Ray Felix
{{short description|American basketball player (1930–1991)}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=January 2019}}
{{Infobox basketball biography
| name = Ray Felix
| image =
| width =
| caption =
| number = 25, 19, 14
| position = Center
| height_ft = 6
| height_in = 11
| weight_lb = 220
| birth_date = {{birth date|1930|12|10}}
| birth_place = New York City, U.S.
| death_date = {{death date and age|1991|07|28|1930|12|10}}
| death_place = New York City, U.S.
| high_school = Metropolitan
(New York City, New York)
| college = LIU Brooklyn (1949–1951)
| draft_year = 1953
| draft_round = 1
| draft_pick = 1
| draft_team = Baltimore Bullets
| career_start = 1952
| career_end = 1962
| years1 = 1952–1953
| team1 = Manchester British-Americans
| years2 = {{nbay|1953|full=y}}
| team2 = Baltimore Bullets
| years3 = {{nbay|1954|start}}–{{nbay|1959|end}}
| team3 = New York Knicks
| years4 = {{nbay|1959|end}}–{{nbay|1961|end}}
| team4 = Minneapolis/Los Angeles Lakers
| highlights =
- NBA All-Star ({{nasg|1954}})
- NBA Rookie of the Year ({{nbay|1953|end}})
| stats_league = NBA
| stat1label = Points
| stat1value = 6,974 (10.9 ppg)
| stat2label = Rebounds
| stat2value = 5,652 (8.9 rpg)
| stat3label = Assists
| stat3value = 458 (0.7 apg)
| bbr = felixra01
| letter = f
}}
Raymond Darlington Felix Sr. (December 10, 1930 – July 28, 1991) was an American professional basketball player. He was born in New York City. He played high school basketball at Metropolitan High School in New York and college basketball at Long Island University. Felix was drafted No. 1 overall pick in the 1953 NBA draft, the first African American first selection in NBA history.
Basketball career
A 6' 11" center from Metropolitan High School and Long Island University, Felix was selected by the Baltimore Bullets with the first pick in the 1953 NBA draft.
Felix won the NBA Rookie of the Year Award in 1954 after averaging 17.6 points and 13.3 rebounds. Felix was also the second African-American, following Don Barksdale, to be named an All-Star. His 13.3 rebounds is on the List of National Basketball Association rookie single-season rebounding leaders.
After his rookie season, Felix was traded on September 17, 1954. The soon to be folded Baltimore Bullets traded Felix and Chuck Grigsby to the New York Knicks for Alfred McGuire and Connie Simmons.{{cite web|url=https://www.basketball-reference.com/players/f/felixra01.html|title=Ray Felix Stats|website=Basketball-Reference.com}}
In six seasons with the Knicks, Felix averaged 12.0 points and 9.1 rebounds.
On January 24, 1960, Felix was traded by the Knicks, with a 1960 4th round draft pick (Ben Warley was later selected), to the Minneapolis Lakers for Dick Garmaker and a 1960 2nd round draft pick (Dave Budd was later selected).
In his Lakers tenure, the team moved from Minneapolis to Los Angeles and his role turned to a reserve one. He averaged 6.4 points and 6.7 rebounds in three seasons.
The Lakers lost to the Celtics in the 1962 NBA Finals, in seven games. Felix averaged 4.0 points and 4.0 rebounds in the series, which marked the end of his NBA career.{{cite web|url=https://www.basketball-reference.com/playoffs/1962-nba-finals-lakers-vs-celtics.html|title=1962 NBA Finals - Los Angeles Lakers vs. Boston Celtics|website=Basketball-Reference.com}}
Overall, Felix spent nine seasons in the league, and played for the Bullets, New York Knicks and the Minneapolis/Los Angeles Lakers. Felix averaged 10.9 points and 8.9 rebounds per game, with career totals of 6,974 points and 5,652 rebounds. He retired in 1962.
Russell rivalry
Felix had an incident with future Hall of Famer Bill Russell in Russell's rookie season, when, after Russell felt that Felix had been trying to intimidate him, he knocked Felix unconscious with a punch to the head.{{cite book |last=Taylor |first=John |date=2006 |title=The Rivalry: Bill Russell, Wilt Chamberlain, and the Golden Age of Basketball |url=https://archive.org/details/rivalrybillrusse0000tayl |url-access=registration |quote=ray felix. |publisher=Random House |page=[https://archive.org/details/rivalrybillrusse0000tayl/page/77 77] }}
Toward the end of his career, after having several of his shots blocked by Russell, Felix took the ball and flung it off the side of the backboard, saying to Russell, smiling, "You didn't get that one!"{{cite book |last1=Hundley |first1=Rod |last2=McEachin |first2=Tom |date=1998 |title=Hot Rod Hundley: "You Gotta Love It, Baby" |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=oWAQJk_bGhUC&q=%22ray+felix%22&pg=PA31 |publisher=Sports Publishing LLC |page=31 |isbn=9781571672438 }}
Felix and the Lakers lost to Russell and the Celtics in the 1962 NBA Finals, in seven games.
