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Chuck Share

{{Short description|American basketball player (1927–2012)}}

{{Use mdy dates|date=July 2024}}

{{Infobox basketball biography

| name = Chuck Share

| image = Chuck_Share.jpg

| image_size = 260px

| caption = Share during his senior season at Bowling Green

| height_ft = 6

| height_in = 11

| weight_lb = 235

| nationality = American

| birth_date = {{Birth date|1927|3|14}}

| birth_place = Akron, Ohio

| death_date = {{death date and age|2012|6|7|1927|3|14}}

| death_place = Chesterfield, Missouri

| high_school = Western Hills (Cincinnati, Ohio)

| college = Bowling Green (1946–1950)

| draft_year = 1950

| draft_round = 1

| draft_pick = 1

| draft_team = Boston Celtics

| career_start = 1950

| career_end = 1960

| career_position = Center

| career_number = 18, 5, 70, 13, 44

| years1 = 1950–1951

| team1 = Waterloo Hawks

| years2 = {{nbay|1951|start}}–{{nbay|1953|start}}

| team2 = Fort Wayne Pistons

| years3 = {{nbay|1953|start}}–{{nbay|1959|end}}

| team3 = Milwaukee / St. Louis Hawks

| years4 = {{nbay|1959|end}}

| team4 = Minneapolis Lakers

| highlights =

| stats_league = NBA

| stat1label = Points

| stat1value = 4,928 (8.3 ppg)

| stat2label = Rebounds

| stat2value = 4,986 (8.4 rpg)

| stat3label = Assists

| stat3value = 809 (1.4 apg)

| bbr = sharech01

}}

Charles Edward Share (March 14, 1927 – June 7, 2012) was an American basketball player in the National Basketball Association (NBA). Share has the distinction of being the first NBA draft pick ever: he was selected by the Boston Celtics as the No. 1 overall pick in the inaugural 1950 NBA draft.

Early life

Share attended Western Hills High School in Cincinnati, Ohio. He had an injured ankle and did not begin playing basketball until his junior year at Western Hills.{{cite web|url=http://probasketballencyclopedia.com/player/chuck-share/|title=CHUCK SHARE}}{{cite web|url=https://www.stltoday.com/news/local/obituaries/charlie-share-dies-captain-of-nba-champ-st-louis-hawks/article_4242a726-1710-5059-9e0f-44b7e431f767.html|title=Charlie Share dies; captain of '58 NBA champ St. Louis Hawks|first=SHANE ANTHONY •|last=santhony@post-dispatch.com > 314-340-8169|website=stltoday.com|date=10 June 2012 }}

College career

Share attended Bowling Green State University in Bowling Green, Ohio, after being recruited by Coach Harold Anderson. He was named a 1950 All-American his senior year.

Share graduated as the Bowling Green College Falcons' all-time scoring leader with 1,730 points. With Share, Bowling Green won 28 games in 1946–47, 27 games in 1947–48, 24 games in 1948-49 and 19 games in 1949–50. Share has his career-high 39 points against Loyola (Calif.) on Dec. 22, 1949 in Madison Square Garden.{{cite web|url=http://bgsufalcons.com/news/2015/12/9/MBB_1209153714.aspx|title=Centennial Season Look Back: Falcon Legends are Born – 1945-55|website=Bowling Green State University Athletics}}

NBA career

=Celtics/[[Waterloo Hawks]]=

Share was drafted by the Celtics, whose fans wanted the team to draft local Holy Cross star, Bob Cousy with the pick. The Celtics' new Coach Red Auerbach defended the unpopular pick of Share, saying "We need a big man. Little men are a dime a dozen. I'm supposed to win, not go after local yokels."{{cite web|url=https://www.nydailynews.com/sports/basketball/celtics-no-1-pick-draft-1950-didn-article-1.3172878|title=The Celtics' last No. 1 pick in NBA draft, in 1950, didn't go so well - NY Daily News|first=JOE|last=BELOCK|website=nydailynews.com|date=17 May 2017 }}

In an irony, future Hall of Famer Cousy ended up being drafted third by the Tri-Cities Blackhawks. Cousy then balked at playing in Moline, Illinois, eventually forcing his rights to be sold to the Chicago Stags. The Stags then folded before the season and the Celtics chose Cousy in the dispersal draft.{{cite web|url=https://bleacherreport.com/articles/2716586-metrics-101-best-and-worst-trades-of-no-1-pick-in-nba-history|title=Metrics 101: Best and Worst Trades of No. 1 Pick in NBA History|first=Adam|last=Fromal|website=Bleacher Report}}

