Thomas Nicholas Meschery ( ; born Tomislav Nikolayevich Meshcheryakov (); October 26, 1938)TOM MESCHERY: THE FIRST RUSSIAN IN THE NBA
is an American former 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. Born in China, Meschery was a

power forward The power forward (PF), also known as the four, is one of the five traditional Basketball positions, positions in a regulation basketball game. Traditionally, power forwards have played a role similar to center (basketball), centers and are typi ...

with a 10-year

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 ...

career from 1961 to 1971. He played for the Philadelphia/San Francisco Warriors and the

Seattle SuperSonics The Seattle SuperSonics (commonly shortened to Sonics) were an American professional basketball team based in Seattle. The SuperSonics competed in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Western Division (1967–1970), and ...

. He played in the 1963 NBA All-Star Game, making him the first foreign-born NBA player to be selected as an

NBA All-Star The National Basketball Association (NBA) All-Star Game is an annual exhibition basketball game. It is the main event of the NBA All-Star Weekend. Traditionally, the All-Star Game featured a conference-based format, featuring a team composed of ...

. The Warriors not only retired his number 14, but also gave him a unique honor by incorporating the number into the team's logo from 1967 to 1974.

Early years

Meschery was born as Tomislav Nikolayevich Meshcheryakov in

Harbin Harbin, ; zh, , s=哈尔滨, t=哈爾濱, p=Hā'ěrbīn; IPA: . is the capital of Heilongjiang, China. It is the largest city of Heilongjiang, as well as being the city with the second-largest urban area, urban population (after Shenyang, Lia ...

Manchukuo Manchukuo, officially known as the State of Manchuria prior to 1934 and the Empire of Great Manchuria thereafter, was a puppet state of the Empire of Japan in Northeast China that existed from 1932 until its dissolution in 1945. It was ostens ...

. His parents were Russian emigrants who fled from the

October Revolution The October Revolution, also known as the Great October Socialist Revolution (in Historiography in the Soviet Union, Soviet historiography), October coup, Bolshevik coup, or Bolshevik revolution, was the second of Russian Revolution, two r ...

in 1917. The Meschery family was later relocated to a

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

ese internment camp near Tokyo during World War II. After the war, Meschery and his parents emigrated to the United States. It was also in this phase of his life where his father renamed the family "Meschery" due to the anti-Communist/anti-Soviet

Red Scare A Red Scare is a form of moral panic provoked by fear of the rise of left-wing ideologies in a society, especially communism and socialism. Historically, red scares have led to mass political persecution, scapegoating, and the ousting of thos ...

under

Joseph McCarthy Joseph Raymond McCarthy (November 14, 1908 – May 2, 1957) was an American politician who served as a Republican Party (United States), Republican United States Senate, U.S. Senator from the state of Wisconsin from 1947 until his death at age ...

, and Tomislav Nikolayevich was renamed Thomas Nicholas, which later was abbreviated to Tom. Living in

San Francisco, California San Francisco, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is a commercial, Financial District, San Francisco, financial, and Culture of San Francisco, cultural center of Northern California. With a population of 827,526 residents as of ...

, Meschery attended Lowell High School. After graduating in 1957, he went to

Saint Mary's College of California Saint Mary's College of California is a Private college, private Catholic college in Moraga, California, United States. Established in 1863, it is administered by the De La Salle Brothers. The college offers undergraduate and graduate programs w ...

in Moraga. Meschery helped Saint Mary's reach the NCAA Tournament's Elite Eight in 1959. Two years later, he was chosen as a First Team All-American, and was named the West Coast Conference Player of the Year. He received his

Bachelor of Arts A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts deg ...

degree in 1961.

Professional basketball career

After graduating from St. Mary's, he was drafted by the

Philadelphia Warriors The history of the Golden State Warriors began in Philadelphia in 1946. In 1962, the franchise was relocated to San Francisco, California and became known as the San Francisco Warriors until 1971, when its name was changed to the current Golden ...

as the 7th pick overall in the 1961 NBA draft. Meschery played alongside legend

Wilt Chamberlain Wilton Norman Chamberlain ( ; August21, 1936 – October12, 1999) was an American professional basketball player. Standing tall, he played Center (basketball), center in the National Basketball Association (NBA) for 14 seasons. He was enshrin ...

