Don Ohl
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Donald Jay Ohl (April 18, 1936 – December 2, 2024) was an American professional basketball player for 10 seasons (1960–1970) in 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 ...
(NBA). He played
college basketball College basketball is basketball that is played by teams of Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. In the Higher education in the United States, United States, colleges and universities are governed by collegiate athle ...
for the
Illinois Fighting Illini The Illinois Fighting Illini () are the College athletics, intercollegiate athletic teams that represent the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. The university offers 10 men's and 11 women's Varsity team, varsity sports. The university op ...
. The
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 ...
took part in five consecutive
NBA All-Star Game The National Basketball Association All-Star Game is the annual all-star game hosted each February by the National Basketball Association (NBA) and showcases 24 of the league's All-star, star players. Since 2022, it was held on the third Sunday of ...
s (1963–1967). Ohl was born in Murphysboro, a rural town in southern Illinois, and after living in Peoria and
Iowa Iowa ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the upper Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west; Wisconsin to the northeast, Ill ...
, he moved to
Edwardsville, Illinois Edwardsville is a city in Madison County, Illinois, United States, and its county seat. The population was 26,808 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. The city was named in honor of Ninian Edwards, former governor of the Illinois Te ...
, when he was ten years old. He went by the
nickname A nickname, in some circumstances also known as a sobriquet, or informally a "moniker", is an informal substitute for the proper name of a person, place, or thing, used to express affection, playfulness, contempt, or a particular character trait ...
of Waxie because of his trademark
crew cut A crew cut is a type of haircut in which the upright hair on the top of the head is cut relatively short, graduated in length from the longest hair that forms a short pomp (Pompadour (hairstyle), pompadour) at the front hairline to the shortest a ...
. Ohl died in St. Louis on December 2, 2024, at the age of 88.


High school and college career

Ohl attended Edwardsville High School, where he averaged 19.6 points per game in his senior year, 1953–1954, and his team finished fourth in the Illinois state basketball tournament. He also played baseball and golf in high school. As a basketball player, he made All-Southwestern Conference as a junior and senior, and was both first-team All-District and first-team All-State as a senior. He chose to attend the
University of Illinois The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (UIUC, U of I, Illinois, or University of Illinois) is a public university, public land-grant university, land-grant research university in the Champaign–Urbana metropolitan area, Illinois, United ...
over Saint Louis University, Oklahoma A&M (now Oklahoma State) and Vanderbilt, which also had extended scholarship offers. He averaged 6.7 points per game as a sophomore, 15.6 as a junior, and a team-high 19.6 as a senior in 1957, being chosen team most valuable player as well. He was also selected as an
NCAA The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates College athletics in the United States, student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, and Simon Fraser University, 1 in Canada. ...
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 ...
n and a second-team Converse All-American. He was first team All Big Ten as a junior and senior. He graduated as the No. 3 scorer in school history with 1,230 points.


