Ralph Milton Beard Jr. (December 2, 1927 – November 29, 2007) was an American collegiate and 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 won two NCAA national

championships at the

University of Kentucky The University of Kentucky (UK, UKY, or U of K) is a Public University, public Land-grant University, land-grant research university in Lexington, Kentucky, United States. Founded in 1865 by John Bryan Bowman as the Agricultural and Mechanical ...

and played two years in the

National Basketball Association The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada). The NBA is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Ca ...

prior to being barred for life for his participation in the 1951 point shaving scandal.

Early life

Beard was born in

Hardinsburg, Kentucky Hardinsburg is a list of Kentucky cities, home rule-class city in Breckinridge County, Kentucky, Breckinridge County, Kentucky, in the United States. It is the county seat, seat of its county. The population was 2,343 at the 2010 United States ...

. Beard grew up in

Louisville Louisville is the most populous city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky, sixth-most populous city in the Southeast, and the 27th-most-populous city in the United States. By land area, it is the country's 24th-largest city; however, by populatio ...

and attended

Louisville Male High School Louisville Male Traditional High School is a public co-ed secondary school serving students in grades 9 through 12 in the southside of Louisville, Kentucky, USA. It is part of the Jefferson County Public School District. History Ninth and Ch ...

. He later cited the family's finances as a reason he took money from gamblers. His mother worked as a cleaning lady after his father left the family.

College career

He was a member of

Adolph Rupp Adolph Frederick Rupp (September 2, 1901 – December 10, 1977) was an American college basketball coach. Nicknamed the "Baron of the Bluegrass", he coached the University of Kentucky Wildcats to four NCAA Division I men's basketball tournam ...

's " Fabulous Five"

basketball team, with Alex Groza, Wallace Jones, Cliff Barker, and

Kenny Rollins Kenneth Herman Rollins (September 14, 1923 – October 9, 2012) was an American professional basketball player. He competed at the 1948 London Olympics and was a member of the University of Kentucky's "Fabulous Five" who won the 1948 NCAA tour ...

. Beard won a gold medal in the

1948 Summer Olympics The 1948 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XIV Olympiad and officially branded as London 1948, were an international multi-sport event held from 29 July to 14 August 1948 in London, United Kingdom. Following a twelve-year hiatus cau ...

with the Fabulous Five and the

Phillips 66ers The Phillips 66ers (also known as the Oilers) were an amateur basketball team located in Bartlesville, Oklahoma, sponsored and run by the Phillips Petroleum Company. The 66ers were a national phenomenon that grew from a small-town team to an orga ...

Professional career

Indianapolis Olympians (1949–1951)

Taken in the second round of the 1949

NBA The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada). The NBA is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Ca ...

draft, Beard played two seasons with the Indianapolis Olympians and averaged 15.9 points and 4.4 assists per game.

CCNY point shaving scandal

In October 1951, authorities charged him along with his former teammates Alex Groza and

Dale Barnstable Dale Barnstable (March 4, 1925 – January 26, 2019) was an American basketball player from Antioch, Illinois who was banned for life from the National Basketball Association (NBA) in 1951 for point shaving during his college career at the Univer ...

with taking bribes as part of the 1951 NCAA point shaving scandal. They pleaded guilty and received suspended sentences but the NBA Commissioner

Maurice Podoloff Maurice Podoloff (; August 18, 1890 – November 24, 1985) was an American lawyer and a basketball and ice hockey administrator. He served as the president of the Basketball Association of America (BAA) from 1946 to 1949, and the National Basketb ...

banned all three for life from the NBA. Beard admitted that he took $700 but denied that he had ever shaved points in a game. He claimed that Frank Hogan, the New York district attorney, conspired with Podoloff of the NBA and Cardinal

Francis Spellman Francis Joseph Spellman (May 4, 1889 – December 2, 1967) was an Catholic Church in the United States, American Catholic prelate who served as Roman Catholic Archdiocese of New York, Archbishop of New York from 1939 until his death in 1967. F ...

, the Archbishop of New York to go after Midwestern players in an effort to protect players at Catholic colleges.

Aftermath

He worked in the pharmaceutical industry afterward. His only involvement in the sport after his ban was some scouting work with the

Kentucky Colonels The Kentucky Colonels were an American professional basketball team based in Louisville, Kentucky. They competed in the American Basketball Association (ABA) from 1967 to 1976. The name is derived from the historic Kentucky Colonels. The Colo ...

of the

American Basketball Association The American Basketball Association (ABA) was a major professional basketball league that operated for nine seasons from 1967 to 1976. The upstart ABA operated in direct competition with the more established National Basketball Association thr ...

. He tried playing professional baseball but his ban for gambling prevented him from that sport as well.

NBA career statistics

Regular season

Playoffs

Personal life

Later in life, the University of Kentucky welcomed Beard back. The school retired his jersey and invited him to speak to players about point shaving. In 1985, he was inducted into the Kentucky Athletic Hall of Fame. Beard died on November 29, 2007, at his

Louisville, Kentucky Louisville is the List of cities in Kentucky, most populous city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky, sixth-most populous city in the Southeastern United States, Southeast, and the list of United States cities by population, 27th-most-populous city ...

home.Former UK star Ralph Beard, part of a college basketball point-shaving scandal, dies at 79
Yahoo! Sports. November 29, 2007.

References

External links

NBA.com The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada). The NBA is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Ca ...

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Beard, Ralph 1927 births 2007 deaths All-American college men's basketball players American men's basketball players Banned NBA players Basketball players at the 1948 Summer Olympics Basketball players from Louisville, Kentucky College basketball controversies in the United States Chicago Stags draft picks Guards (basketball) Indianapolis Olympians players Kentucky Wildcats men's basketball players Louisville Male High School alumni Medalists at the 1948 Summer Olympics NBA All-Stars Olympic gold medalists for the United States in basketball People from Hardinsburg, Kentucky United States men's national basketball team players Bluefield Blue-Grays players Pawtucket Slaters players Evansville Braves players 20th-century American sportsmen