Generoso Charles "Jerry" Rullo (June 23, 1923 – October 21, 2016) 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.

Biography

He attended John Bartram High School in his hometown of

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

. 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 ...

from

Temple University Temple University (Temple or TU) is a public university, public Commonwealth System of Higher Education, state-related research university in Philadelphia, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. It was founded in 1884 by the Baptist ministe ...

, Rullo played four seasons (1946–1950) in the Basketball Association of America/National Basketball Association as a member of 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 ...

and Baltimore Bullets. He averaged 2.9

points per game Points per game, often abbreviated PPG, is the average number of points scored by a player or team per game played in a sport, over the course of a series of games, a whole season, or a career. It is calculated by dividing the total number of poi ...

in his BAA/NBA career and won a league championship with Philadelphia in 1947. Rullo played for eight seasons in the

Eastern Professional Basketball League The Continental Basketball Association (CBA), originally known as the Eastern Pennsylvania Basketball League, and later as the Eastern Professional Basketball League and the Eastern Basketball Association, was a men's professional basketball m ...

(EPBL) for the Sunbury Mercuries. He was selected as the EPBL Most Valuable Player in 1951 and was a four-time All-EPBL team selection. He won an EPBL championship with the Mercuries in 1951. With the deaths of

Ralph Kaplowitz Ralph Kaplowitz (May 18, 1919 – February 2, 2009) was an American professional basketball player. Kaplowitz played in the first two seasons of the Basketball Association of America (BAA), now known as the National Basketball Association (NBA), ...

and

Angelo Musi Angelo Musi Jr. (July 25, 1918 – October 19, 2009) was an American professional basketball player. A 5'9" guard from Temple University, Musi played three seasons (1946–1949) in the Basketball Association of America as a member of the Philade ...

in 2009, Rullo was the last living member of that Warriors championship team, the first in the history of the BAA/NBA. With the death of Kenny Sailors in January 2016, Rullo became the last living player from the inaugural 1946–47 season of the BAA. He died on October 21, 2016, of heart failure at Penn Medicine Rittenhouse.

BAA/NBA career statistics

Playoffs

References

External links

* * 1923 births 2016 deaths American men's basketball players Baltimore Bullets (1944–1954) players Basketball players from Philadelphia Burials at Holy Cross Cemetery (Yeadon, Pennsylvania) Guards (basketball) Philadelphia Warriors players Philadelphia Sphas players Sunbury Mercuries players Temple Owls men's basketball players 21st-century American Jews 20th-century American sportsmen {{1920s-US-basketball-bio-stub