Matthew George Guokas Sr. ( ; November 11, 1915 – December 9, 1993) 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 and
broadcaster.
Biography
He was the son of
Lithuania
Lithuania, officially the Republic of Lithuania, is a country in the Baltic region of Europe. It is one of three Baltic states and lies on the eastern shore of the Baltic Sea, bordered by Latvia to the north, Belarus to the east and south, P ...
n immigrants.
A
forward from
Saint Joseph's University
Saint Joseph's University (SJU or St. Joe's) is a Private university, private Jesuits, Jesuit university in Philadelphia, Lower Merion Township, Pennsylvania, and Lancaster, Pennsylvania. The university was founded by the Jesuits, Society of J ...
, Guokas played one season with the
Philadelphia Warriors of the
BAA (a precursor to the NBA). He averaged 1.7 points during the Warriors'
1946–47 championship season.
After losing his right leg in an automobile accident, Guokas turned to broadcasting, and he served as an announcer for the
National Football League
The National Football League (NFL) is a Professional gridiron football, 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 ...
's
Philadelphia Eagles
The Philadelphia Eagles are a professional American football team based in Philadelphia. The Eagles compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East division. The team plays its ...
from 1953 to 1985. He was also the public address announcer for Philadelphia Phillies baseball games at Connie Mack Stadium in 1965 to 1966, succeeding the late Pete Byron, and replaced by Eddie Ferenz.
Personal life
His son
Matt Guokas Jr. played in the NBA from 1966 to 1976, and later coached the
Philadelphia 76ers and
Orlando Magic and worked as a broadcaster for the
NBA on NBC and other sports networks.
Guokas and his son,
Matt Jr., were the first
father-son duo to both win
NBA championships as players; this feat has since been repeated by the Barrys (
Rick and
Brent), the Waltons (
Bill and
Luke), the Thompsons (
Mychal and
Klay), and the Paytons (
Gary and
Gary II).
BAA career statistics
Regular season
Playoffs
References
External links
Obituary
{{DEFAULTSORT:Guokas, Matt Sr.
1915 births
1993 deaths
All-American college men's basketball players
American men's basketball players
American people of Lithuanian descent
Basketball players from Philadelphia
NFL announcers
Philadelphia Eagles announcers
Philadelphia Warriors players
Saint Joseph's Hawks men's basketball players
Shooting guards
Small forwards
Wilkes-Barre Barons players