Richard Floyd Triptow Jr. (November 3, 1922 – February 20, 2015) 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 and coach. At 6'0" and 170 pounds, he played as a

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 ...

and 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 ...

. Triptow attended

Lane Tech High School Lane Tech College Prep High School (often shortened to Lane Tech, full name Albert Grannis Lane Technical College Preparatory High School), is a public four-year selective enrollment magnet high school located in the Roscoe Village neighborhoo ...

and

DePaul University DePaul University is a private university, private Catholic higher education, Catholic research university in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Founded by the Congregation of the Mission, Vincentians in 1898, the university takes its name from ...

, both in

Chicago, Illinois Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

. From 1944 to 1949, he played professional basketball in the National Basketball League and

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 ...

as a member of the

Chicago American Gears The Chicago American Gears were an American basketball team that played professionally in the National Basketball League (NBL) from 1944 to 1947 and in the Professional Basketball League of America (PBLA) in 1947 after leaving the NBL. The te ...

, the

Tri-Cities Blackhawks Tri-Cities most often refers to: *Tri-Cities, Tennessee, United States *Tri-Cities, Washington, United States Tri-City, Tricity or Tri-Cities may also refer to: Populated places Americas Canada * Tri-Cities (British Columbia), consisting of C ...

, 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 ...

, and the Baltimore Bullets. Playing alongside

George Mikan George Lawrence Mikan Jr. (; June 18, 1924 – June 1, 2005), nicknamed "Mr. Basketball", was an American professional basketball player for the Chicago American Gears of the National Basketball League (NBL) and the Minneapolis Lakers of ...

, Triptow won an NBL championship with the Gears in 1947. Triptow coached the

Lake Forest College Lake Forest College is a Private college, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Lake Forest, Illinois. Founded in 1857 as Lind University by a group of Presbyterian ministers, the college has been coeducatio ...

men's basketball team from 1959 to 1973. In 1997, Triptow wrote a book about his experiences with the Chicago American Gears, called ''The Dynasty That Never Was'' ().

BAA/NBA career statistics

Regular season

External links

Association for Professional Basketball Research's NBL statistics - downloadable database

References

1922 births 2015 deaths All-American college men's basketball players American men's basketball coaches American men's basketball players Baltimore Bullets (1944–1954) players Basketball coaches from Illinois Basketball players from Chicago Chicago American Gears players College men's basketball head coaches in the United States DePaul Blue Demons men's basketball players Fort Wayne Pistons players Fort Wayne Zollner Pistons players Lake Forest Foresters men's basketball coaches Professional Basketball League of America players Shooting guards Small forwards Tri-Cities Blackhawks players {{1920s-US-basketball-bio-stub