Arnie Ferrin

{{Infobox NBA biography

| name = Arnie Ferrin

| image = Arnie_Ferrin.jpg

| width =

| caption = Ferrin from the 1948 Utonian

| birth_date = {{birth date|1925|07|29}}

| birth_place = Salt Lake City, Utah, U.S.

| death_date = {{death date and age|2022|12|27|1925|07|29}}

| death_place =

| height_ft = 6

| height_in = 2

| weight_lb = 180

| high_school = Ogden (Ogden, Utah)

| college = Utah (1943–1948)

| draft_year = 1948

| draft_league = BAA

| draft_round = 2

| draft_pick = 59

| draft_team = Minneapolis Lakers

| career_start = 1948

| career_end = 1951

| career_position = Small forward / shooting guard

| career_number = 18

| years1 = 1948–{{nbay|1950|end}}

| team1 = Minneapolis Lakers

| highlights =

2× BAA/NBA champion (1949, 1950)
NCAA champion (1944)
NCAA Final Four MOP (1944)
Consensus first-team All-American (1945)
3× Consensus second-team All-American (1944, 1947, 1948)
{{Abbr|No.|Nunber}} 22 retired by Utah Utes

| CBBASKHOF_year = 2008

| stats_league = BAA and NBA

| stat1label = Points

| stat1value = 1,037 (5.8 ppg)

| stat2label = Rebounds

| stat2value = 271 (4.0 rpg)

| stat3label = Assists

| stat3value = 202 (1.6 apg)

}}

Chariton Arnold Ferrin Jr. (July 29, 1925 − December 27, 2022) was an American professional basketball player, executive, and college athletics administrator. He played college basketball for the Utah Utes and earned All-American honors four times. He won an NCAA championship in 1944, when he was named the NCAA tournament Most Outstanding Player (MOP). They added a National Invitation Tournament (NIT) title in 1947. Ferrin played professionally with the Minneapolis Lakers in the Basketball Association of America (BAA) and National Basketball Association (NBA). They won league titles in 1949 and 1950.

After his playing career, Ferrin was general manager of the Utah Stars of the American Basketball Association (ABA) from 1972 through 1974. He served as the athletic director at his alma mater, the University of Utah, from 1976 to 1985.

Early life

Ferrin was born in Salt Lake City. His mother died when he was three years old. Afterwards, his father, Arn, became busy with work; he owned a service station and a small oil delivery company. As his time away from home for work grew, Arn decided to have his parents assume parental responsibilities for his son. When Ferrin was eleven, his father began dating, and eventually remarried. However, Arn had his son continue to live with his grandparents.{{cite book|first1=Josh|last1=Ferrin|first2=Tres|last2=Ferrin|title=Blitz Kids: The Cinderella Story of the 1944 University of Utah National Championship Basketball Team|year=2012|publisher=Gibbs Smith|pages=31–34|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Cb7xmQXLnkEC&dq=%22Arnie%20Ferrin%22%20%22hall%20of%20fame%22&pg=PA31|isbn= 9781423624943|access-date=December 28, 2022}}

College career

At the University of Utah, Ferrin won the NCAA tournament MOP award in 1944, when the Utes won the NCAA championship over Dartmouth with a 42–40 overtime win. He scored 22 points in the game and was the first freshman to win the award.{{cite web|first=Dirk|last=Facer|title=Utah's Arnie Ferrin to be inducted into Pac-12 Basketball Hall of Honor|date=February 9, 2012|work=Deseret News|url=https://www.deseret.com/2012/2/8/20250503/utah-s-arnie-ferrin-to-be-inducted-into-pac-12-basketball-hall-of-honor|access-date=December 28, 2022}} In 1945, Ferrin averaged 17.5 points per game was named a consensus first-team All-American.{{cite web|title=NCAA Men's Basketball's Finest|publisher=National Collegiate Athletic Association|page=47|url=http://fs.ncaa.org/Docs/stats/m_basketballs_finest/2005/m_basketball_finest.pdf#page=48|access-date=December 28, 2022}} Following the end of the regular season, he and teammate Fred Sheffield were drafted into the armed forces, and were unavailable for the NCAA tournament.{{cite web|title=Seven-Foot Ag Center Tops 400 Points Twice|date=March 21, 1945|work=Salt Lake Telegram|page=15|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/115308834/|via=Newspapers.com|access-date=December 28, 2022}}{{cite web|first=Carl|last=Welti|title=Utah's NCAA Champions To Defend Title Without Services of Ferrin, Sheffield|date=March 21, 1945|work=The Daily Herald|page=4|agency=United Press|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/115314760/|access-date=December 28, 2022|via=Newspapers.com}} After a year in the Army, Ferrin returned to help Utah win the 1947 NIT and was a runner-up for the tournament's most valuable player award. At the time, the NIT was as prestigious as the fledgling NCAA tournament, if not more so.{{cite web|first=Randy|last=Covitz|title=Former Utah player made his mark early|date=November 24, 2008|work=The Kansas City Star|page=Extra2|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/115309675/|via=Newspapers.com|access-date=December 28, 2022}}

As a senior, Ferrin averaged 14.1 points per game, and became the only four-time All-American at Utah, including consensus second-team honors in 1944, 1947, and 1948. His {{abbr|No.|Number}} 22 was retired by the school.

