Robert Chester Dro (October 12, 1918 – May 4, 2006) 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 court, compete with the primary objective of shooting a basketball (approximately in diameter) through the defender's h ...

player and college athletic administrator. He was a starter on

Indiana Hoosiers men's basketball The Indiana Hoosiers men's basketball team represents Indiana University Bloomington in NCAA Division I college basketball and competes in the Big Ten Conference. The Hoosiers play at Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall on the Branch McCracken Court in B ...

's first championship team in 1940 and played one season in the National Basketball League. Dro, a 6'0" guard from Berne High School in

Berne, Indiana Berne (English: ɜːn is a city within Monroe and Wabash townships, Adams County, Indiana, United States, located south of Fort Wayne. The population was 4,173 at the 2020 Census. Berne is widely known for its Swiss heritage, architectu ...

, played for coach

Branch McCracken Emmett B. "Branch" McCracken (June 9, 1908 – June 4, 1970) was an American basketball player and coach. He served as the head basketball coach at Ball State University from 1930 to 1938 and at Indiana University Bloomington from 1938 to 1943 a ...

at Indiana from 1938 to 1941. Dro was a three-year starter for them, including the Hoosiers' 1939–40 championship season. He was named first-team All-

Big Ten Conference The Big Ten Conference (stylized B1G, formerly the Western Conference and the Big Nine Conference) is the oldest Division I collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference in the United States. Founded as the Intercollegiate Conferen ...

as a senior in 1941. Dro was also a standout on the

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding ...

diamond Diamond is a solid form of the element carbon with its atoms arranged in a crystal structure called diamond cubic. Another solid form of carbon known as graphite is the chemically stable form of carbon at room temperature and pressure, ...

in college. Following college, Dro played a season with the Indianapolis Kautskys of the National Basketball League (NBL), a professional league that would later merge with 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 absorbed most of National Basketball League (NBL) and rebranded as the National Ba ...

to form the

National Basketball Association The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball sports league, 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 i ...

. Dro also played minor league baseball for the Grand Rapids Colts in the

Brooklyn Dodgers The Brooklyn Dodgers were a Major League Baseball team founded in 1884 as a member of the American Association before joining the National League in 1890. They remained in Brooklyn until 1957, after which the club moved to Los Angeles, Californ ...

organization.Indiana Athletics Remembers Bob Dro
accessed August 30, 2011 After his brief professional sports career, Dro served in the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

. Upon his return from the war, Dro coached high school basketball in

Pendleton Pendleton may refer to: Places ;United Kingdom *Pendleton, Lancashire, England *Pendleton, Greater Manchester, England ;United States *Pendleton, Indiana * Pendleton, Missouri *Pendleton, New York *Pendleton, Oregon *Pendleton, South Carolina *Pe ...

and Bluffton, Indiana. In 1957, Dro joined the Indiana University athletic department, where he served until his retirement in 1984. Dro was inducted into the

Indiana Basketball Hall of Fame The Indiana Basketball Hall of Fame is a sports museum and hall of fame in New Castle, Indiana. While it honors men and women associated with high school, college, and professional basketball in Indiana, an emphasis is placed on the athlete's high ...

in 1978.

References

External links

Indiana Basketball Hall of Fame profileMinor League baseball statistics
{{DEFAULTSORT:Dro, Bob 1918 births 2006 deaths American men's basketball players United States Navy personnel of World War II Baseball players from Indiana Basketball players from Indiana Grand Rapids Colts players Guards (basketball) High school basketball coaches in the United States Indiana Hoosiers baseball players Indiana Hoosiers men's basketball players Indianapolis Kautskys players Military personnel from Indiana People from Berne, Indiana People from Bluffton, Indiana People from Pendleton, Indiana Sportspeople from the Indianapolis metropolitan area