, to whom he later dedicated a poem. Meschery was the starting forward on the 1961-62 Philadelphia Warriors team in which Chamberlain scored 100 points. Meschery led the NBA in personal fouls in 1962 and he became the first foreign born player to play in an NBA All-Star Game when he played in the 1963 NBA All-Star Game. The following year, Meschery made his first

Finals Final, Finals or The Final may refer to: *Final examination or finals, a test given at the end of a course of study or training *Final (competition), the last or championship round of a sporting competition, match, game, or other contest which d ...

appearance, as the Warriors lost 4–1 to the

Boston Celtics The Boston Celtics ( ) are an American professional basketball team based in Boston. The Celtics compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Atlantic Division (NBA), Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference (NBA), ...

. Chamberlain left the Warriors in 1965, returning to his home town

Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

, to play with the 76ers. The Warriors however, strengthened by the arrival of

Rick Barry Richard Francis Dennis Barry III (born March 28, 1944) is an American former professional basketball player who starred at the NCAA, American Basketball Association (ABA) and National Basketball Association (NBA) levels. Barry ranks among the m ...

, made it to the

1967 NBA Finals The 1967 NBA World Championship Series was the championship series of the 1966–67 National Basketball Association (NBA) season, and it was the conclusion of the 1967 NBA playoffs. The best-of-seven series was played between the Western Divi ...

, in which they lost to Chamberlain's 76ers. After his second NBA Finals appearance, Meschery was selected by the NBA's

during the 1967 NBA expansion draft. In the SuperSonics' inaugural season, Meschery led the team in rebounds (10.2 per game) as well as personal fouls. He retired following the 1970–71 season, having played four seasons for the SuperSonics. After retiring as a player, Meschery became head coach of the ABA's

Carolina Cougars The Carolina Cougars were a basketball franchise in the American Basketball Association that existed from 1969 through 1974. The Cougars were originally a charter member of the ABA as the Houston Mavericks in 1967. The Mavericks moved to North Ca ...

, which he guided to a record of 35–49 in the 1971–72 season before being replaced by Larry Brown. Meschery has been inducted into the San Francisco High School Hall of Fame; Saint Mary's College Hall of Fame (his college jersey #31 retired); and the Bay Area Sports Hall of Fame.

Post-basketball life

Meschery published his first book of poems in 1970, and returned to school after his coaching stint, receiving his

Master of Fine Arts A Master of Fine Arts (MFA or M.F.A.) is a terminal degree in fine arts, including visual arts, creative writing, graphic design, photography, filmmaking, dance, theatre, other performing arts and in some cases, theatre management or arts admi ...

degree from the

University of Iowa The University of Iowa (U of I, UIowa, or Iowa) is a public university, public research university in Iowa City, Iowa, United States. Founded in 1847, it is the oldest and largest university in the state. The University of Iowa is organized int ...

in 1974. He studied poetry with Mark Strand, U.S. poet laureate, at the

University of Washington The University of Washington (UW and informally U-Dub or U Dub) is a public research university in Seattle, Washington, United States. Founded in 1861, the University of Washington is one of the oldest universities on the West Coast of the Uni ...

. After receiving his teaching credentials at the

University of Nevada, Reno The University of Nevada, Reno (Nevada, the University of Nevada, or UNR) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Reno, Nevada, United States. It is the state's flagship public university and prim ...

, Meschery taught high school English at Earl Wooster High School and Reno High School in

Reno, Nevada Reno ( ) is a city in the northwest section of the U.S. state of Nevada, along the Nevada–California border. It is the county seat and most populous city of Washoe County, Nevada, Washoe County. Sitting in the High Eastern Sierra foothills, ...