For his part, Share did not sign with the Celtics. Instead he signed with the Waterloo Hawks in the fledgling National Professional Basketball League (1950–51), playing for Coach Jack Smiley. Share averaged 11.0 points for the Hawks, playing in 19 games. The NPBL, composed of some former NBA teams in small markets and new teams in major markets, folded after the season.{{cite web|url=https://www.statscrew.com/basketball/stats/t-WAT/y-1950|title=1950 Waterloo Hawks Statistics on StatsCrew.com|website=www.statscrew.com}}{{cite web|url=https://www.statscrew.com/basketball/stats/p-sharech01|title=Charles Share Statistics on StatsCrew.com|website=www.statscrew.com}}

Then on April 26, 1951, Share's rights were traded by the Celtics to the Fort Wayne Pistons for future Hall of Famer Bill Sharman, who had refused to sign with the Pistons.{{cite web|url=https://www.basketball-reference.com/players/s/sharech01.html|title=Chuck Share NBA stats|website=Basketball Reference|publisher=Sports Reference, LLC|accessdate=1 August 2023}}

In two-and-a-half seasons with Fort Wayne, Share averaged 4.2 points and 5.1 rebounds in limited playing time.

=St. Louis: 2 NBA Finals, Championship=

On December 21, 1953, Share was traded by the Fort Wayne Pistons to the Milwaukee Hawks for Max Zaslofsky.

In seven seasons with the Milwaukee/St Louis Hawks, Share averaged a near double-double of 9.2 points and 9.9 rebounds. His role as a rebounding force in the middle, setting screens and playing strong defense freed Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame teammates Bob Pettit, Ed Macauley, Cliff Hagan and Slater Martin to better play their games. Share was named as the team captain and the Hawks made the NBA Finals against the Celtics in 1957 and 1958.{{cite web|url=https://www.basketball-reference.com/teams/STL/1958.html|title=1957-58 St. Louis Hawks Roster and Stats|website=Basketball-Reference.com}}{{citation |last=Anthony |first=Shane |title=Charlie Share dies; captain of '58 NBA champ St. Louis Hawks | newspaper=St. Louis Post-Dispatch |date=June 10, 2012 |url=http://www.stltoday.com/sports/basketball/charlie-share-dies-captain-of-nba-champ-st-louis-hawks/article_4242a726-1710-5059-9e0f-44b7e431f767.html}}{{cite web|url=https://www.stlshof.com/charlie-share/|title=Charlie Share – St Louis Sports Hall of Fame}}

Share was the captain of the 1958 NBA champion St. Louis Hawks team. In the 1958 NBA Finals victory against the Celtics, Share averaged 6.2 points and 6.0 rebounds in the six-game series, in a key reserve role.{{cite web|url=https://www.basketball-reference.com/playoffs/1958-nba-finals-hawks-vs-celtics.html|title=1958 NBA Finals - St. Louis Hawks vs. Boston Celtics|website=Basketball-Reference.com}}

On February 1, 1960, the Hawks traded Share, Nick Mantis and Willie Merriweather to the Minneapolis Lakers for Larry Foust. Initially, Share refused to go to the Lakers, but he reconsidered and went to Minneapolis in time for the playoffs. The Lakers were eventually defeated by the Hawks in the Western Division Finals.{{cite web|url=https://www.basketball-reference.com/playoffs/1960-nba-western-division-finals-lakers-vs-hawks.html|title=1960 NBA Western Division Finals - Minneapolis Lakers vs. St. Louis Hawks|website=Basketball-Reference.com}}

Share then retired at the end of the 1959–1960 season.{{cite web|url=http://peachbasketsociety.blogspot.com/2017/08/|title=Peach Basket Society|website=peachbasketsociety.blogspot.com}}

Overall, Share played nine years in the NBA for the Fort Wayne Pistons, Milwaukee/St. Louis Hawks and the Minneapolis Lakers. He played 596 games, with 4,928 points and 4,986 rebounds. His career averages were 8.3 points and 8.4 rebounds. Share led the NBA in disqualifications during the 1954–55 season.{{cite book | title = The Official NBA Basketball Encyclopedia | publisher = Villard Books | year = 1994 | page = 379 | isbn = 0-679-43293-0}}{{cite web|url=https://www.landofbasketball.com/nba_players/s/chuck_share.htm|title=NBA Players: Chuck Share Profile and Basic Stats|website=www.landofbasketball.com}}

Personal life

After retiring from basketball, Share never left the St. Louis area and pursued business ventures. Share started Sharick Packaging, Inc.and then sold Sharick in 1985. He then formed Sylvan-Edge Farm with his wife, Rose.

Share died on June 7, 2012, in Chesterfield, Missouri, at age 85. He had lived in Creve Coeur, Missouri, and was survived by his wife Rose and daughters Ann and Cindy.

