RIP Walt Bellamy

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Sean Morrison ‏@sean_morrison 6m

Per @matt_dollinger, Indiana legend Walt Bellamy died today. He played for the Hoosiers from 1958-61 and was a pro for 13 years. #IUBB

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Jake Query ‏@jakequery 5m

33rebs in 1 gm (B1G record )

17.8 reb/ gm avg, #iubb record

#1 Pick

Olympic Gold Medal

Basketball Hall of Fame 

 

RIP pic.twitter.com/4HunK6JzhU

 

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Former IU men's basketball All-American Walt Bellamy, the first Hoosier ever to be selected with the top pick in an NBA draft, has died at 74 the Atlanta Hawks announced this afternoon.

 

"If you are naming the all-time best player at Indiana University, Walt Bellamy has to be in the conversation," said IU Hall of Famer and former sports editor of the Bloomington Herald Times Bob Hammel. "He was so powerful and very agile and was always appreciative of the recognition he received from IU.

 

A native of New Bern, North Carolina, Bellamy played for the Hoosiers from 1958-61 and Hall of Fame Coach Branch McCracken. Bellamy graduated from IU with the most rebounds in a career with 1,088 in only 70 games, while averaging 15.5 a game. Averaging 20.5 points a game and shooting 51.7 percent from the floor, Bellamy also averaged 17.8 rebounds a game (still Indiana's record).[2] He also holds the school records for most rebounds in a season (649), most rebounds in a single game (33), most double-doubles in a career (59), most rebounds in a three-year career (1,008). In his final college game, he set IU and Big Ten Conference records that still stand with 33 rebounds (and 28 points) in an 82-67 win over Michigan. Bellamy was named an All-American in both his junior and senior year (1960 and 1960) and was the first Hoosier taken No. 1 in the NBA draft (1961, Chicago Packers) and the first Hoosier named NBA Rookie of the Year.

 

In 1960, he was a member of the gold medal winning US Olympic team along with Jerry West, Oscar Robertson and Jerry Lucas. In 1982, he was among those to comprise the first class of the Indiana University Athletic Hall of Fame. In 2000, he was selected to Indiana University's All-Century Team.

 

Bellamy played in the NBA for 14 seasons and put up monster numbers for the Chicago Packers (1961-63), Baltimore Bullets (1963-65), New York Knicks (1965-68), Detroit Pistons (1968-70), Atlanta Hawks (1970-74) and New Orleans Jazz (1974). 

 

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 points per game average that season is second all-time for a rookie to Wilt Chamberlain's 37.6, and the 19 rebounds per game he averaged that season is third best all-time for a rookie (to Chamberlain's 27 and Bill Russell's 19.6). Bellamy also led the NBA in field goal percentage in his rookie season, and had a 23-point, 17-rebound performance in the 1962 NBA All-Star Game. He was a four-time All-Star who averaged 20.1 points and 13.7 rebounds in his career.

 

In 14 years in the league, he played in 1,043 of 1,055 possible games and was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 1993. Bellamy spent his later years working for the NAACP in Atlanta.

 

Press Release

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Tom Crean ‏@TomCrean 9h

Walt said he planned to see us this season. The man transformed his position. His stats were staggering.

 

 

 

[Class of '66 Old Fart 84,648]

IU Artifacts colorized this photo with Walt Bellamy.  Look at that incredible wingspan.

LtoR: Bill Slayback, Gary Long, Walt Bellamy, Leroy Gamble, and Herbie Lee.

 

 

[Brass Cannon 24,720]

57 minutes ago, Class of '66 Old Fart said:

IU Artifacts colorized this photo with Walt Bellamy.  Look at that incredible wingspan.

LtoR: Bill Slayback, Gary Long, Walt Bellamy, Leroy Gamble, and Herbie Lee.

 

 

Holy cow looks like he’s coaching a middle school team. 

[Hovadipo 56,000]

1 hour ago, Class of '66 Old Fart said:

IU Artifacts colorized this photo with Walt Bellamy.  Look at that incredible wingspan.

LtoR: Bill Slayback, Gary Long, Walt Bellamy, Leroy Gamble, and Herbie Lee.

 

 

The founding member of the “Noah Vonleh school for tying your shoes without bending over”.

[Demo 19,897]

2 hours ago, Class of '66 Old Fart said:

IU Artifacts colorized this photo with Walt Bellamy.  Look at that incredible wingspan.

LtoR: Bill Slayback, Gary Long, Walt Bellamy, Leroy Gamble, and Herbie Lee.

 

 

Omg. My grandfather used to tell me how long Bellamy was, but that dude was a freakin’ condor.