Charles E. Tyra ( ; August 16, 1935 – December 29, 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 who is best known as the first Louisville Cardinal All-American. He played five seasons in 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 ...

(NBA) for the

New York Knicks The New York Knickerbockers, shortened and more commonly referred to as the New York Knicks, are an American professional basketball team based in the New York City borough of Manhattan. The Knicks compete in the National Basketball Associa ...

and Chicago Packers.

Basketball career

Tyna attended Atherton High School in

Louisville, Kentucky Louisville ( , , ) is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky and the 28th most-populous city in the United States. Louisville is the historical seat and, since 2003, the nominal seat of Jefferson County, on the Indiana borde ...

and played collegiately for the

Louisville Cardinals The Louisville Cardinals (also known as the Cards) are the NCAA athletic teams representing the University of Louisville. The Cardinals teams play in the Atlantic Coast Conference, beginning in the 2014 season. While playing in the Big East Co ...

from 1953 to 1957. Tyra was a 1957 All-American. He is still the school's leading all-time rebounder and ranks 11th on the

NCAA The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges and ...

career rebounds list with 1,617. He was the first and one of five to have their basketball jersey number retired by

. Tyra was the No. 2 overall pick of the 1957 NBA draft by the

Detroit 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 league's Eastern Conference Central Division and play their home games at L ...

. Prior to the April 17, 1957 draft day, on April 3, 1957, the #2 pick (Tyra) was traded by the Pistons with Mel Hutchins to the

for Dick Atha,

Nathaniel Clifton Nathaniel "Sweetwater" Clifton (born Clifton Nathaniel; October 13, 1922 – August 31, 1990) was an American professional basketball and baseball player. He is best known as one of the first African Americans to play in the National Basketball ...

and

Harry Gallatin Harry Junior "The Horse" Gallatin (April 26, 1927 – October 7, 2015) was an American professional basketball player and coach. Gallatin played nine seasons for the New York Knicks in the National Basketball Association (NBA) from 1948 to 1957 ...

. On May 16, 1961, Tyra was traded by the New York Knicks with

Bob McNeill Robert J. McNeill (born October 22, 1938) is an American former professional basketball player. He played in the National Basketball Association (NBA) from 1960 to 1962. McNeill was born near 2nd & Allegheny in the Kensington section of Phila ...

to the Chicago Packers for Dave Budd. Overall, Tyra played five seasons in the

for the New York Knicks (–) and Chicago Packers (). He played one season with the

Pittsburgh Rens The Pittsburgh Rens were an American basketball team based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, that was a member of the American Basketball League from 1961–1963. History The American Basketball League played one full season, 1961–1962, and ...

(1962–1963) of the American Basketball League. Tyra averaged 8.9 points and 7.4 rebounds in 348 NBA games.

Personal

Tyra died, aged 71, at the Franciscan Health Care Center in

on December 29, 2006; he had been diagnosed with congestive heart failure more than two years earlier. Tyra's son, Vince Tyra, served as athletic director at the University of Louisville from 2018 to 2021. He served as the interim athletic director after the departure of Tom Jurich and was appointed permanently to the position on March 26, 2018, before leaving on December 10, 2021.

References

External links

ESPN article reporting Tyra's death
1935 births 2006 deaths All-American college men's basketball players American men's basketball players Atherton High School alumni Basketball players from Louisville, Kentucky Centers (basketball) Chicago Packers players Detroit Pistons draft picks Louisville Cardinals men's basketball players New York Knicks players Pittsburgh Rens players Power forwards (basketball) {{ULouisville-stub

Basketball career

Personal

See also

References

External links