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Jim Loscutoff

{{Short description|American professional basketball player}}

{{Use mdy dates|date=July 2023}}

{{Infobox basketball biography

| name = Jim Loscutoff

| width = 250px

| image = Jim Loscutoff, Boston Celtics.jpg

| caption =

| height_ft = 6

| height_in = 5

| weight_lb = 220

| birth_date = {{birth date|1930|02|04}}

| birth_place = San Francisco, California, U.S.

| death_date = {{death date and age|2015|12|01|1930|02|04}}

| death_place = Naples, Florida, U.S.

| high_school = Palo Alto (Palo Alto, California)

| college =

  • Grant Tech (1948–1950)
  • Oregon (1950–1951, 1954–1955)

| draft_year = 1955

| draft_round = 1

| draft_pick = 3

| draft_team = Boston Celtics

| career_position = Small forward

| career_number = 18

| career_start = 1955

| career_end = 1964

| years1 = {{nbay|1955|start}}–{{nbay|1963|end}}

| team1 = Boston Celtics

| cyears1 = 1964–1976

| cteam1 = Boston State

| cyears2 = 1980–1981

| cteam2 = New England Gulls

| highlights =

As player:

| stat1label = Points

| stat1value = 3,156 (6.2 ppg)

| stat2label = Rebounds

| stat2value = 2,848 (5.6 rpg)

| stat3label = Assists

| stat3value = 353 (0.7 apg)

}}

James Loscutoff Jr. (February 4, 1930 – December 1, 2015) was a professional basketball player for the Boston Celtics of the National Basketball Association (NBA). A forward, Loscutoff played on seven Celtics championship teams between 1956 and 1964.{{Cite web|url=http://www.nba.com/celtics/news/pressrelease/Team-Statement-Celtics-Legend-Jim-Loscutoff|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160112014140/http://www.nba.com/celtics/news/pressrelease/Team-Statement-Celtics-Legend-Jim-Loscutoff|url-status=dead|title=Team Statement on Celtics Legend Jim Loscutoff|website=NBA.com |archive-date=January 12, 2016}}

Early life

Loscutoff was born in San Francisco, California, the son of Nellie George (Ramzoff){{Cite web|url=https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:VGF7-XQN|title=FamilySearch.org|website=FamilySearch }} and James Loscutoff. His parents were Spiritual Christian Molokans from Russia.{{Cite web|url=https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:XC6L-3Q3|title=FamilySearch.org|website=FamilySearch }} He starred in basketball at Palo Alto High School, graduating in 1948. Loscutoff then attended Grant Technical College, a two-year college near Sacramento, California, before proceeding to the University of Oregon. In his final season at Oregon, Loscutoff led the team in scoring and rebounding with 19.6 points per game and 17.2 rebounds per game.{{citation |last=Pave |first=Marvin |title=Jim Loscutoff, at 85; forward on seven Celtics title teams | newspaper=The Boston Globe |date=December 3, 2015 |url=https://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/2015/12/02/jim-loscutoff-forward-seven-celtics-championship-teams-dies/NDGuQ4d4cREvC2n2jvMmjL/story.html}} He still holds the Oregon school record for rebounds in a game, with 32.{{citation |last=Schudel |first=Matt |title=Jim Loscutoff, brawny forward for Celtics dynasty, dies at 85 | newspaper=The Washington Post |date=December 2, 2015 |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/jim-loscutoff-brawny-forward-for-celtics-dynasty-dies-at-85/2015/12/02/d8e9e212-9940-11e5-94f0-9eeaff906ef3_story.html}}

Professional career

File:CelticsLOSCY.png

Standing {{convert|6|ft|5|in}} tall, Loscutoff was selected with the third non-territorial pick of the first round in the 1955 NBA draft. He was originally drafted by coach Red Auerbach to provide some much-needed defensive nerve for the Celtics team, which (despite becoming the first team to average 100 points per game in the 1954–55 season) had one of the worst defensive records in the league.

