Larry Foust
Lawrence Michael Foust (June 24, 1928 – October 27, 1984) was an American basketball player who spent 12 seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA) and was an 8× All-Star.
 | |
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Born | June 24, 1928 Painesville, Ohio |
| Died | October 27, 1984 (aged 56) Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania |
| Nationality | American |
| Listed height | 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) |
| Listed weight | 215 lb (98 kg) |
| Career information | |
| High school | South Catholic (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania) |
| College | La Salle (1946–1950) |
| NBA draft | 1950 / Round: 1 / Pick: 5th overall |
| Selected by the Chicago Stags | |
| Playing career | 1950–1962 |
| Position | Power forward / Center |
| Number | 16, 14, 13 |
| Career history | |
| 1950–1957 | Fort Wayne Pistons |
| 1957–1960 | Minneapolis Lakers |
| 1960–1962 | St. Louis Hawks |
| Career highlights and awards | |
| Career NBA statistics | |
| Points | 11,198 (13.7 ppg) |
| Rebounds | 8,041 (9.8 rpg) |
| Assists | 1,368 (1.7 apg) |
Stats  at NBA.com | |
| Stats at Basketball-Reference.com | |
Career
Foust attended South Catholic High School in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and was instrumental in winning the city championship against archrival Southern High School by scoring a last second basket.
A 6ft 9 in center from La Salle University, Foust was selected by the Chicago Stags in the 1950 NBA Draft, but the Stags franchise folded before the start of the 1950–51 NBA season, and Foust joined the Fort Wayne Pistons.
With the Pistons, Foust averaged a double-double in points and rebounds and was selected to six All-Star games. On November 22, 1950, Foust scored the winning basket in a 19-18 Pistons victory over the Minneapolis Lakers, the lowest scoring game in NBA history.[1] Foust was tied with Mel Hutchins for the NBA lead in rebounding in the 1951–52 season. In the 1954–55 season, Foust led the NBA in field goal percentage.
Foust later joined the Lakers in 1957,[2] and he also spent two-and-a-half seasons with the St. Louis Hawks.
Foust retired in 1962 with 11,198 career points and 8,041 career rebounds.
Player Profile
Foust utilized his height and strength to stifle his opponents in the paint. Lead-footed and with clumsy hands, Foust demanded his teammates stay away from the paint and feed him the basketball near the rim.[3]
When author Robert Cohen selected an all-star team from 1946 to 1960 era of the NBA, Foust was chosen the fifth-best center, noting that Foust "[...] in many ways represented one of the finest early prototypes of what eventually became the modernized basketball big man. Although Foust had considerable bulk and displayed a great deal of aggression under the boards, he also exhibited a fair amount of agility and ballhandling skills" [4]
NBA career statistics
| GP | Games played | GS | Games started | MPG | Minutes per game |
| FG% | Field goal percentage | 3P% | 3-point field goal percentage | FT% | Free throw percentage |
| RPG | Rebounds per game | APG | Assists per game | SPG | Steals per game |
| BPG | Blocks per game | PPG | Points per game | Bold | Career high |
| * | Led the league |
Regular season
| Year | Team | GP | MPG | FG% | FT% | RPG | APG | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1950–51 | Fort Wayne | 68 | – | .346 | .659 | 10.0 | 1.3 | 13.5 |
| 1951–52 | Fort Wayne | 66 | 39.6 | 394 | .678 | 13.3 | 3.0 | 15.9 |
| 1952–53 | Fort Wayne | 67 | 34.4 | .360 | .723 | 11.5 | 2.3 | 14.3 |
| 1953–54 | Fort Wayne | 72 | 37.4 | .409 | .712 | 13.4 | 2.2 | 15.1 |
| 1954–55 | Fort Wayne | 70 | 32.3 | .487* | .766 | 10.0 | 1.7 | 17.0 |
| 1955–56 | Fort Wayne | 72 | 28.1 | .447 | .778 | 9.0 | 1.8 | 16.2 |
| 1956–57 | Fort Wayne | 61 | 25.1 | .394 | .718 | 9.1 | 1.2 | 12.4 |
| 1957–58 | Minneapolis | 72 | 30.6 | .398 | .756 | 12.2 | 1.5 | 16.8 |
| 1958–59 | Minneapolis | 72 | 26.8 | .390 | .765 | 8.7 | 1.3 | 12.3 |
| 1959–60 | Minneapolis/St.Louis | 72 | 27.3 | .407 | .791 | 8.6 | 1.3 | 12.2 |
| 1960–61 | St. Louis | 68 | 17.8 | .397 | .788 | 5.7 | 1.1 | 8.1 |
| 1961–62 | St. Louis | 57 | 20.2 | .471 | .815 | 5.8 | 1.4 | 9.7 |
| Career | 817 | 29.2 | .405 | .741 | 9.8 | 1.7 | 13.7 | |
| All-Star | 7 | 16.9 | .315 | .938 | 7.0 | 0.4 | 7.0 | |
Playoffs
| Year | Team | GP | MPG | FG% | FT% | RPG | APG | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1951 | Fort Wayne | 3 | – | .311 | .800 | 12.3 | 1.7 | 12.0 |
| 1952 | Fort Wayne | 2 | 38.5 | .522 | .857 | 15.0 | 2.5 | 15.0 |
| 1953 | Fort Wayne | 8 | 41.5 | .397 | .838 | 13.9 | 0.8 | 19.1 |
| 1954 | Fort Wayne | 4 | 32.3 | .268 | .760 | 9.5 | 1.8 | 10.3 |
| 1955 | Fort Wayne | 11 | 30.1 | .395 | .712 | 9.7 | 2.4 | 15.6 |
| 1956 | Fort Wayne | 10 | 28.9 | .377 | .787 | 12.7 | 1.4 | 16.8 |
| 1957 | Fort Wayne | 2 | 32.0 | .565 | .826 | 12.5 | 3.0 | 22.5 |
| 1959 | Minneapolis | 13 | 31.1 | .418 | .820 | 10.5 | 0.9 | 11.8 |
| 1960 | St. Louis | 12 | 17.1 | .392 | .800 | 5.7 | 0.9 | 6.5 |
| 1961 | St. Louis | 8 | 11.1 | .450 | .571 | 3.5 | 0.3 | 3.3 |
| Career | 73 | 27.4 | .394 | .781 | 9.7 | 1.3 | 12.4 | |
Personal life
He died in 1984 of a heart attack at age 56.[5]
References
- https://www.thesportster.com/basketball/15-disgraceful-incidents-the-nba-wants-you-to-forget/
- https://www.si.com/vault/1957/11/04/605585/western-division
- Rosen, Charley (2001). The Wizard of Odds: How Jack Molinas Nearly Destroyed the Game of Basketball. Seven Stories Press. pp. 105–110.
- Cohen, Robert (2013). Pro Basketball's All-time All-stars:. Rowman & Littlefield.
- Vecsey, Peter (February 8, 2009). "1960 LAKERS WILL NEVER FORGET PLANE CRASH THAT CHANGED THEIR LIVES". New York Post. Retrieved May 1, 2017.