Professional career

In his final college season, Ohl began to pique the interest of several NBA teams in advance of the 1958 draft. The
Philadelphia Warriors The history of the Golden State Warriors began in Philadelphia in 1946. In 1962, the franchise was relocated to San Francisco, California and became known as the San Francisco Warriors until 1971, when its name was changed to the current Golden ...
selected him in the fifth round (37th overall), but he was unsure about his readiness for the next level. Ohl accepted a position with the Peoria Caterpillar Tractor Company in Morton, Illinois, where he worked while playing one season for the Peoria Cats in the
National Industrial Basketball League The National Industrial Basketball League was founded in 1947 to enable U.S. mill workers a chance to compete in basketball. The league was founded by the industrial teams (teams sponsored by the large companies and made up of their employees) bel ...
(NIBL). He never signed with the Warriors. As Ohl told The ''Edwardsville (Ill.) Intelligencer'' in a 2008 interview, "'It may have been a mistake, but I didn't end up playing in the NBA until two years after I got drafted. I didn't think I was good enough for the NBA even though people who should have known kept telling me that I was. I started working for Caterpillar and they had a team in the Industrial League, which might be comparable to a farm club of the NBA.'" He played a couple of years in the NIBL. "'In 1960, we won an AAU tournament in Denver, and the next week they had the Olympic Trials to see who would represent the U.S. in the Olympics. We played the final game against the college all-stars, who had a bunch of All-Americans like (future NBA stars)
Oscar Robertson Oscar Palmer Robertson (born November 24, 1938), nicknamed "the Big O", is an American former professional basketball player who played for the Cincinnati Royals and Milwaukee Bucks in the National Basketball Association (NBA). Robertson played ...
,
Jerry West Jerry Alan West (May 28, 1938 – June 12, 2024) was an American basketball player and executive. He played professionally for the Los Angeles Lakers of the National Basketball Association (NBA), and is widely regarded as one of the greatest ...
,
Walt Bellamy Walter Jones Bellamy (July 24, 1939 – November 2, 2013) was an American professional basketball player. He played 14 seasons as a center in the National Basketball Association, playing for four different teams. As a star for Indiana University ...
and
Jerry Lucas Jerry Ray Lucas (born March 30, 1940) is an American former basketball player. He was a nationally awarded high school player, national college star at Ohio State University, and 1960 Olympic medal, gold medal Olympian and international player be ...
, and of course, they beat us.'" Ohl performed well enough at the Olympic Trials to put himself back on the NBA radar. He was scouted by Detroit Pistons coach
Dick McGuire Richard Joseph McGuire (January 26, 1926 – February 3, 2010) was an American professional basketball player and coach. McGuire was one of the premier guards of the 1950s, playing 11 seasons in the NBA (1949–60), eight with the New York Knicks ...
, who acquired his rights from the Warriors, they made an offer that Ohl couldn't turn down. In his rookie year he went from bench player to starter, and by his third year with the Pistons he was an all-star, averaging 19.3 points a game. He made five consecutive NBA all-star teams from 1962–1963 to 1966–1967. He went on play 10 seasons for the Pistons, Baltimore Bullets, and
St. Louis St. Louis ( , sometimes referred to as St. Louis City, Saint Louis or STL) is an independent city in the U.S. state of Missouri. It lies near the confluence of the Mississippi and the Missouri rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a populatio ...
-
Atlanta Hawks The Atlanta Hawks are an American professional basketball team based in Atlanta. The Hawks compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Southeast Division (NBA), Southeast Division of the Eastern Conference (NBA), Easte ...
. He was the Bullets team MVP in 1965 and 1966. The crafty , 190-pounder (86 kg) scored 11,549 points, averaging 15.9 points per game for his career. Ohl has the highest playoff scoring average in the
Washington Wizards The Washington Wizards are an American professional basketball team based in Washington, D.C. The Wizards compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Southeast Division of the Eastern Conference. The team plays i ...
franchise history, at 26.23. In 1968, Ohl was traded to the Hawks for Tom Workman and a third round draft choice. Two years later, he was taken in the 1970 NBA Expansion draft by the
Cleveland Cavaliers The Cleveland Cavaliers, often referred to as the Cavs, are an American professional basketball team based in Cleveland. The Cavaliers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Central Division (NBA), Central Divis ...
but opted to retire at 34 years of age. Ohl twice scored a career high of 43 points in a single game, first on January 23, 1963, in a 123–119 defeat against the
Los Angeles Lakers The Los Angeles Lakers are an American professional basketball team based in Los Angeles. The Lakers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Pacific Division (NBA), Pacific Division of the Western Conference (NBA ...
and again on December 25, 1966, in a 129–127 loss to his former team, the Pistons.