During his rookie year, Loscutoff set a then-record for the Celtics with 26 rebounds in a game. In the 1957 NBA Finals, he sank the final two free throws of a 125–123 double-overtime victory over the St. Louis Hawks in game seven, as the Celtics won their first NBA championship. Loscutoff missed most of the 1957–58 season due to a knee injury, working closely with Auerbach on his rehabilitation.{{cite web |url=https://www.celticslife.com/2015/12/recalling-jim-loscutoff-auerbach-guy-to.html |title=Recalling Jim Loscutoff -- An Auerbach Guy to the Core |website=celticslife.com |author=Abacus Reveals |date=December 2, 2015 |accessdate=July 17, 2021}} He successfully returned to the Celtics and was a member of six more championship teams.

In nine NBA seasons, from 1955–56 to 1963–64, Loscutoff was a member of seven championships as part of the legendary Celtics teams of the 1960s. A small forward, he was sometimes described as the Celtics hatchet man.{{Cite book| last = Reynolds | first = Bill | title = Rise of a Dynasty: The '57 Celtics, the First Banner, and the Dawning of a New America | publisher = Penguin Group | year = 2010 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=CoWrPQAACAAJ| isbn = 9781101475058}} His defense and strength were part of the defensive greatness of the 1960s Celtics, alongside Hall-of-Famer Bill Russell.

Loscutoff's nicknames included "Jungle Jim" and "Loscy". The organization wished to honor Loscutoff, but he asked that his jersey number (18) not be retired, so that a future Celtic could wear it. Instead, the Celtics added a banner with his nickname "Loscy" to the retired number banners hanging from the rafters of their arenas. The number was later retired in honor of another Celtic great, Dave Cowens.

Coaching career

Loscutoff coached the basketball team at Boston State College from 1964 to 1976 and compiled a record of 219–92 with the Warriors.

In November 1980, he became the head coach of the New England Gulls of the Women's Professional Basketball League, the first women's pro basketball league in the United States. He coached the team for six games, all of which they lost, before being replaced by assistant coach Dana Skinner in early January 1981.{{cite news |author1=Ray Fitzgerald |title=Loscutoff charges; Gulls owner denies |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-boston-globe-loscutoff-charges-gull/134244772/ |access-date=28 October 2023 |work=The Boston Globe |date=14 January 1981 |page=69 |via=Newspapers.com}}{{open access}} Less than a month later, the Gulls folded due to financial difficulties.{{cite news |title=New England Gulls grounded |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/press-journal-new-england-gulls-grounded/134245110/ |access-date=28 October 2023 |work=Press Journal |agency=Associated Press |date=29 January 1981 |page=3B |via=Newspapers.com}}{{open access}}

Personal life

Loscutoff lived in Florida and Andover, Massachusetts, where his family owns a day camp for children.{{cite web | last = Twiss | first = Jeff | title=Legal Timeout with Jim Loscutoff| website = NBA.com |url=http://www.nba.com/celtics/history/LegalTimeLuscutoff.html| access-date=2007-10-11}} His wife was artist Lynn Loscutoff.{{cite news|last=Singlelais|first=Neil|title=The Wives Get Along Together|newspaper=The Boston Globe|date=February 17, 1957}} He died in Naples, Florida, on December 1, 2015, from complications of Parkinson's disease and pneumonia.{{cite news| url = https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/jim-loscutoff-brawny-forward-for-celtics-dynasty-dies-at-85/2015/12/02/d8e9e212-9940-11e5-94f0-9eeaff906ef3_story.html| title = Jim Loscutoff, brawny forward for Celtics dynasty, dies at 85 - The Washington Post| newspaper = The Washington Post}}{{Cite web|url=https://www.bostonglobe.com/sports/2015/12/03/jungle-jim-loscutoff-was-fearsome-but-fun-loving/NVV7Pl7WXKVD8LST8242ON/story.html|title = 'Jungle Jim' Loscutoff was fearsome but fun-loving - the Boston Globe|website = The Boston Globe}}

In 1980, he was a member of the inaugural class of inductees to the Oregon Sports Hall of Fame.{{cite web |url=http://oregonsportshall.org/timeline/jim-loscutoff-basketball/ |title=Jim Loscutoff – Basketball |website=oregonsportshall.org |date=November 8, 2018 |publisher=Oregon Sports Hall of Fame and Museum |accessdate=July 17, 2021}}