Career statistics

{{NBA player statistics legend|champion=y|leader=y}}

=NBA=

Source

==Regular season==

class="wikitable sortable" style="font-size:95%; text-align:right;"
Year

!Team

!GP

!MPG

!FG%

!FT%

!RPG

!APG

!PPG

style="text-align:left;" |1951–52

| style="text-align:left;" |Fort Wayne

|63

|14.0

|.322

|.619

|5.3

|1.0

|3.9

style="text-align:left;" |1952–53

| style="text-align:left;" |Fort Wayne

|67

|15.6

|.358

|.735

|5.6

|1.1

|5.3

style="text-align:left;" |1953–54

| style="text-align:left;" |Fort Wayne

|21

|7.4

|.257

|.600

|3.0

|.5

|1.7

style="text-align:left;" |{{nbay|1953|nolink=y}}

| style="text-align:left;" |Milwaukee

|47

|30.2

|.391

|.694

|10.5

|1.5

|11.2

style="text-align:left;" |1954–55

| style="text-align:left;" |Milwaukee

|69

|24.4

|.407

|.713

|9.9

|1.2

|11.9

style="text-align:left;" |1955–56

| style="text-align:left;" |St. Louis

|72

|27.4

|.430

|.695

|10.8

|1.8

|13.6

style="text-align:left;" |1956–57

| style="text-align:left;" |St. Louis

| style="background:#cfecec;"|72*

|23.2

|.439

|.684

|8.9

|1.1

|10.3

style="text-align:left;background:#afe6ba;" |{{nbay|1957}}†

| style="text-align:left;" |St. Louis

| style="background:#cfecec;"|72*

|25.3

|.396

|.648

|10.4

|1.8

|8.6

style="text-align:left;"|{{nbay|1958}}

| style="text-align:left;"|St. Louis

| style="background:#cfecec;"|72*

|23.8

|.386

|.755

|9.1

|1.4

|6.0

style="text-align:left;"|{{nbay|1959}}

| style="text-align:left;"|St. Louis

|38

|16.7

|.381

|.658

|5.7

|1.6

|4.3

style="text-align:left;"|{{nbay|1959|nolink=y}}

| style="text-align:left;"|Minneapolis

|3

|6.0

|.750

|1.000

|2.0

|.7

|2.3

colspan="2" style="text-align:center;" |Career

|596

|21.9

|.400

|.693

|8.4

|1.4

|8.3

==Playoffs==

class="wikitable sortable" style="font-size:95%; text-align:right;"
Year

!Team

!GP

!MPG

!FG%

!FT%

!RPG

!APG

!PPG

style="text-align:left;" |1952

| style="text-align:left;" |Fort Wayne

|2

|17.5

|.727

|.600

|5.0

|1.5

|9.5

style="text-align:left;" |1953

| style="text-align:left;" |Fort Wayne

|8

|24.8

|.407

|.667

|6.5

|1.5

|6.0

style="text-align:left;" |1956

| style="text-align:left;" |St. Louis

|8

|28.9

|.493

|.646

|9.1

|1.6

|12.9

style="text-align:left;" |1957

| style="text-align:left;" |St. Louis

|style="background:#cfecec;"|10*

|16.8

|.431

|.600

|6.3

|.6

|9.2

style="text-align:left;background:#afe6ba;" |1958†

| style="text-align:left;" |St. Louis

|style="background:#cfecec;"|11*

|18.3

|.393

|.658

|6.2

|1.0

|6.6

style="text-align:left;" |1959

| style="text-align:left;" |St. Louis

|6

|20.3

|.296

|.714

|8.7

|1.5

|4.3

style="text-align:left;" |1960

| style="text-align:left;" |Minneapolis

|9

|13.7

|.429

|.909

|3.8

|.6

|2.4

colspan="2" style="text-align:center;" |Career

|57

|19.9

|.435

|.659

|6.5

|1.1

|7.1

Honors

  • Share was inducted into the St. Louis Sports Hall of Fame in 2017.
  • Share was inducted into the Bowling Green State University Athletics Hall of Fame in 1964.{{cite web|url=https://www.bgsu.edu/news/2016/02/a-century-on-the-court.html|title=A century on the court|website=Bowling Green State University}}{{cite web|url=http://bgsufalcons.com/hof.aspx?hof=163|title=Charles Share (1964) - Hall of Fame|website=Bowling Green State University Athletics}}

References

{{reflist}}

External links

  • [https://www.basketball-reference.com/players/s/sharech01.html Career statistics]

{{NBA NumberOne Draft Picks}}

{{1950 NBA draft}}

{{St. Louis Hawks 1957–58 NBA champions}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Share, Chuck}}

Category:1927 births

Category:2012 deaths

Category:All-American college men's basketball players

Category:American men's basketball players

Category:Basketball players from Akron, Ohio

Category:Boston Celtics draft picks

Category:Bowling Green Falcons men's basketball players

Category:Centers (basketball)

Category:Fort Wayne Pistons players

Category:Milwaukee Hawks players

Category:Minneapolis Lakers players

Category:St. Louis Hawks players

Category:Waterloo Hawks players

Category:First overall NBA draft picks