Clifford "Cliff" Eugene Barker (January 15, 1921 – March 17, 1998) was a

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 from the United States, who won the gold medal with the

USA national basketball team The USA Basketball Men's National Team, commonly known as the United States men's national basketball team, is the basketball team representing the United States. They are the most successful team in international competition, winning medals in ...

at the 1948 Summer Olympics in

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

and two national championships at the

University of Kentucky The University of Kentucky (UK, UKY, or U of K) is a public land-grant research university in Lexington, Kentucky. Founded in 1865 by John Bryan Bowman as the Agricultural and Mechanical College of Kentucky, the university is one of the state's ...

While at the University of Kentucky, Barker was an All-SEC (Second Team) and All-SEC Tournament guard during the 1947–48 and 1948–49 seasons. A member of the

United States Army Air Forces The United States Army Air Forces (USAAF or AAF) was the major land-based aerial warfare service component of the United States Army and ''de facto'' aerial warfare service branch of the United States during and immediately after World War II ...

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 ...

, Barker was a

B-17 Flying Fortress The Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress is a four-engined heavy bomber developed in the 1930s for the United States Army Air Corps (USAAC). Relatively fast and high-flying for a bomber of its era, the B-17 was used primarily in the European Theater ...

gunner and spent 16 months as a prisoner-of-war.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Barker, Cliff 1921 births 1998 deaths American men's basketball players Basketball coaches from Indiana Basketball players at the 1948 Summer Olympics Basketball players from Indiana Guards (basketball) Indianapolis Olympians coaches Indianapolis Olympians players Kentucky Wildcats men's basketball players Medalists at the 1948 Summer Olympics Military personnel from Indiana Olympic gold medalists for the United States in basketball People from Yorktown, Indiana United States men's national basketball team players Washington Capitols draft picks United States Army Air Forces personnel of World War II World War II prisoners of war held by Germany United States Army Air Forces soldiers American prisoners of war in World War II

See also

References