, until his retirement from teaching in 2005. He is also a poet, whose works often relate to basketball, teaching, and being a Russian immigrant. In 2002, Meschery was inducted into the Nevada Writers Hall of Fame.Nevada Writers Hall of Fame
. Meschery is now living in

Sacramento, California Sacramento ( or ; ; ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of California and the county seat, seat of Sacramento County, California, Sacramento County. Located at the confluence of the Sacramento Rive ...

with his current wife, artist Melanie Marchant Meschery. He was previously married to notable author Joanne Meschery, with whom he has three children: Janai, Megan, and Matthew. Matthew Meschery is the former lead vocalist of OPM. Tom Meschery continues to write poems, fiction, and essays. He traces his love of writing to his Russian maternal ancestors, Alexei and

Leo Tolstoy Count Lev Nikolayevich Tolstoy Tolstoy pronounced his first name as , which corresponds to the romanization ''Lyov''. () (; ,Throughout Tolstoy's whole life, his name was written as using Reforms of Russian orthography#The post-revolution re ...

. Embarking on a new career as a novelist, Meschery has completed three novels in manuscript: Mr. Dolby's Dream, She's Got Game, and The Kid Has Hops and a

young adult In medicine and the social sciences, a young adult is generally a person in the years following adolescence, sometimes with some overlap. Definitions and opinions on what qualifies as a young adult vary, with works such as Erik Erikson's stages ...

novel, also in manuscript, entitled The Society for the Prevention of Bullying. He has two published collections of poetry: ''Nothing We Lose Can Be Replaced'' and ''Some Men and Sweat: New and Selected Poems About Sports''. Meschery and his wife Melanie are presently collaborating on a book of poems and art about saints. His blog 'Meschery's Musings' discusses a variety of controversial subjects relating to sports. Each blog ends with a sports poem. Meschery says he wishes to introduce the public to fine contemporary poems whose subject is sports in the same way

Garrison Keillor Gary Edward "Garrison" Keillor (; born August 7, 1942) is an American author, singer, humorist, voice actor, and radio personality. He created the Minnesota Public Radio (MPR) show ''A Prairie Home Companion'' (called ''Garrison Keillor's Radio ...

makes poetry in general available to his listeners on his morning radio broadcasts.

NBA career statistics

Regular season

Playoffs

Works

* ''Over the Rim'' (1970), New York: McCall Publishing. * ''Caught in the Pivot: a Diary of a Rookie Coach in the Exploding World of Pro Basketball'' (1973). Dell. * ''Nothing We Lose Can Be Replaced'' (1999), Black Rock Press, University of Nevada, Reno. * ''Some Men'' (2012), Black Rock Press, University of Nevada, Reno. Reno, Nevada. * ''Sweat: New and Selected Poems About Sports'' (2015), Black Rock Press, University of Nevada, Reno. Reno, Nevada. * ''The Case of the '61 Impala'' (2022), Camel Press, Kenmore WA. * ''The Case of the '66 Mustang'' (2023), Camel Press, Kenmore WA.

References

External links

Meschery's Musings on Sports, Literature and LifeSt Mary's College Hall of Fame Members

* ttp://guides.library.unr.edu/nvwriters-hall-of-fame/meschery-2002 Nevada Writers Hall of Fame * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Meschery, Tom 1938 births Living people All-American college men's basketball players Amateur Athletic Union men's basketball players American male poets American men's basketball players American people of Russian descent Basketball players from Harbin Basketball players from San Francisco Carolina Cougars coaches Chinese emigrants to the United States Continental Basketball Association coaches Lowell High School (San Francisco) alumni NBA All-Stars NBA players from China NBA players with retired numbers Parade High School All-Americans (boys' basketball) People from Manchukuo Philadelphia Warriors draft picks Philadelphia Warriors players Portland Trail Blazers assistant coaches Power forwards Saint Mary's Gaels men's basketball players San Francisco Warriors players Seattle SuperSonics expansion draft picks Seattle SuperSonics players