Zelmo Beaty

Zelmo "Big Z" Beaty (/ˈbeɪtiː/ BAY-tee;[1] October 25, 1939 – August 27, 2013) was an American basketball player. He played eight seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA) and four in the rival American Basketball Association (ABA). A three-time ABA All-Star, Beaty was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame as a player in 2016.

Zelmo Beaty
Beaty in 1966
Personal information
Born(1939-10-25)October 25, 1939
Hillister, Texas
DiedAugust 27, 2013(2013-08-27) (aged 73)
Bellevue, Washington
NationalityAmerican
Listed height6 ft 9 in (2.06 m)
Listed weight225 lb (102 kg)
Career information
High schoolScott (Woodville, Texas)
CollegePrairie View A&M (1958–1962)
NBA draft1962 / Round: 1 / Pick: 3rd overall
Selected by the St. Louis Hawks
Playing career1962–1975
PositionCenter
Number14, 31
Career history
As player:
1962–1969St. Louis / Atlanta Hawks
1970–1974Utah Stars
1974–1975Los Angeles Lakers
As coach:
1975–1976Virginia Squires
Career highlights and awards
Career NBA and ABA statistics
Points15,207 (17.1 ppg)
Rebounds9,665 (10.9 rpg)
Assists1,365 (1.5 apg)
Stats  at NBA.com
Stats at Basketball-Reference.com
Basketball Hall of Fame as player
College Basketball Hall of Fame
Inducted in 2014

Early life

Zelmo Beaty Jr. was born on October 25, 1939 in Hillister, Texas, a small town of 250.[2] He attended Scott High School in Woodville, Texas and played for Coach John Payton [3] winning back to back Prairie View Interscholastic League 1A state championships in 1957 & 1958. For college, Beaty attended Prairie View A&M.

College

Prairie View A&M Panthers

"From 1958–1962 at Prairie View A&M Beaty averaged 25 points and 20 rebounds per game and was a two-time first team NAIA All-American (1960 & 1962). The "Big Z" led Prairie View A&M to the NAIA national basketball title in 1962 and was named the Chuck Taylor Tournament MVP." [4]

NBA

St. Louis Hawks

He was selected with the third pick of the 1962 National Basketball Association (NBA) Draft by the St. Louis Hawks. Beaty was named to the inaugural NBA All-Rookie Team in 1963. He averaged more than 20 points per game in three different seasons, and over ten rebounds per game in six of his seven seasons with the Hawks. A physical player, Beaty led the NBA in personal fouls in 1962–63 and 1965–66, and tied for the league lead in disqualifications during the 1963–64 season.[5] Beaty made two NBA All-Star Game appearances in 1966 and 1968 before leaving the NBA to play in the rival American Basketball Association (ABA).

ABA
Zelmo Beaty with the Utah Stars.

Utah Stars

In his first season in the ABA, Beaty led the league in field goal percentage, was third in the league in rebounds per game, helped lead the Utah Stars to the 1971 ABA title, and was awarded the ABA Playoffs Most Valuable Player Award.[6] He played a total of four seasons with the Stars, being named to the All-ABA Second Team twice and making the ABA All-Star Game three times, before returning to the NBA as a member of the Los Angeles Lakers.[7]

He also served as president of the ABA's Player Association, as well as union player representative with the Hawks.[8]

Beaty retired in 1975 with combined ABA/NBA totals of 15,207 points and 9,665 rebounds.[9] He briefly served as a coach for the ABA's Virginia Squires.[1]

Personal

After pro ball, Beaty worked in financial planning. He also worked as a substitute physical education teacher in Seattle elementary schools. Beaty died from cancer on August 27, 2013 at his home in Bellevue, Washington. He was 73 years old. He had been married to his wife for about 50 years, and had two children.[1]

Posthumous honors

Beaty was selected to be inducted into the 2014 National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame class[10] and the 2016 Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame class.[11]

Host Josh Levin ends every episode of the Slate sports podcast Hang Up and Listen by saying, "Remember Zelmo Beaty."

NBA/ABA career statistics
Legend
  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
† Denotes seasons in which Beaty won an ABA championship

Regular season
Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
1962–63 St. Louis 80–24.0.439–.7178.31.1––10.2
1963–64 St. Louis 59–32.6.444–.74110.71.3––13.1
1964–65 St. Louis 80–36.5.482–.71512.11.4––16.9
1965–66 St. Louis 80–38.4.473–.75813.61.6––20.7
1966–67 St. Louis 48–34.6.473–.75810.71.3––17.8
1967–68 St. Louis 82–37.4.488–.79411.72.1––21.1
1968–69 Atlanta 72–35.8.470–.73111.11.8––21.5
1970–71† Utah (ABA) 76–38.4.555.500.79115.71.9––22.9
1971–72 Utah (ABA) 84–37.3.539.000.82913.21.5––23.6
1972–73 Utah (ABA) 82–34.2.520.000.8039.81.5–1.016.4
1973–74 Utah (ABA) 77–32.2.524.000.7958.01.70.80.813.4
1974–75 L.A. Lakers 69–17.6.439–.8004.71.10.70.45.5
Career 889–33.4.494.154.77110.91.50.70.817.1
All-Star 5124.6.340–.7899.41.20.20.49.8

Playoffs
Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
1963 St. Louis 11–27.9.443–.7507.61.0––10.3
1964 St. Louis 12–36.3.521–.5979.51.0––14.3
1965 St. Louis 4–38.5.492–.76013.80.3––19.3
1966 St. Louis 10–41.8.493–.75913.12.2––19.0
1967 St. Louis 9–35.3.442–.7859.91.3––15.9
1968 St. Louis 6–39.8.467–.78213.52.5––21.5
1969 Atlanta 11–43.0.432–.67212.92.3––22.5
1971† Utah (ABA) 18–38.8.536–.84614.62.4––23.2
1972 Utah (ABA) 11–40.3.552–.83014.02.2––20.1
1973 Utah (ABA) 10–38.7.552–.82711.61.4––15.9
1974 Utah (ABA) 13–36.3.503–.82510.81.61.40.914.8
Career 115–37.8.496–.77011.91.71.40.917.9

References
  1. Yardley, William (September 10, 2013), "Zelmo Beaty, Undersize Force in Pro Basketball, Dies at 73", The New York Times
  2. http://www.star-telegram.com/sports/nba/article100398142.html
  3. http://www.pvpanthers.com/hof.aspx?hof=313&path=&kiosk=
  4. http://www.tshof.org/inductees/
  5. The Official NBA Basketball Encyclopedia. Villard Books. 1994. p. 379. ISBN 0-679-43293-0.
  6. "Basketball-Reference.com".
  7. The Official NBA Basketball Encyclopedia. Villard Books. 1994. p. 259. ISBN 0-679-43293-0.
  8. http://www.remembertheaba.com/ABAArticles/PattisonArticleBeaty.html
  9. Steve, Luhm (September 8, 2013), "Utah Stars great Zelmo Beaty dies", The Salt Lake Tribune
  10. "Zelmo Beaty Elected to College Hoops HOF". CBS St. Louis. March 25, 2014. Retrieved April 4, 2016.
  11. Vivlamore, Chris (April 4, 2016). "Beaty, former St. Louis/Atlanta Hawk, elected to Hall of Fame". Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Retrieved April 4, 2016.
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