Ed Kalafat

{{Infobox basketball biography

| name = Ed Kalafat

| image =

| height_ft = 6 | height_in = 6

| weight_lbs = 245

| birth_date = {{birth date|1932|10|13}}

| birth_place = Anaconda, Montana, U.S.

| death_date = {{Death date and age|mf=yes|2019|10|07|1932|10|13}}

| death_place = Saint Paul, Minnesota, U.S.

| high_school = Anaconda (Anaconda, Montana)

| college = Minnesota (1951–1954)

| draft_year = 1954

| draft_round = 1

| draft_pick = 9

| draft_team = Minneapolis Lakers

| career_start = 1954

| career_end = 1957

| career_number = 23

| career_position = Center / power forward

| years1 = {{nbay|1954|start}}–{{nbay|1956|end}}

| team1 = Minneapolis Lakers

| highlights =

AP Honorable mention All-American (1954)
2x Second-team All-Big Ten (1952, 1953)

| bbr = kalafed01

}}

Edward L. Kalafat (October 13, 1932 – October 7, 2019) was an American basketball player. A center, he played college basketball for the Minnesota Golden Gophers and professionally for three seasons with the Minneapolis Lakers.

Biography

Kalafat was born on October 13, 1932, in Anaconda, Montana. He played football and basketball at Anaconda High School, winning a state championship in 1948.

After high school, he went on to play for the University of Minnesota. He was the team's starting center from 1951 to 1954 and served as captain in the 1953–1954 season. He won the team MVP award his senior season.{{Cite news|url=https://www.legacy.com/obituaries/name/edward-ed-kalafat-obituary?pid=194105243|title=Obituary|access-date=October 9, 2019}}{{cite web|url=http://www.databasebasketball.com/players/playerpage.htm?ilkid=KALAFED01 |title=Ed Kalafat Past Stats, Playoff Stats, Statistics, History, and Awards |accessdate=2008-02-02 |url-status=usurped |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20071202005518/http://www.databasebasketball.com/players/playerpage.htm?ilkid=KALAFED01 |archivedate=2007-12-02 }}{{cite web |url=https://www.basketball-reference.com/players/k/kalafed01.html |title=Ed Kalafat|website=Basketball Reference | publisher=Sports Reference LLC|accessdate=13 April 2023}}{{cite news |url= http://m.startribune.com/ed-kalafat-former-gophers-star-and-first-round-pick-of-the-lakers-dead-at-86/562682202/ |title= Ed Kalafat, former Gophers star and first-round pick of the Lakers, dead at 86 |work=Minneapolis Star-Tribune |date=2019-10-10}}

After graduation, he was selected by the Lakers in the first round of the 1954 NBA draft with the ninth overall pick. He played three season with the Lakers averaging 7.1 points and 5.7 rebounds per game. Kalafat retired after the Lakers traded him to the Detroit Pistons in 1957.{{cite news |url= https://missoulian.com/sports/ed-kalafat-former-anaconda-star-minnesota-alum-and-first-round/article_d6dc620b-b407-5d83-993a-644da94916c5.html |title= Ed Kalafat, former Anaconda star, Minnesota alum and first-round Lakers pick, dies |work=The Missoulian |date=2019-10-10}}

After retiring from basketball Kalafat went into banking, working for many years at First Bank System. He also joined the U.S. Army Reserve retiring at the rank of captain.{{cite news|title=Ed Kalafat, Forward #23|newspaper=Los Angeles Times|last=Mitchell|first=Houston|accessdate=July 31, 2011|date=February 12, 2011|url=http://projects.latimes.com/lakers/player/ed-kalafat/}}

Career statistics

=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;" |1954–55

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

|72

|15.3

|.315

|.661

|4.4

|1.0

|4.8

style="text-align:left;" |1955–56

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

|72

|22.8

|.359

|.738

|6.1

|1.8

|8.0

style="text-align:left;" |1956–57

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

|65

|24.9

|.351

|.661

|6.5

|1.6

|8.5

class="sortbottom"

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

|209

|20.9

|.345

|.688

|5.7

|1.5

|7.1

==Playoffs==

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

!Year

!Team

!GP

!MPG

!FG%

!FT%

!RPG

!APG

!PPG

style="text-align:left;" |1954–55

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

|10.9

|.091

|.300

|2.6

|.0

|1.0

style="text-align:left;" |1955–56

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

|18.3

|.429

|.789

|7.0

|.7

|11.0

style="text-align:left;" |1956–57

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

|20.8

|.583

|.677

|4.8

|1.8

|12.6

class="sortbottom"

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

|15

|15.7

|.405

|.650

|4.2

|.7

|6.9

References

Category:1932 births

Category:2019 deaths

Category:American men's basketball players

Category:Basketball players from Montana

Category:Centers (basketball)

Category:Military personnel from Montana

Category:Minnesota Golden Gophers men's basketball players

Category:Minneapolis Lakers draft picks

Category:Minneapolis Lakers players

Category:People from Anaconda, Montana

Category:United States Army reservists

Category:20th-century American sportsmen