Rolland John Seltz (January 25, 1924 – October 13, 2022) 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 who played 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 ...

(NBA) during its first year of existence. He played 34 games for the

Anderson Packers The Anderson Packers, also known as the Anderson Duffey Packers and the Chief Anderson Meat Packers, were a professional basketball team based in Anderson, Indiana, in the 1940s and 1950s. The team was founded and owned by brothers Ike W. and ...

during the 1949–50 season.

Early life

Seltz was born in

McIntosh, Minnesota McIntosh ( ) is a city in Polk County, Minnesota, United States. It is part of the Grand Forks, ND- MN Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 606 at the 2020 census. History When the "Thirteen Towns", 13 townships in Polk County ...

, on January 25, 1924. He attended

Humboldt Senior High School Humboldt Senior High School is a public high school located in Saint Paul, Minnesota, United States which serves students in grades 6-12. The school is the smallest of the nine high schools in the Saint Paul Public Schools district with an enr ...

in nearby

Saint Paul Paul, also named Saul of Tarsus, commonly known as Paul the Apostle and Saint Paul, was a Christian apostle ( AD) who spread the teachings of Jesus in the first-century world. For his contributions towards the New Testament, he is generally ...

. He then studied at

Hamline University Hamline University ( ) is a private university in Saint Paul, Minnesota, United States. Founded in 1854, Hamline is the oldest university in Minnesota, the first coeducational university in the state, and is one of five Associated Colleges of th ...

, where he was named an

All-American 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 ...

Converse Converse may refer to: Mathematics and logic * Converse (logic), the result of reversing the two parts of a definite or implicational statement ** Converse implication, the converse of a material implication ** Converse nonimplication, a logical c ...

in 1946. While in college, he also played

minor league baseball Minor League Baseball (MiLB) is a professional baseball organization below Major League Baseball (MLB), constituted of teams affiliated with MLB clubs. It was founded on September 5, 1901, in response to the growing dominance of the National Le ...

for the

Duluth Dukes The Duluth Dukes was the name of an American minor league baseball franchise that represented Duluth, Minnesota, in the Northern League from 1935 to 1942, and from 1946 to 1955. In addition, a separate edition of the Dukes was one of four franc ...

Jamestown Falcons Jamestown may refer to Places Australia *Jamestown, South Australia Barbados *Holetown, Saint James, Barbados; sometimes called its founding name, Jamestown Canada * Mount Olive-Silverstone-Jamestown, a neighbourhood in Toronto, Ontario, common ...

Rochester Red Wings The Rochester Red Wings are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A affiliate of the Washington Nationals. They are located in Rochester, New York, and play their home games at Innovative Fie ...

Lynchburg Cardinals Lynchburg is a toponym that may refer to: *Lynchburg, California *Lynchburg, Mississippi *Lynchburg, Missouri *Lynchburg, North Dakota *Lynchburg, Ohio (in Clinton and Highland counties) *Lynchburg, Columbiana County, Ohio *Lynchburg, South Carolina ...

and

Allentown Cardinals The Allentown Cardinals were a minor league baseball team. Affiliated with the St. Louis Cardinals, they played in the Class B Interstate League between 1944 and 1952; then in the Class A Eastern League from 1954 to 1956. Allentown had joine ...

, posting a .266

batting average Batting average is a statistic in cricket, baseball, and softball that measures the performance of batters. The development of the baseball statistic was influenced by the cricket statistic. Cricket In cricket, a player's batting average is ...

with 42

home run In baseball, a home run (abbreviated HR) is scored when the Baseball (ball), ball is hit in such a way that the batting (baseball), batter is able to circle the bases and reach home plate safe (baseball), safely in one play without any error ( ...

s and 242

runs batted in A run batted in or runs batted in (RBI) is a statistic in baseball and softball that credits a batter for making a play that allows a run to be scored (except in certain situations such as when an error is made on the play). For example, if th ...

in 400 games. This arrangement attracted controversy during the 1944–45 season, since it was regarded in some quarters as a violation of his amateur status for

college basketball College basketball is basketball that is played by teams of Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. In the Higher education in the United States, United States, colleges and universities are governed by collegiate athle ...