NBA career statistics

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

= 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;" |1955–56

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

|71

|22.3

|.360

|.671

|8.8

|0.9

|8.3

style="text-align:left;background:#afe6ba;" |1956–57†

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

|70

|31.7

|.345

|.706

|10.4

|1.3

|10.6

style="text-align:left;" |1957–58

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

|5

|11.2

|.355

|.333

|4.0

|0.2

|4.6

style="text-align:left;background:#afe6ba;" |1958–59†

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

|66

|25.5

|.353

|.738

|7.0

|0.9

|8.3

style="text-align:left;background:#afe6ba;" |1959–60†

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

|28

|19.1

|.322

|.611

|3.9

|0.4

|5.5

style="text-align:left;background:#afe6ba;" |1960–61†

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

|76

|15.2

|.301

|.645

|3.8

|0.3

|4.4

style="text-align:left;background:#afe6ba;" |1961–62†

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

|79

|14.5

|.362

|.536

|4.2

|0.6

|5.3

style="text-align:left;background:#afe6ba;" |1962–63†

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

|63

|9.6

|.375

|.524

|2.5

|0.4

|3.3

style="text-align:left;background:#afe6ba;" |1963–64†

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

|53

|8.5

|.308

|.581

|2.5

|0.5

|2.5

class="sortbottom"

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

|511

|18.5

|.345

|.653

|5.6

|0.7

|6.2

= Playoffs =

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

!Year

!Team

!GP

!MPG

!FG%

!FT%

!RPG

!APG

!PPG

style="text-align:left;" |1955–56

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

|3

|29.7

|.355

|.778

|8.7

|1.3

|9.7

style="text-align:left;background:#afe6ba;" |1956–57†

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

|10

|25.9

|.284

|.643

|8.3

|0.5

|8.0

style="text-align:left;background:#afe6ba;" |1958–59†

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

|11

|23.6

|.345

|.524

|6.6

|1.2

|8.1

style="text-align:left;background:#afe6ba;" |1960–61†

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

|10

|11.6

|.278

|.778

|3.5

|0.3

|3.7

style="text-align:left;background:#afe6ba;" |1961–62†

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

|14

|15.1

|.360

|.400

|4.2

|0.4

|4.7

style="text-align:left;background:#afe6ba;" |1962–63†

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

|9

|6.2

|.280

|.500

|2.3

|0.1

|1.7

style="text-align:left;background:#afe6ba;" |1963–64†

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

|1

|5.0

|1.000

|–

|2.0

|0.0

|4.0

class="sortbottom"

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

|58

|17.2

|.324

|.608

|5.2

|0.6

|5.5

Note: Following the 1959–60 regular season, Loscutoff did not play in the 1960 postseason due to injury.{{cite news |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=ATomAAAAIBAJ&sjid=sv4FAAAAIBAJ&pg=4999,2657654 |title=Injury Hit Celtic Hopes |date=January 12, 1960 |newspaper=The Gettysburg Times |location=Gettysburg, Pennsylvania|access-date=September 21, 2016|archive-date=January 1, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210101170047/https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=ATomAAAAIBAJ&sjid=sv4FAAAAIBAJ&pg=4999%2C2657654|url-status=live}}

References

{{reflist}}

External links

{{commons}}

  • {{usurped|1=[https://web.archive.org/web/20071208200057/http://www.databasebasketball.com/players/playerpage.htm?ilkid=LOSCUJI01 Career Statistics on databasebasketball.com]}}

{{Navboxes|list1=

{{1955 NBA draft}}

{{Boston Celtics 1956-57 NBA champions}}

{{Boston Celtics 1958-59 NBA champions}}

{{Boston Celtics 1959-60 NBA champions}}

{{Boston Celtics 1960-61 NBA champions}}

{{Boston Celtics 1961-62 NBA champions}}

{{Boston Celtics 1962-63 NBA champions}}

{{Boston Celtics 1963-64 NBA champions}}

{{Boston Celtics}}

}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Loscutoff, Jim}}

Category:1930 births

Category:2015 deaths

Category:Amateur Athletic Union men's basketball players

Category:American men's basketball players

Category:American people of Russian descent

Category:Basketball players from San Francisco

Category:Boston Celtics draft picks

Category:Boston Celtics players

Category:Junior college men's basketball players in the United States

Category:NBA players with retired numbers

Category:Oregon Ducks men's basketball players

Category:Palo Alto High School alumni

Category:Small forwards

Category:Women's Professional Basketball League coaches