Ralph Hamilton

{{short description|American basketball player}}

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

{{Infobox basketball biography

| name=Ralph Hamilton

| image=Ralph Hamilton 1948.jpg

| width=

| caption=Hamilton in 1948

| height_ft= 6

| height_in= 1

| weight_lbs= 188

| birth_date= {{birth date|1921|6|10}}

| birth_place= Fort Wayne, Indiana

| death_date= {{death date and age|1983|06|05|1921|06|10}}

| death_place=

| high_school=South Side (Fort Wayne, Indiana)

| college=Indiana (1941–1943, 1946–1947)

| draft_year = 1947

| draft_league = BAA

| career_start=1947

| career_end=1951

| career_position= Guard / forward

| career_number=36, 55

| years1 = 1947–1948

| team1 = Fort Wayne Pistons

| years2 = 1948–1949

| team2 = Indianapolis Jets

| years3 = 1950–1951

| team3 = Kansas City Hi-Spots

| highlights =

• Consensus first-team All-American (1947)
• First-team All-Big Ten (1947)

| stat1label=Points

| stat1value=289

| stat2label=Rebounds

| stat2value=Not tracked

| stat3label=Assists

| stat3value=83

}}

Ralph Albert Hamilton (June 10, 1921 – June 5, 1983{{Cite web| title = Ancestry| year = 2016| url = http://person.ancestry.com/tree/26423668/person/1839961857/facts| accessdate = May 18, 2016}}) was an American professional basketball player. He played for the Fort Wayne Pistons and Indianapolis Jets of the National Basketball LeagueOfficial NBA Encyclopedia. Doubleday, 2000. pg. 530. and the Basketball Association of America (BAA), precursors to the modern day National Basketball Association (NBA).{{Cite web| title = Ralph Hamilton| work = basketball-reference.com| publisher = Sports Reference LLC| year = 2010| url = https://www.basketball-reference.com/players/h/hamilra01.html| accessdate = September 14, 2010}} Hamilton was traded by the Pistons to the Jets in December 1948.

Hamilton, a native of Fort Wayne, Indiana, played collegiately at Indiana University in Bloomington.{{Cite web| title = Hall of Fame - 2007 Inductees| work = Indiana University Athletics| publisher = Indiana University| year = 2010| url = http://iuhoosiers.cstv.com/trads/ind-trads-hof-2007.html#rhamilton| accessdate = September 14, 2010| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20120206104532/http://iuhoosiers.cstv.com/trads/ind-trads-hof-2007.html#rhamilton#rhamilton| archive-date = 2012-02-06| url-status = dead}} He played for the Hoosiers in 1941–42 and 1942–43 (his sophomore and junior years, respectively) but then served in the United States Army for three years during the end of World War II.{{Cite book| last = Hiner| first = Jason|author2=Van Arsdale, Dick| title = Indiana University Basketball Encyclopedia| publisher = Sports Publishing LLC| year = 2004| location = Champaign, Illinois| pages = 246| url = https://books.google.com/books?id=PtrhqxYPifMC&q=ralph+hamilton&pg=PA247| isbn = 1-58261-655-8}} When he came back as a 25-year-old senior in 1946–47, he served as team captain and led them in scoring, was named First Team All-Big Ten Conference and was dubbed a consensus First Team All-American. He also scored nearly 1,000 points during his staggered college career.

Hamilton died in 1983{{Cite web| title = Hall of Fame| year = 2010| url = http://www.hoopshall.com/hall-of-fame/ralph-hamilton/?back=HallofFame| accessdate = May 18, 2016}} just shy of his 62nd birthday.