Professional career

Following his college career, Seltz joined the

Anderson Duffey Packers The Anderson Packers, also known as the Anderson Duffey Packers and the Chief Anderson Meat Packers, were a professional basketball team based in Anderson, Indiana, in the 1940s and 1950s. The team was founded and owned by brothers Ike W. and ...

of the National Basketball League (NBL) in 1946. He played two seasons for the Packers and one for the

Waterloo Hawks The Waterloo Hawks were a National Basketball League and National Basketball Association team based in Waterloo, Iowa. The Hawks remain the only sports franchise ever based in Iowa from any of the current Big Four Leagues. They are not affili ...

, averaging 8.1 points per game in 1948–49. The following season, Seltz re-joined the Packers as the team moved to the new National Basketball Association (formed through a merger of the NBL and the

Basketball Association of America The Basketball Association of America (BAA) was a professional basketball league in North America, founded in 1946. Following its third season, 1948–49, the BAA merged with the National Basketball League (United States), National Basketball Lea ...

). He made his NBA debut for the franchise on November 3, 1949, scoring 18 points and making four of five

free throw In basketball, free throws or foul shots are unopposed attempts to score points by shooting from behind the free-throw line (informally known as the foul line or the charity stripe), a line situated at the end of the restricted area. Free throws ...

s against the

Tri-Cities Blackhawks Tri-Cities most often refers to: *Tri-Cities, Tennessee, United States *Tri-Cities, Washington, United States Tri-City, Tricity or Tri-Cities may also refer to: Populated places Americas Canada * Tri-Cities (British Columbia), consisting of C ...

. Seltz averaged 7.8

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 ...

and 1.9

assists per game In basketball, an assist is attributed to a player who passes the ball to a teammate in a way that leads directly to a score by field goal, meaning that they were "assisting" in the basket. An assist is also credited when a basket is awarded due ...

during the 1949–50 season. While playing professional basketball, Seltz continued playing baseball for Excelsior of the Minnesota Valley League. He was part of the team that won the Class-A championship in 1949, and was honored as the tournament's

most valuable player In team sports, a most valuable player (MVP) award is an honor typically bestowed upon an individual (or individuals, in the instance of a tie) whose individual performance is the greatest in an entire league, for a particular competition, or ...

after batting .643 and committing no

errors An error (from the Latin , meaning 'to wander'Oxford English Dictionary, s.v. “error (n.), Etymology,” September 2023, .) is an inaccurate or incorrect action, thought, or judgement. In statistics, "error" refers to the difference between t ...

in 27 chances. He also served as a player–manager that year. Seltz was inducted into Hamline's Athletic Hall of Fame in 1970. He was also honored in his high school's hall of fame.

Personal life

Seltz's first marriage was to Florence Elliott. After they divorced, he married Muriel. They remained married for 45 years until his death. They raised 11 children together, all from their respective previous marriages. After retiring from professional basketball, he became the owner of Seltz Insurance Agency. Seltz died on October 13, 2022, at the age of 98.

Career statistics

NBA

Source

Regular season

References

Specific

Bibliography

External links

NBL statistics

Minor League baseball statistics
{{DEFAULTSORT:Seltz, Rollie 1924 births 2022 deaths All-American college men's basketball players Allentown Cardinals players 20th-century American sportsmen American men's basketball players Anderson Packers players Baseball players from Saint Paul, Minnesota Basketball players from Saint Paul, Minnesota Duluth Dukes players Forwards (basketball) Guards (basketball) Hamline Pipers men's basketball players Jamestown Falcons players Lynchburg Cardinals players People from Polk County, Minnesota Rochester Red Wings players Waterloo Hawks players