Hank Biasatti
From Hoopedia
Henry "Hank" Arcado Biasatti (b. January 14, 1922, Beano, Italy - d. April 20, 1996) was a Canadian professional basketball player and college coach.
Biasatti attended Gordon McGregor Continuation School (Grade 1 - 10), starring in basketball, softball, and soccer. He was the leading scorer on the Clansmen, when the team played in the WSSA Jr. Basketball League. At Assumption College he played basketball with great distinction, before and after a three-year start in the Canadian Army (1943-1945).
In 1946, the Toronto Huskies of the Basketball Association of America (which later became the National Basketball Association signed Biasatti to play guard and another Windsorite, Gino Sovran, to lure fans to Maple Leaf Gardens. On November 1, 1946 he became the first international player in what became the NBA. He was given an outright release by the Huskies in December after telling the team that baseball was his top priority and that he would be attending training camp for the Philadelphia Athletics. He was subsequently picked by the Boston Celtics in the 1947 BAA draft, but never joined the team. He played in six games for the Huskies and scored six points.
He was the head Coach for the Assumption University basketball team, 1956-62. In his first season, he guided the team to the Ontario-Quebec Senior Intercollegiate Basketball League championship (shared with Queen's College). Biasatti held the head coaching job for six seasons and again guided the team to the OQAA championship in the 1958-59 season.
He was the only Canadian to play baseball and basketball on the major league level, with the american League Philadelphia Athletics in 1949, and the Toronto Huskies in 1946.
He was inducted into the Windsor/Essex County Sports Hall of Fame in 1982, the University of Windsor Alumni Sports Hall of Fame in 1986, and the Canadian Basketball Hall of Fame in 2001.