After basketball
Following his retirement, Felix worked for the New York City Department of Parks and Recreation[https://www.nytimes.com/1991/07/31/obituaries/ray-felix-60-is-dead-knicks-center-in-50-s.html Ray Felix, 60, Is Dead; Knicks Center in 50's]. New York Times obituaries, July 31, 1991. Retrieved June 3, 2017. where he sponsored a basketball tournament in Elmhurst, Queens{{cite book |last=Mallozzi |first=Vincent |date=June 17, 2003 |title=Asphalt Gods: An Oral History of the Rucker Tournament |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=WEkupIjTKcEC&q=%22ray+felix%22&pg=PT34 |publisher=Knopf Doubleday |isbn= 9780385506762}} and later worked as a supervisor at Harlem men's shelter.Berkow, Ira (August 1, 1991) [https://www.nytimes.com/1991/08/01/sports/sports-of-the-times-ray-felix-is-not-forgotten.html Sports of The Times; Ray Felix Is Not Forgotten]. New York Times. Retrieved June 3, 2017.
Felix died of a heart attack on July 28, 1991.
Personal life
NBA career statistics
{{NBA player statistics legend}}
= 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;" |1953–54
| style="text-align:left;" |Baltimore |72 |37.1 |.417 |.638 |13.3 |1.1 |17.6 |
| style="text-align:left;" |1954–55
| style="text-align:left;" |New York |72 |28.1 |.438 |.622 |11.4 |0.9 |14.4 |
| style="text-align:left;" |1955–56
| style="text-align:left;" |New York |72 |23.6 |.415 |.706 |8.7 |0.7 |12.3 |
| style="text-align:left;" |1956–57
| style="text-align:left;" |New York |72 |22.5 |.416 |.747 |8.2 |0.5 |12.0 |
| style="text-align:left;" |1957–58
| style="text-align:left;" |New York |72 |23.7 |.442 |.697 |10.4 |0.7 |12.2 |
| style="text-align:left;" |1958–59
| style="text-align:left;" |New York |72 |22.1 |.371 |.713 |7.9 |0.7 |10.4 |
| style="text-align:left;" |1959–60
| style="text-align:left;" |New York |16 |11.6 |.330 |.576 |5.1 |0.1 |5.1 |
| style="text-align:left;" |1959–60
| style="text-align:left;" |Minneapolis |31 |22.5 |.402 |.646 |8.3 |0.9 |8.4 |
| style="text-align:left;" |1960–61
| style="text-align:left;" |L.A. Lakers |78 |19.4 |.372 |.699 |6.9 |0.5 |6.6 |
| style="text-align:left;" |1961–62
| style="text-align:left;" |L.A. Lakers |80 |18.5 |.430 |.692 |5.9 |0.7 |5.4 |
| class="sortbottom"
| colspan="2" style="text-align:center;" |Career |637 |23.8 |.412 |.678 |8.9 |0.7 |10.9 |
| class="sortbottom"
| colspan="2" style="text-align:center;" |All-Star |1 |32.0 |.500 |1.000 |11.0 |1.0 |13.0 |
= 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
| style="text-align:left;" |New York |3 |21.0 |.125 |.619 |4.0 |0.3 |5.7 |
| style="text-align:left;" |1959
| style="text-align:left;" |New York |2 |22.5 |.429 |.500 |11.5 |1.0 |13.0 |
| style="text-align:left;" |1960
| style="text-align:left;" |Minneapolis |8 |18.4 |.415 |.720 |6.6 |1.1 |6.5 |
| style="text-align:left;" |1961
| style="text-align:left;" |L.A. Lakers |12 |28.3 |.422 |.769 |10.4 |0.8 |10.2 |
| style="text-align:left;" |1962
| style="text-align:left;" |L.A. Lakers |13 |18.6 |.492 |.684 |5.9 |0.5 |6.5 |
| class="sortbottom"
| colspan="2" style="text-align:center;" |Career |38 |22.0 |.419 |.701 |7.6 |0.8 |7.9 |
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
- [https://www.basketball-reference.com/players/f/felixra01.html Ray Felix Career Stats]
{{1953 NBA draft}}
{{NBA Rookies of the Year}}
{{NBA NumberOne Draft Picks}}
{{ABL (1925–1955) scoring leaders}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Felix, Ray}}
Category:American men's basketball players
Category:Baltimore Bullets (1944–1954) draft picks
Category:Baltimore Bullets (1944–1954) players
Category:Basketball players from New York City
Category:LIU Brooklyn Blackbirds men's basketball players
Category:Los Angeles Lakers players
Category:Manchester British Americans players
Category:Minneapolis Lakers players
Category:New York Knicks players
Category:20th-century African-American sportsmen