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Odie Spears

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Odie Spears
Personal information
Born(1925-06-26)June 26, 1925
Scottsville, Kentucky, U.S.
DiedMarch 28, 1985(1985-03-28) (aged 59)
Louisville, Kentucky, U.S.
Listed height6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)
Listed weight205 lb (93 kg)
Career information
High schoolScottsville (Scottsville, Kentucky)
CollegeWestern Kentucky (1941–1943, 1946–1948)
BAA draft1948: -- round, --
Selected by the Chicago Stags
Playing career1948–1957
PositionGuard
Number20, 15, 8, 19
Career history
1948–1950Chicago Stags
1950–1951Louisville Alumnites
1951–1955Rochester Royals
1955–1957Fort Wayne Pistons
1956–1957St. Louis Hawks
Career highlights and awards
Career BAA and NBA statistics
Points4,161 (8.7 ppg)
Rebounds1,409 (4.0 rpg)
Assists917 (1.9 apg)
Stats at NBA.com Edit this at Wikidata
Stats at Basketball Reference Edit this at Wikidata

Marion Odicea "Odie" Spears (June 17, 1924 – March 28, 1985[1]) was an American basketball player.

A 6'5" guard from Scottsville, Kentucky, Spears attended nearby Western Kentucky University but saw little playing time during his first two seasons. After his sophomore year, he left Western Kentucky to serve in the United States Army, where he played three seasons for the 326th Glider Infantry basketball team at Fort Bragg, North Carolina. He then returned to Western Kentucky in 1946 with improved skills and confidence and became the team's leading scorer during his junior and senior years. Spears received All-American honors in 1948 after leading Western Kentucky to a third-place finish in the National Invitation Tournament (then the nation's premier basketball tournament).[2]

From 1948 to 1957, Spears played professionally in the National Basketball Association as a member of the Chicago Stags, Rochester Royals, Fort Wayne Pistons, and St. Louis Hawks. He averaged 8.7 points per game and 4.0 rebounds per game in his NBA career and ranked as one of the league's top-ten free throw shooters three times.[3] Spears also played during the 1950–51 season for the Louisville Alumnites of the National Professional Basketball League.[4]

After his playing career ended, Spears moved to Louisville, Kentucky, where he became an insurance executive. He was elected to the Western Kentucky Hall of Fame in 1993.[2]

BAA/NBA career statistics

[edit]
Legend
  GP Games played  MPG  Minutes per game
 FG%  Field-goal percentage  FT%  Free-throw percentage
 RPG  Rebounds per game  APG  Assists per game
 PPG  Points per game  Bold  Career high

Regular season

[edit]
Year Team GP MPG FG% FT% RPG APG PPG
1948–49 Chicago 57 – .317 .667 – 1.7 9.3
1949–50 Chicago 68 – .357 .687 – 2.3 10.5
1951–52 Rochester 66 25.3 .395 .763 4.6 2.5 8.6
1952–53 Rochester 62 22.8 .401 .819 4.0 1.8 9.6
1953–54 Rochester 72 22.7 .364 .769 4.3 1.5 7.7
1954–55 Rochester 71 26.6 .386 .812 4.2 2.1 9.5
1955–56 Fort Wayne 72 19.1 .355 .791 3.2 1.7 6.8
1956–57 Fort Wayne / St. Louis 11 10.7 .316 .864 1.4 .6 3.9
Career 479 22.9 .366 .763 4.0 1.9 8.7

Playoffs

[edit]
Year Team GP MPG FG% FT% RPG APG PPG
1949 Chicago 2 – .269 .571 – 1.0 9.0
1950 Chicago 2 – .409 .500 – .5 11.5
1952 Rochester 6 20.5 .303 .563 3.5 1.5 4.8
1953 Rochester 3 20.7 .421 .800 4.0 .0 6.7
1954 Rochester 6 20.2 .286 .857 2.2 1.3 4.7
1955 Rochester 3 30.0 .267 .688 4.7 3.3 11.7
1956 Fort Wayne 10 17.7 .323 .565 2.9 1.4 5.3
Career 32 20.5 .315 .637 3.2 1.4 6.4

Notes

[edit]
  1. ^ "Odie Spears". Peach Basket Society. Retrieved January 20, 2017.
  2. ^ a b Odie Spears at Hilltopper Haven. Retrieved August 6, 2007.
  3. ^ "Odie Spears Stats". Basketball Reference. Retrieved August 7, 2007.
  4. ^ Association for Professional Basketball Research, National Professional Basketball League statistics
[edit]
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