Walt Bellamy
From Hoopedia
Walter Jones Bellamy (born July 24, 1939 in New Bern, North Carolina) is a retired American professional basketball player. He is a member of the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.
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Indiana University
At Indiana Bellamy averaged a double-double for his career, earning All-American honors in 1960 and 1961. Many would say that he is the best center Indiana ever had, and the statistics support that contention:
- most rebounds in a season (649)
- most rebounds in a single game (33) (also a Big Ten record)
- most double-doubles in a career (59)
- most rebounds in a three-year career (1,008)
Bellamy became the first Hoosier to be the #1 pick of the NBA draft. In 2000 Bellamy was named to IU's All-Century Team.
The 1960 Olympics
Bellamy was the starting center on the gold medal-winning American basketball team at the 1960 Summer Olympics. Ten of the twelve college players on the undefeated American squad went on to play professionally in the NBA, including future Hall-of-Famers Jerry West, Oscar Robertson, and Jerry Lucas.
NBA
Bellamy had a stellar 14 year career in the NBA and was the NBA first overall draft pick in 1962. Bellamy was named the NBA Rookie of the Year in 1962 after having arguably one of the three greatest rookie seasons in NBA history (along with Wilt Chamberlain and Oscar Robertson). His 31.6 point per game average that season is second all-time for a rookie to Wilt Chamberlain's 37.6, and the 19.0 rebounds per game he averaged that season is third best all-time for a rookie (to Chamberlain and Bill Russell). Bellamy also led the NBA in field goal percentage in his rookie season, and had a 23 point 17 rebound performance in the All-Star Game.
Due to trade scheduling skews during the 1968-69 season, Bellamy set the still-standing record for NBA games played in a single season with 88.
Bellamy ended his NBA career with 20,941 points and 14,241 rebounds. Bellamy was elected to the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 1993.
Other Notes
Bellamy is a prominent member of Alpha Phi Alpha, the first intercollegiate Greek-letter fraternity established for African Americans. His half-brother is professional boxer Ron Bellamy.
