William Carlisle Towery (June 20, 1920 – November 25, 2012), nicknamed "Blackie" or "Big Boy", 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 Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...

player. A

forward Forward is a relative direction, the opposite of backward. Forward may also refer to: People *Forward (surname) Sports * Forward (association football) * Forward (basketball), including: ** Point forward ** Power forward (basketball) ** Smal ...

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 ...

, Towery played for the

Western Kentucky University Western Kentucky University (WKU) is a public university in Bowling Green, Kentucky, United States. It was founded by the Commonwealth of Kentucky in 1906, though its roots reach back a few decades earlier. It operates regional campuses in Glas ...

Hilltoppers from 1938 to 1941. He was a two-time

All-America The All-America designation is an annual honor bestowed on outstanding athletes in the United States who are considered to be among the best athletes in their respective sport. Individuals receiving this distinction are typically added to an Al ...

selection and the first Hilltopper to score 1,000 points. He also led the Hilltoppers to three

Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Association The Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Association (SIAA) was one of the first collegiate athletic conferences in the United States. Twenty-seven of the current Division I FBS (formerly Division I-A) football programs were members of this conferen ...

titles.Danny Schoenbaechler.
Men's Basketball: 'It's an honor and I'm speechless'
. ''College Heights Herald''. February 25, 2003. Retrieved on November 25, 2012. After graduating, Towery began his professional career with 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 Central Division of the Eastern Conference. The team plays its home games at ...

of the National Basketball League. He played three seasons with the Pistons before entering military service in

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 ...

, where he earned a

Bronze Star The Bronze Star Medal (BSM) is a United States Armed Forces decoration awarded to members of the United States Armed Forces for either heroic achievement, heroic service, meritorious achievement, or meritorious service in a combat zone. Wh ...

as an

infantryman Infantry, or infantryman are a type of soldier who specialize in ground combat, typically fighting dismounted. Historically the term was used to describe foot soldiers, i.e. those who march and fight on foot. In modern usage, the term broadl ...

. He then returned to the Pistons in 1946, and remained with the team as they joined the Basketball Association of America (the modern

NBA 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 ...

) in 1948. Towery spent half a season with the Pistons in the BAA, and later served stints for the

Indianapolis Jets The Indianapolis Jets were a Basketball Association of America (BAA) team based in Indianapolis. They were founded as the Indianapolis Kautskys and used that name until the team joined the BAA. They played for one year in the BAA and then ceased o ...

and Baltimore Bullets. When he retired from basketball in 1950, he had scored 2,317 combined NBL/NBA points. In 2003, Western Kentucky University retired his #42 college jersey. He became the sixth Hilltopper to receive such honors. Towery died on November 25, 2012, at the age of 92.Area deaths
''The Crittenden Press''. November 25, 2012. Retrieved on November 25, 2012.

BAA/NBA career statistics

Regular season

Notes

External links

1920 births 2012 deaths All-American college men's basketball players American men's basketball players Baltimore Bullets (1944–1954) players Basketball players from Kentucky Centers (basketball) Fort Wayne Pistons players Fort Wayne Zollner Pistons players Indianapolis Jets players People from Marion, Kentucky Power forwards Western Kentucky Hilltoppers basketball players 20th-century American sportsmen {{1920s-US-basketball-bio-stub