Marcus Ross Freiberger ( – June 29, 2005) was an American

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular court, compete with the primary objective of shooting a basketball (approximately in diameter) through the defender's h ...

player from

Amarillo, Texas Amarillo ( ; Spanish for " yellow") is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the seat of Potter County. It is the 14th-most populous city in Texas and the largest city in the Texas Panhandle. A portion of the city extends into Randall Co ...

who was a Gold Medalist in the 1952 Summer Olympics.

Playing career

At 6'11", Freiberger played collegiately for the

Oklahoma Sooners The Oklahoma Sooners are the athletic teams that represent the University of Oklahoma, located in Norman. The 19 men's and women's varsity teams are called the " Sooners", a reference to a nickname given to the early participants in the Land R ...

. He was a member of the

1952 United States men's Olympic basketball team The 1952 United States men's Olympic basketball team competed in the 1952 Summer Olympics in Helsinki, Finland from July 14 to August 2, 1952. Warren Womble was the team's head coach, and Phog Allen was the team's main assistant coach. The team ...

that won the Gold Medal in Helsinki. From 1951–1955 Freiberger played for the

Caterpillar Diesels The Caterpillar Diesels (also later known as the Peoria Cats or Caterpillars) was an amateur basketball team located in Peoria, Illinois and sponsored and run by the Caterpillar Inc. company. The Caterpillars were one of the most successful tea ...

and then the Houston Ada Oilers 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) be ...

Death

Freiberger died in

Winston-Salem, North Carolina Winston-Salem is a city and the county seat of Forsyth County, North Carolina, United States. In the 2020 census, the population was 249,545, making it the second-largest municipality in the Piedmont Triad region, the 5th most populous city in ...

on June 29, 2005.

References

External links

profile
1928 births 2005 deaths American men's basketball players Basketball players at the 1952 Summer Olympics Basketball players from Texas Indianapolis Olympians draft picks Medalists at the 1952 Summer Olympics Oklahoma Sooners men's basketball players Olympic gold medalists for the United States in basketball Peoria Caterpillars players Sportspeople from Amarillo, Texas United States men's national basketball team players Centers (basketball) {{1920s-US-basketball-bio-stub