Professional playing career

Ferrin played professionally for three years with the Minneapolis Lakers from 1949 through 1951 under coach John Kundla. They won the BAA (later known as the NBA) championship in 1949 and won the NBA championship in 1950. He was a top-five scorer on both championship teams,{{cite web|first1=Kurt|last1=Kragthorpe|first2=Josh|last2=Newman|first3=Gordon|last3=Monson|title=Arnie Ferrin, former Utah basketball star and athletic director, has died|date=December 28, 2022|work=The Salt Lake Tribune|url=https://www.sltrib.com/sports/utah-utes/2022/12/27/arnie-ferrin-former-utah/|access-date=December 28, 2022}} averaging 7.3 points per game in 1948–49 and 5.4 in 1949–50.{{cite basketball-reference|title=Arnie Ferrin|id=f/ferriar01|access-date=December 28, 2022}} Ferrin established his single-game career high of 22 points in his rookie year on February 19, 1949, in a win over the Providence Steamrollers.{{cite web|title=Lakers Stop Providence|date=February 20, 1949|work=Minneapolis Sunday Trubune|page=S1|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/115381025/|access-date=December 29, 2022|via=Newspapers.com}} He ended his career with 1,037 total points and an average of 5.8 points per game for the Lakers.

Ferrin was inducted into the National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame in 2008 and the Pac-12 Conference Hall of Honor in 2012.{{cite web|url=http://www.pac-12.org/BasketballM/Tabid/1449/Article/143110/2011-12-Hall-of-Honor-Class-Announced.aspx|title=2011–12 Hall of Honor Class Announced|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120212101811/http://www.pac-12.org/BasketballM/Tabid/1449/Article/143110/2011-12-Hall-of-Honor-Class-Announced.aspx|archive-date=February 12, 2012|publisher=Pac-12 Conference|date=February 7, 2012}}

Later years

After his playing career, Ferrin was a member of the Athletic Council at the University of Utah and was a radio color commentator for the school's basketball and football programs.{{cite web|title=Arnie Ferrin Named General Manager of the Utah Stars|date=May 7, 1972|newspaper=The Daily Herald|page=13|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/115308252/|access-date=December 28, 2022|via=Newspapers.com}} He was the general manager of the ABA's Utah Stars from 1972 to 1974.{{cite web|title=Arnie Ferrin Leaves Utah Stars, Accepts Post with University|date=September 18, 1974|newspaper=Ogden Standard Examiner|agency=Associated Press|page=6B|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/115308372/|via=Newspapers.com|access-date=December 28, 2022}} He was athletic director at the University of Utah from 1976 to 1985. Under Ferrin, Utah won 10 national championships and 15 conference championships.{{cite web|first=Laura|last=Polacheck|title=Utah basketball great Arnie Ferrin passes away at age 97|date=December 27, 2022|work=Fox 13|url=https://www.fox13now.com/news/local-news/utah-basketball-great-arnie-ferrin-passes-away-at-age-97|access-date=December 28, 2022}} The Utes' gymnastics program won four national championships under coach Greg Marsden and their men's basketball team, led by coach Jerry Pimm, advanced four times to the Sweet Sixteen of the NCAA tournament.{{cite web|first=Joe|last=Coles|title=University of Utah basketball legend, athletic director Arnie Ferrin dies at 97|date=December 28, 2022|work=Deseret News|url=https://www.deseret.com/2022/12/27/23528301/university-of-utah-basketball-legend-athletic-director-arnie-ferrin-dies-at-97|access-date=December 28, 2022}}

Ferrin died of natural causes on December 27, 2022, at age 97.{{cite web|first= Josh|last=Furlong|url=https://www.ksl.com/article/50546801/former-runnin-utes-great-arnie-ferrin-dies-at-97-on-tuesday-morning|title=Former Runnin' Utes great Arnie Ferrin dies at 97 on Tuesday morning|date=December 27, 2022|work=KSL.com|access-date=December 28, 2022}}

BAA/NBA career statistics

Source:

= Regular season =

Year ! Team ! GP ! FG% ! FT% ! RPG ! APG ! PPG
class="wikitable sortable" style="font-size:95%; text-align:right;"
style="text-align:left; background:#afe6ba;"\| 1948–49† \| style="text-align:left;"\| Minneapolis \| 47	.344	.664	–	1.6	7.3
style="text-align:left; background:#afe6ba;"\| {{nbay\|1949}}† \| style="text-align:left;"\| Minneapolis \| 63	.333	.697	–	1.5	5.4
style="text-align:left;"\| {{nbay\|1950}} \| style="text-align:left;"\| Minneapolis \| 68	.319	.695	4.0	1.6	5.2
style="text-align:center;" colspan="2"\|Career \| 178	.332	.686	4.0	1.6	5.8

= Playoffs =

Year ! Team ! GP ! FG% ! FT% ! RPG ! APG ! PPG
class="wikitable sortable" style="font-size:95%; text-align:right;"
style="text-align:left; background:#afe6ba;"\| 1949† \| style="text-align:left;"\| Minneapolis \| 10	.338	.667	–	2.1	8.2
style="text-align:left; background:#afe6ba;"\| 1950† \| style="text-align:left;"\| Minneapolis \| 12	.340	.552	–	2.5	6.8
style="text-align:left;"\| 1951 \| style="text-align:left;"\| Minneapolis \| 7	.333	.944	4.7	2.3	5.9
style="text-align:center;" colspan="2"\|Career \| 29	.338	.685	4.7	2.3	7.1