Bud Palmer

John Shove "Bud" Palmer (born John Palmer Flynn;[1] September 14, 1921 – March 19, 2013) was an American professional basketball player. He was a member of the New York Knicks during the team's first three seasons in the Basketball Association of America, and was the leading scorer in the team's inaugural 1946–47 season. Palmer is considered to be one of the inventors of the jump shot.[2][3]

Bud Palmer
Palmer in 1948
Personal information
Born(1921-09-14)September 14, 1921
Hollywood, California
DiedMarch 19, 2013(2013-03-19) (aged 91)
West Palm Beach, Florida
NationalityAmerican
Listed height6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)
Listed weight180 lb (82 kg)
Career information
High school
CollegePrinceton (1941–1943)
Playing career1946–1949
PositionForward / Center
Number16
Career history
19461949New York Knicks
Stats  at NBA.com
Stats at Basketball-Reference.com

Born in Hollywood, California, Palmer was the son of football player and actor Maurice Bennett "Lefty" Flynn and singer Blanche Palmer.[2] He was nicknamed "Bud" due to being the budding image of his father; Palmer relinquished his father's surname from his own name when his parents divorced.[1] Palmer was 5 ft 4 in (1.63 m) when he started playing basketball at Hun School of Princeton, and started using the jump shot to compensate for his height.[2] He grew a foot taller to 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) by the time he began playing college basketball at Princeton University, and played for three seasons before he enlisted in the U.S. Navy during World War II.[2]

After his NBA career ended, Palmer went on to have a successful career as a sportscaster.[2][4] He was Chief of Protocol and Official Greeter for the City of New York for seven years during John Lindsay's administration. Palmer modeled menswear, advertised Vitalis hair tonic, and wrote as an advice columnist in Glamour magazine.[1]

Palmer died at 91 of metastatic prostate cancer in 2013 in West Palm Beach, Florida.[2][5]

BAA career statistics

Legend
  GP Games played  FG%  Field-goal percentage
 FT%  Free-throw percentage  APG  Assists per game
 PPG  Points per game  Bold  Career high

Regular season

Year Team GP FG% FT% APG PPG
1946–47 New York 42.307.6690.89.5
1947–48 New York 48.315.7440.913.0
1948–49 New York 58.350.7621.912.3
Career 148.326.7391.311.7

Playoffs

Year Team GP FG% FT% APG PPG
1947 New York 5.351.6000.815.6
1948 New York 3.421.7690.014.0
1949 New York 6.422.7711.713.5
Career 14.388.7211.014.4

References

  1. Tomlinson, Brett (February 5, 2014). "Lives: John 'Bud' Palmer '44". Princeton Alumni Weekly. Retrieved October 11, 2020.
  2. Martin, Douglas (March 22, 2013). "Bud Palmer, Jump Shot Pioneer, Dies at 91". The New York Times. Accessed on June 22, 2017.
  3. Christgau, John (1999). The Origins of the Jump Shot. Eight men who shook the world of Basketball. Lincoln (NE): University of Nebraska Press.
  4. "Bud Palmer gave up a mike for hot dogs". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). Associated Press. December 26, 1975. p. 2B.
  5. "Bud Palmer, broadcasting pioneer and ex-Knicks captain, dies at age 91". Palm Beach Post. March 21, 2013.


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