Scotty Steagall (November 13, 1929 – September 16, 2001) 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 Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...

player. After a collegiate career at

Millikin University Millikin University is a private university in Decatur, Illinois, United States. It was founded in 1901 by prominent Decatur businessman James Millikin and is affiliated with the Presbyterian Church (USA). History Millikin was initially esta ...

, Steagall was selected in the second round (12th overall) of the

1951 NBA draft The 1951 NBA draft was the fifth annual draft of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The draft was held on April 25, 1951, before the 1951–52 season. In this draft, ten remaining NBA teams took turns selecting amateur U.S. college baske ...

by the

Indianapolis Olympians The Indianapolis Olympians were a founding National Basketball Association (NBA) team based in Indianapolis. They were founded in 1949 and folded in 1953. Their home arena was Butler Fieldhouse on the campus of Butler University, now known as Hi ...

. He skipped the

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 ...

, however, and opted instead to play in the

Amateur Athletic Union The Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) is an amateur sports organization based in the United States. A multi-sport organization, the AAU is dedicated exclusively to the promotion and development of amateur sports and physical fitness programs. It h ...

for 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 ...

, one of the most dominant teams in amateur basketball during the mid-20th century.

College career

Steagall had a prolific career at Millikin between 1947 and 1951. During his four years as a member of the Big Blue, he scored 2,127 points and led all small colleges in scoring nationally as a

senior Senior (shortened as Sr.) means "the elder" in Latin and is often used as a suffix for the elder of two or more people in the same family with the same given name, usually a parent or grandparent. It may also refer to: * Senior (name), a surname ...

. That season he scored 888 points in 31 games for an average of 28.6 points per game. In addition to the scoring average, Steagall also led the nation in total

field goals A field goal (FG) is a means of scoring in gridiron football. To score a field goal, the team in possession of the ball must place kick, or drop kick, the ball through the goal, i.e., between the uprights and over the crossbar. Consequently, a ...

(314),

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 (260), and assists (122). He guided Millikin to a berth in the NAIA national championship game, but despite losing to Hamline, Steagall was named the NAIA Tournament MVP. ''Converse'' named him a first team

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 ...

for his outstanding play during 1950–51. His scoring bursts were not limited to his senior season, however. As a

freshman A freshman, fresher, first year, or colloquially frosh, is a person in the first year at an educational institution, usually a secondary school or at the college and university level, but also in other forms of post-secondary educational in ...

in 1947–48, Steagall averaged 12.0 points per game, increased it to 21.2 as a

sophomore In the United States, a sophomore ( or ) is a person in the second year at an educational institution; usually at a secondary school or at the college and university level, but also in other forms of Post-secondary school, post-secondary educatio ...

, then 23.9 as a

junior Junior or Juniors may refer to: Aircraft * Ekolot JK-05L Junior, a Polish ultralight aircraft * PZL-112 Junior, a Polish training aircraft * SZD-51 Junior, a Polish-made training and club glider Arts and entertainment Characters * Bowser Jr., ...

. He set the then-single game scoring mark for small colleges with a 59-point effort against Augustana College.

AAU career

After college, Steagall bypassed an NBA career despite being drafted by the Indianapolis Olympians. He signed to work in the sales department for the

Phillips Petroleum Company Phillips Petroleum Company was an American oil company incorporated in 1917 that expanded into petroleum refining, marketing and transportation, natural gas gathering and the chemicals sectors. It was Phillips Petroleum that first found oil in th ...

Bartlesville, Oklahoma Bartlesville is a city mostly in Washington County and Osage County, Oklahoma. The population was 37,290 at the 2020 census. Bartlesville is north of Tulsa and south of the Kansas border. It is the county seat of Washington County. The Cane ...

. He was to also play for their company team, the

, in the

. After one season with the team in 1951–52, Steagall had to serve in the United States military to fight in the

Korean War The Korean War (25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953) was an armed conflict on the Korean Peninsula fought between North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea; DPRK) and South Korea (Republic of Korea; ROK) and their allies. North Korea was s ...

, thus missing the 1952–53 season. He returned in November 1953 and re-joined the 66ers, but lasted just one more season before being cut in March 1954. In 1972, Steagall was elected into the Millikin Hall of Fame.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Steagall, Scotty 1929 births 2001 deaths American men's basketball players American military personnel of the Korean War Basketball players from Illinois Forwards (basketball) Indianapolis Olympians draft picks Millikin Big Blue men's basketball players Phillips 66ers players