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Whitey Von Nieda

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Whitey Von Nieda
Personal information
Born(1922-06-19)June 19, 1922
Ephrata, Pennsylvania, U.S.
DiedSeptember 6, 2023(2023-09-06) (aged 101)
Elizabethtown, Pennsylvania, U.S.
Listed height6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)
Listed weight170 lb (77 kg)
Career information
High schoolEphrata (Ephrata, Pennsylvania)
CollegePenn State (1942–1943)
Playing career1946–1953, 1978
PositionGuard / forward
Number6, 4
Coaching career1950–1979
Career history
As player:
1946–1947Lancaster Red Roses
1947–1950Tri-Cities Blackhawks
1950Baltimore Bullets
1950–1953;
1978		Lancaster Rockets / Red Roses
As coach:
1950–1952Elizabethtown
1950–1953Lancaster Red Roses
1961–1962Hazleton Hawks
1977–1979Lancaster Red Roses (assistant)
Career highlights and awards
Stats at NBA.com Edit this at Wikidata
Stats at Basketball Reference Edit this at Wikidata

Stanley Lee "Whitey" Von Nieda Jr. (June 19, 1922 – September 6, 2023) was an American professional basketball player and coach. He was the longest lived National Basketball Association (NBA) player in history.[1]

Career

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Von Nieda played basketball at Ephrata High School and Penn State University. Enlisting in the army during World War II, he played with the paratroopers at Fort Benning, Georgia. There, he led the country, both college and service teams, in scoring with 1062 points in 44 games. After being discharged, he played for the Lancaster Red Roses in the Eastern Basketball League, where he led that league in scoring, averaging more than 24 points per game.[citation needed]

In 1947, he began playing for the Tri-Cities BlackHawks in the National Basketball League (NBL). While with the Blackhawks, he made the All-Rookie team, averaging 12 points a game. His team made it to the final round of the playoffs in both of the years he played there. In 1949, the founding year of the NBA, Von Nieda was traded to the Baltimore Bullets, where he completed the 1949–50 NBA season. In Baltimore, he started every game playing both point guard and shooting guard. Von Nieda was known for his quickness on the court.[citation needed]

After leaving the NBA, he coached at Elizabethtown College for two years. In 1952, he became the player/coach of the Lancaster Red Roses for four years, making it to the finals three of those years. Von Nieda was selected to the All-EPBL Second Team in 1951.[2]

Von Nieda returned to the Red Roses as an assistant coach for the 1977–78 season.[3] On March 27, 1978, he was activated as a player and placed in the starting line-up for a game against the Brooklyn Dodgers that was billed as "Nostalgia Night".[4][5] Von Nieda played the first four minutes and missed his only field goal attempt.[4]

Again in 1985, he coached Lancaster in the Continental League; these teams were a stepping stone to the NBA. Once again, his team made it to the finals. For many years, he coached junior teams, working with 10- and 12-year-old players and teaching them the fundamentals of basketball.[citation needed]

Personal life and death

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Von Nieda resided in Elizabethtown, Pennsylvania, with his wife, Arlene. He turned 100 on June 19, 2022; he was the first NBA player to reach 100 years of age, and thus the longest lived NBA player in history.[6] He died on September 6, 2023, at the age of 101.[7][8]

Career statistics

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Legend
  GP Games played  FGM  Field-goals made
 FG%  Field-goal percentage  FTM  Free-throws made
 FTA  Free-throws attempted  FT%  Free-throw percentage
 APG  Assists per game  PTS  Points
 PPG  Points per game  Bold  Career high

NBL

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Source[9]

Regular season

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Year Team GP FGM FTM FTA FT% PTS PPG
1947–48 Tri-Cities 60 276 174 287 .606 726 12.1
1948–49 Tri-Cities 64 247 147 226 .650 641 10.0
Career 124 523 321 513 .626 1,367 11.0

Playoffs

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Year Team GP FGM FTM FTA FT% PTS PPG
1948 Tri-Cities 6 41 15 28 .536 97 16.2
1949 Tri-Cities 6 20 13 24 .542 53 8.8
Career 12 61 28 52 .538 150 12.5

NBA

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Regular season

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Year Team GP FG% FT% APG PPG
1949–50 Tri-Cities 26 .345 .630 1.4 4.2
1949–50 Baltimore 33 .364 .638 3.2 6.2
Career 59 .357 .635 2.4 5.3

See also

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References

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  1. ^ Flynn, Cameron (September 8, 2023). "Oldest Living NBA Player Dies At 101". Athlon Sports. Retrieved September 8, 2023.
  2. ^ "Stanley Von Nieda minor league basketball statistics". Stats Crew. Retrieved June 21, 2021.
  3. ^ "Von Nieda, Raskin Chosen To Share Roses' Coaching". Lancaster New Era. October 21, 1977. p. 19. Retrieved July 6, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  4. ^ a b "Roses Score 174 Points, Make Playoffs". Lancaster New Era. March 27, 1978. p. 20. Retrieved July 6, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  5. ^ Rutherford, Mac (March 27, 1978). "Norman's Shooting Lights Armory". Intelligencer Journal. p. 15. Retrieved July 6, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  6. ^ Gross, Mike. "Ephrata basketball legend Von Nieda celebrates a century". lancasteronline.com. Retrieved June 19, 2022.
  7. ^ Gross, Mike (September 8, 2023). "Ephrata's Whitey Von Nieda, NBA veteran, dies at 101". LancasterOnline. Retrieved September 8, 2023.
  8. ^ "Former NBA player Stanley 'Whitey' Von Nieda dies at the age of 101". Associated Press. Retrieved September 8, 2023.
  9. ^ "Whitey Von Nieda NBL Stats". Basketball Reference. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved June 20, 2023.
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