Eddie Donovan (June 2, 1922 in

Elizabeth, New Jersey Elizabeth is a City (New Jersey), city in and the county seat of Union County, New Jersey, Union County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey.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 ...

coach and executive. He coached the

New York Knickerbockers 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 Associati ...

from 1961 through 1965, and was the coach on the opposing sideline when

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 ...

center

Wilt Chamberlain Wilton Norman Chamberlain ( ; August21, 1936 – October12, 1999) was an American professional basketball player. Standing tall, he played Center (basketball), center in the National Basketball Association (NBA) for 14 seasons. He was enshrin ...

had his record-setting 100-point game in

Hershey, Pennsylvania Hershey is an Unincorporated area, unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) in Derry Township, Dauphin County, Pennsylvania, United States. It is home to the Hershey Company, which was founded by candy magnate Milton S. Hershey ...

on March 2, 1962. He later became the team's general manager. In that role, he drafted

Willis Reed Willis Reed Jr. (June 25, 1942 – March 21, 2023) was an American professional basketball player, coach, and general manager. He spent his entire ten-year pro playing career (1964–1974) with the New York Knicks of the National Basketball ...

and traded for

Dave DeBusschere David Albert DeBusschere (October 16, 1940 – May 14, 2003) was an American professional basketball player and coach, and professional baseball player. He played for the Chicago White Sox of MLB in 1962 and 1963 and in the NBA for the Detroit Pi ...

, two moves leading up to the Knicks winning the NBA title in 1970. Donovan later became an executive with the

Buffalo Braves The Buffalo Braves were an American professional basketball team based in Buffalo, New York. The Braves competed in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Atlantic Division (NBA), Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference ...

, where he won the

NBA Executive of the Year Award The NBA Executive of the Year is an annual award in the National Basketball Association (NBA) award given since the 1972–73 NBA season, to the league's best general manager, president of basketball/business operations, or another high-ranking e ...

for the 1973–74 season. Prior to his career with the Knicks, Donovan was the head men's basketball coach at

St. Bonaventure University St. Bonaventure University is a private university, private Franciscan university in St. Bonaventure, New York. It has 2,760 undergraduate and graduate students. The Order of Friars Minor, Franciscans established the university in 1858. In ath ...

from 1953 through 1961.

Death

Eddie Donovan died on January 20, 2001, when he was 78. The cause for his death was said to be the complications of stroke.

References

External links

BasketballReference.com: Eddie Donovan
1922 births 2001 deaths American men's basketball coaches Basketball coaches from New Jersey Buffalo Braves personnel College men's basketball head coaches in the United States Los Angeles Clippers executives NBA general managers New York Knicks head coaches Basketball players from Elizabeth, New Jersey St. Bonaventure Bonnies men's basketball coaches St. Bonaventure Bonnies men's basketball players {{US-basketball-coach-stub