James Otto Birr (August 22, 1916 – June 8, 2006) 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. He played for the

Indianapolis Kautskys Indianapolis ( ), colloquially known as Indy, is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Indiana and the county seat of Marion County. Indianapolis is situated in the state's central till plain region along the west fork of ...

in the National Basketball League and averaged 7.0 points per game. In college, he played on the

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

and

teams for

Indiana University Indiana University (IU) is a state university system, system of Public university, public universities in the U.S. state of Indiana. The system has two core campuses, five regional campuses, and two regional centers under the administration o ...

. In football he received

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 ...

votes. Birr was a multi-faceted individual as well. He served in

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

aboard the USS ''Belleau Wood'' and received both a

Bronze Star The Bronze Star Medal (BSM) is a United States Armed Forces decoration awarded to members of the United States Armed Forces for either heroic achievement, heroic service, meritorious achievement, or meritorious service in a combat zone. Wh ...

and a

Purple Heart The Purple Heart (PH) is a United States military decoration awarded in the name of the president to those wounded or killed while serving, on or after 5 April 1917, with the U.S. military. With its forerunner, the Badge of Military Merit, ...

. He was an original investor in the formation of the New York Titans professional football team (then of the

AFL AFL may refer to: Education * Angel Foundation for Learning, a Canadian Roman Catholic charity * Ankara Science High School, a high school in Ankara, Turkey, natively referred to as ''Ankara Fen Liesi'' * Assessment for learning Military * ...

, now known as the

New York Jets The New York Jets are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Jets compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East division. The team p ...

of the

NFL The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The N ...

), unsuccessfully ran to become the

mayor of Indianapolis The mayor of Indianapolis is the head of the executive branch of the consolidated city-county government of Indianapolis and Marion County. As the chief executive, the mayor has the duty to oversee city-county government's various departments, ...

, created his own independent basketball team called the Jim Birr All-Stars, and created and published the magazine ''Movie Digest''. Later in life, Birr moved to South Florida and got into real estate development. There, he played a part in the development of the

Daytona International Speedway Daytona International Speedway is a race track in Daytona Beach, Florida, Daytona Beach, Florida, United States, about north of Orlando, Florida, Orlando. Since opening in 1959, it has been the home of the Daytona 500, the most prestigious race ...

References

External links

Jim Birr obituary
{{DEFAULTSORT:Birr, Jim 1916 births 2006 deaths American football ends American men's basketball players Centers (basketball) Forwards (basketball) Indiana Hoosiers football players Indiana Hoosiers men's basketball players Indianapolis Kautskys players Pensacola Naval Air Station Goslings football players United States Navy personnel of World War II Players of American football from Indianapolis Basketball players from Indianapolis