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 Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...

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 Bl ...

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

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 gu ...

from Berne High School in

Berne, Indiana Berne (English: IPA for English, ɜːn is a city within Monroe Township, Adams County, Indiana, Monroe and Wabash Township, Adams County, Indiana, Wabash townships, Adams County, Indiana, Adams County, Indiana, United States, located sout ...

, 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 ...

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, among others) is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference in the United States. Founded as the Intercollegiate Conference of Fa ...

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

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball sport played between two team sport, teams of nine players each, taking turns batting (baseball), batting and Fielding (baseball), fielding. The game occurs over the course of several Pitch ...

diamond Diamond is a Allotropes of carbon, solid form of the element carbon with its atoms arranged in a crystal structure called diamond cubic. Diamond is tasteless, odourless, strong, brittle solid, colourless in pure form, a poor conductor of e ...

in college. Following college, Dro played a season with the

Indianapolis Kautskys Indianapolis ( ), colloquially known as Indy, is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Indiana and the county seat of Marion County. Indianapolis is situated in the state's central till plain region along the west fork of ...

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 merged with the National Basketball League (United States), National Basketball Lea ...

to form 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 ...

. 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 1883 as the Brooklyn Grays. In 1884, it became a member of the American Association as the Brooklyn Atlantics before joining the National League in 1890. They remained in Brook ...

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 naval warfare, maritime military branch, service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest Displacement (ship), displacement, at 4.5 millio ...

during

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 ...

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

Bluffton, Indiana Bluffton is a city in and the county seat of Wells County, Indiana, United States. It sits on the banks of the Wabash River in the northeastern part of the state. The population was 10,308 at the 2020 census, up from 9,897 at the 2010 census ...

. 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 Baseball players from Indiana Grand Rapids Colts players Guards (basketball) High school basketball coaches in Indiana 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 Basketball players from Madison County, Indiana United States Navy personnel of World War II