Dick Triptow

{{Short description|American basketball player and coach}}

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

{{Infobox basketball biography

| name = Dick Triptow

| image = Dick_Triptow_LFC.jpg

| image_size =

| caption = Triptow from the 1962 Forester

| height_ft = 6

| height_in = 0

| weight_lb = 170

| birth_date = {{birth date|1922|11|3}}

| birth_place = Chicago, Illinois, U.S.

| death_date = {{death date and age|2015|2|20|1922|11|3}}

| death_place = Lake Forest, Illinois, U.S.

| high_school = Lane Technical (Chicago, Illinois)

| college = DePaul (1940–1944)

| career_start = 1944

| career_end = 1949

| career_number = 28, 5

| career_position = Forward / guard

| coach_start = 1959

| coach_end = 1973

| years1 = 1944–1947

| team1 = Chicago American Gears

| years2 = 1947–1948

| team2 = Fort Wayne Zollner Pistons

| years3 = 1948

| team3 = Tri-Cities Blackhawks

| years4 = {{nbay|1948|full=y}}

| team4 = Fort Wayne Pistons

| years5 = {{nbay|1949|start}}

| team5 = Baltimore Bullets

| cyears1 = 1959–1973

| cteam1 = Lake Forest

| highlights =

• NBL champion (1947)
• All-NBL Second Team (1945)
• Consensus second-team All-American (1944)

}}

Richard Floyd Triptow Jr. (November 3, 1922 – February 20, 2015) was an American professional basketball player and coach.{{cite news|title=Richard Triptow Obituary|url=http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/chicagotribune/obituary.aspx?pid=174233401|accessdate=26 February 2015|agency=Chicago Tribune|publisher=Tribune Publishing Company|date=24 February 2015}} At 6'0" and 170 pounds, he played as a guard and a forward.

Triptow attended Lane Tech High School and DePaul University, both in Chicago, Illinois. From 1944 to 1949, he played professional basketball in the National Basketball League and National Basketball Association as a member of the Chicago American Gears, the Tri-Cities Blackhawks, the Fort Wayne Zollner Pistons, and the Baltimore Bullets. Playing alongside George Mikan, Triptow won an NBL championship with the Gears in 1947. Triptow coached the Lake Forest College men's basketball team from 1959 to 1973.

In 1997, Triptow wrote a book about his experiences with the Chicago American Gears, called The Dynasty That Never Was ({{ISBN|0965928004}}).