Tom Hawkins (basketball)

{{Short description|American basketball player (1936–2017)}}

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

{{Infobox basketball biography

| name = Tom Hawkins

| image =

| width =

| caption =

| height_ft = 6

| height_in = 5

| weight_lb = 210

| birth_date = {{birth date|1936|12|22}}

| birth_place = Chicago, Illinois, U.S.

| death_date = {{death date and age|2017|08|16|1936|12|22}}

| death_place = Malibu, California, U.S.

| high_school = Parker (Chicago, Illinois)

| college = Notre Dame (1956–1959)

| draft_year = 1959

| draft_round = 1

| draft_pick = 3

| draft_team = Minneapolis Lakers

| career_start = 1959

| career_end = 1969

| career_number = 20, 19, 33

| career_position = Small forward

| years1 = {{nbay|1959|start}}–{{nbay|1961|end}}

| team1 = Minneapolis / Los Angeles Lakers

| years2 = {{nbay|1962|start}}–{{nbay|1965|end}}

| team2 = Cincinnati Royals

| years3 = {{nbay|1966|start}}–{{nbay|1968|end}}

| team3 = Los Angeles Lakers

| highlights =

• Consensus second-team All-American (1959)
• Second-team All-American – UPI, NABC (1958)
• Third-team All-American – AP (1958)

| stats_league = NBA

| stat1label = Points

| stat1value = 6,672 (8.7 ppg)

| stat2label = Rebounds

| stat2value = 4,607 (6.7 rpg)

| stat3label = Assists

| stat3value = 871 (1.1 apg)

}}

Thomas Jerome Hawkins (December 22, 1936 – August 16, 2017) was an American professional basketball player.

A {{convert|6|ft|5|in|m|adj=on}} forward, Hawkins starred at Chicago's Parker (now Robeson) High School before playing at the University of Notre Dame, where he became the school's first African-American basketball star.[http://www.und.com/sports/m-baskbl/spec-rel/122004aad.html 100 Years Remembered in 100 Days: The Hawk]. Notre Dame Official Athletic Site. December 20, 2004. Retrieved on January 2, 2009. He was then selected by the Minneapolis (later Los Angeles) Lakers in the first round of the 1959 NBA draft, and he would have a productive ten-year career in the league, playing for the Lakers as well as the Cincinnati Royals as he registered 6,672 career points and 4,607 career rebounds.{{cite web|url=https://www.basketball-reference.com/players/h/hawkito01.html|title=Tom Hawkins NBA stats|website=Basketball Reference|publisher=Sports Reference LLC|accessdate=24 December 2023}}

Hawkins later worked in radio and television broadcasting in Los Angeles and served as vice president of communications for the Los Angeles Dodgers baseball team.

Hawkins died in his home in Malibu, California on August 16, 2017.{{cite news|title=Irish Legend Tom Hawkins Passes Away|url=http://www.und.com/sports/m-baskbl/spec-rel/081617aaa.html|accessdate=August 16, 2017|work=Notre Dame Fighting Irish|date=August 16, 2017}}