Bob Feerick

Bob Feerick
1948
Player information
Full name	Robert Joseph Feerick
birthday	January 2, 1920
place of birth	San Francisco , United States
date of death	June 8, 1976
Place of death	Oakland , United States
size	191 cm
position	Guard / Forward
college	Santa Clara
Clubs as active
1945-1946 Oshkosh All-Stars 1946 - 1950 Washington Capitols
Clubs as coaches
1949–1950 Washington Capitols 1950–1962 Santa Clara Broncos 1962–1963 San Francisco Warriors

Robert Joseph “Bob” Feerick (born January 2, 1920 in San Francisco , California - † June 8, 1976 in Oakland , California) was an American basketball player and coach.

College and the time after

After attending Lowell High School in his hometown of San Francisco, Feerick attended Santa Clara University from 1937 to 1941, playing for the Santa Clara Broncos , the institute's basketball team. Under coach George Barsi he was also named All-American . After graduating in 1942, he first played in the Amateur Athletic Union for a team from Oakland and even reached the national final. He finally joined the Navy in 1943 and served in World War II . He was then transferred to the Norfolk Naval Training Station in Virginia, where he met Coach Red Auerbach and Red Holzman . Together with Holzman, he played on the station's team and twice defeated the Washington Bears , who had won the World Professional Basketball Tournament in 1943 . After a record of 35-1 in the 1942/43 season, the service basketball team at the station achieved 31 wins and two losses with Feerick in 1943/44 and 26 wins and eight losses in 1944/45. In Feerick's first year, two key players were injured but the team won against neighboring Norfolk Naval Air Station, Bainbridge NTC, Villanova University and Curtis Bay Coast Guard (Maryland) in a row. The average was a sensational 62 scored points, an unthinkable cut before the war.

As of January 13, 2007, Feerick's number 5 jersey is no longer awarded by the Broncos .

Professional career

After serving in the Navy, he began playing basketball professionally and joined the Oshkosh All-Stars . With the All-Stars he played one season and reached the play-offs of the National Basketball League (NBL) with them , in which the team lost 2-3 after wins against the Sheboygan Red Skins . After this one season he was brought by Red Auerbach to the Washington Capitols in the Basketball Association of America (BAA). The team was very successful under Auerbach as coach and Feerick was elected to the All-BAA First Team in the seasons 1946/47 and 1947/48 . In the last season under Auerbach, the Capitols reached the BAA Finals and lost the best-of-seven series against the Minneapolis Lakers with 2-4. Feerick was elected to the All-BAA Second Team at the end of the season and, after Auerbach's departure to the Tri-Cities Blackhawks, took over the position of coach and was therefore immediately the Capitols' player- coach . After he had held this post for a season and at least reached the play-offs, he gave up the post and returned to his alma mater as a coach.

Coaching career

In 1950 he took the post as head coach with the Broncos and would stay with them for the next twelve years. With the Broncos he reached the NCAA tournament four times and in 1952 even the Final Four . During this time, Ken Sears was named All-American and he himself was named West Coast Conference Coach of the Year three times . In 1962 he got an offer from the San Francisco Warriors , who had just moved there from Philadelphia. Feerick accepted the offer to succeed Frank McGuire . He could not lead the Warriors to Wilt Chamberlain in the play-offs and was replaced after only one season by Alex Hannum . He later worked as General Manager and Director of Player Staff for the Warriors .

Web links

• Bob Feerick - player profile on basketball-reference.com
• Feerick's coaching statistics
• Santa Clara Broncos Men's Basketball History

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Santa Clara Athletic Hall of Fame . santaclarabroncos.com. Retrieved February 3, 2011.
2. ^ NN: Red Auerbach, Dynasty Builder. ( February 18, 2012 memento on WebCite ) Archived from Jock Bio — website; no location, 2006. Accessed August 27, 2019 (in English).
3. ↑ Douglas Stark: Wartime Basketball. The Emergence of a National Sport during World War II. Lincoln / London 2016: University of Nebraska Press. ISBN 9780803245280 (pages 146f, 325-329, in English).
4. ^ Santa Clara University Athletics . santaclarabroncos.com. Retrieved February 3, 2011.
5. ↑ NBL standings . apbr.org. Retrieved February 3, 2011.