'Brinks Robbery in Baltimore'

Shortly after the 1963–64 campaign, Ohl was involved in one of the first so-called megatrades, this one an eight-player blockbuster between the Pistons and Bullets. On June 9, 1964, the Pistons sent Ohl, center Bob Ferry, future hall of fame forward Bailey Howell, forward Les Hunter and the draft rights to guard Wally (later Wali) Jones to the Bullets in exchange for forwards
Terry Dischinger Terry Gilbert Dischinger ( ; November 21, 1940 – October 9, 2023) was an American professional basketball player in the National Basketball Association (NBA). Dischinger was a three-time NBA All-Star and the 1963 NBA Rookie of the Year, after ...
and Don Kojis and guard Rod Thorn. The deal turned out to a fortuitous one for the Bullets, as Howell and Ohl became mainstays with the team. "They called it the Brinks robbery out in Baltimore because it was so one-sided to Baltimore," Ohl told the ''Edwardsville (Ill.) Intelligencer''. "Dickey McGuire was my coach my first two years and I just admired him to death. He quit and Charlie Wolf took over, and for me it was not a good situation and apparently for two or three other players, because they went with me. I was happy to get out. I liked Detroit, but I was ready to go." In the 1964–65 campaign, Ohl, backcourt sidekick
Kevin Loughery Kevin Michael "Murph" Loughery (born March 28, 1940) is an American former professional basketball player and coach. Loughery coached both Julius Erving and Michael Jordan, and gave Phil Jackson his first NBA coaching job. Early life Loughe ...
and the front line of Howell,
Walt Bellamy Walter Jones Bellamy (July 24, 1939 – November 2, 2013) was an American professional basketball player. He played 14 seasons as a center in the National Basketball Association, playing for four different teams. As a star for Indiana University ...
and Gus Johnson carried the Bullets to the first playoff series victory in franchise history, a four-game upset of the
St. Louis Hawks The Atlanta Hawks are an American professional basketball team based in Atlanta. The Hawks compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Southeast Division of the Eastern Conference. The team plays its home games at S ...
in the Western Division semifinals.


Wild West Shootout

Ohl experienced his finest hour in the 1965 playoffs, in which he averaged 26.1 points in 10 games. In the Western Division finals, he and
Los Angeles Lakers The Los Angeles Lakers are an American professional basketball team based in Los Angeles. The Lakers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Pacific Division (NBA), Pacific Division of the Western Conference (NBA ...
star guard
Jerry West Jerry Alan West (May 28, 1938 – June 12, 2024) was an American basketball player and executive. He played professionally for the Los Angeles Lakers of the National Basketball Association (NBA), and is widely regarded as one of the greatest ...
were involved in one of the more memorable shootouts in league postseason history. The Bullets top gun put up 28.8 points and 5.7 rebounds per game before the Lakers prevailed in six games, each of which was decided by eights points or less. "(Lakers co-star Elgin) Baylor wasn't playing -- he was hurt," Ohl recalled. "It was the third game. It was in Baltimore. We played, we won and in the locker room I said, 'How many did West get?' and they said, '51 (points).' I said, '51, you got to be kidding me.' I think I had 35 or 38, I don't remember. I said, 'I guarantee you one thing you can print is he won't get 51 tomorrow night.'" "We go play the next game, we win and I said, 'How many did West get?' They said, '53.' I said, 'You got to be kidding me.' (Fred) Schaus, the coach, just put him on the side of the floor, gave him the ball and let him work it in until he got a shot, because like I said, Baylor wasn't playing. Great player, good friend. I enjoy him."


Career statistics


NBA

Source


Regular season


Playoffs


References


External links


Career stats
@ basketball-reference.com



{{DEFAULTSORT:Ohl, Don 1936 births 2024 deaths American men's basketball players Atlanta Hawks players Baltimore Bullets (1963–1973) players Basketball players from Illinois Cleveland Cavaliers expansion draft picks Detroit Pistons players Illinois Fighting Illini men's basketball players NBA All-Stars Sportspeople from Edwardsville, Illinois People from Murphysboro, Illinois Peoria Caterpillars players Philadelphia Warriors draft picks Point guards Shooting guards St. Louis Hawks players