when all five Aggie starters composed the all-conference first team. Following the completion of his collegiate career, Williams opted to compete 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 ...

, instead of the fledgling professional leagues, the

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

or the

Basketball Association of America The Basketball Association of America (BAA) was a professional basketball league in North America, founded in 1946. Following its third season, 1948–49, the BAA merged with the National Basketball League (United States), National Basketball Lea ...

. He joined the Denver Chevrolets, a move that enabled him to become a part of the U.S. National team's entry to the first

FIBA World Championship The FIBA Basketball World Cup is an international basketball competition between the senior men's national teams of the members of the International Basketball Federation (FIBA), the sport's global governing body. It takes place every four ye ...

in 1950 in Buenos Aires. Williams played in all six of the team's matches as the team won their first five games to reach the final against host team

Argentina Argentina, officially the Argentine Republic, is a country in the southern half of South America. It covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest country in South America after Brazil, the fourt ...

. In the final the U.S. team lost 64–50 as 38 fouls were called on the Americans and Argentina tallied more points from the foul line than from the field. The U.S. team had only four players on the floor at the end of the game. Williams averaged 3.3 points per game for the tournament, with his best game coming in the fourth contest against

Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in western South America. It is the southernmost country in the world and the closest to Antarctica, stretching along a narrow strip of land between the Andes, Andes Mountains and the Paci ...

when Williams led the Americans in scoring with nine points. Williams went on to a career in automobile sales, eventually owning a small Ford dealership in

Newcastle, Wyoming Newcastle is a city in and the county seat of Weston County, Wyoming, Weston County, Wyoming, United States. The population was 3,374 at the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census. Geography Newcastle is situated at the southwest edge of the B ...

. He retired from that business in 1980 and spent his final decades in

Fort Collins, Colorado Fort Collins is a List of municipalities in Colorado#Home rule municipality, home rule municipality in Larimer County, Colorado, United States, and its county seat. The population was 169,810 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, an i ...

. He died from diabetes complications in 2003, leaving behind his wife of 54 years, Florence Williams, and three children.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Williams, Blake 1924 births 2003 deaths Amateur Athletic Union men's basketball players American men's basketball players Basketball players from Oklahoma Deaths from diabetes in the United States Oklahoma State Cowboys basketball players Shooting guards Sportspeople from Lawton, Oklahoma United States men's national basketball team players 1950 FIBA World Championship players