 | |
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Born | (1931-07-13)July 13, 1931 Corydon, Kentucky, U.S. |
| Died | July 8, 2018(2018-07-08) (aged 86) Madisonville, Kentucky, U.S. |
| Listed height | 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) |
| Listed weight | 190 lb (86 kg) |
| Career information | |
| High school | Madisonville (Madisonville, Kentucky) |
| College | Kentucky (1950–1954) |
| NBA draft | 1953: 1st round, 5th overall pick |
| Drafted by | Boston Celtics |
| Playing career | 1954–1964 |
| Position | Small forward /shooting guard |
| Number | 23 |
| Career history | |
Playing | |
| 1954–1955, 1956–1964 | Boston Celtics |
Coaching | |
| 1970–1971 | Kentucky Colonels |
| Career highlights | |
| |
| Career statistics | |
| Points | 8,378 (13.4 ppg) |
| Rebounds | 3,410 (5.5 rpg) |
| Assists | 1,134 (1.8 apg) |
Stats at NBA.com  | |
| Stats atBasketball Reference | |
| Basketball Hall of Fame | |
| Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame | |
Frank Vernon Ramsey Jr. (July 13, 1931 – July 8, 2018) was an American professionalbasketball player and coach. A 6-3swingman, he played his entire nine-year (1954–1964)National Basketball Association (NBA) career with theBoston Celtics and played a major role in the early part of theirdynasty, winningseven championships as part of the team. Ramsey was also a head coach for theKentucky Colonels of theAmerican Basketball Association (ABA) during the1970–71 season. Ramsey was inducted into theNaismith Basketball Hall of Fame in 1982.
Raised inMadisonville, Kentucky, Ramsey was a multi-sport athlete at theUniversity of Kentucky, playing baseball as well as basketball. Playing under coachAdolph Rupp, Ramsey, as a sophomore in1951, helped the Wildcats win theNCAA Championship[1] with a 68–58 victory overKansas State.
In the fall of 1952, apoint shaving scandal involving three Kentucky players (a fourth player,Bill Spivey, a teammate of Ramsey's on the 1951 championship team, was accused of being involved in the scandal but denied the charge) over a four-year period forced Kentucky to forfeit its upcoming season, Ramsey's senior year, as well as that ofCliff Hagan andLou Tsioropoulos. The suspension of the season made Kentucky's basketball team, in effect, the first college sports team to get the "death penalty," although it was nothing more than the NCAA asking members schools not to schedule Kentucky, and not mandating it.
Ramsey, Hagan and Tsioropoulos all graduated from Kentucky in 1953 and, as a result, became eligible for theNBA draft. All three players were selected by theBoston Celtics—Ramsey in the first round, Hagan in the third, and Tsioropoulos in the seventh. All three also returned to Kentucky for one more season despite graduating. After finishing the regular season (one in which Ramsey averaged 19.6 points per game) with a perfect 25–0 record and a #1 ranking in theAssociated Press, Kentucky had been offered a bid into theNCAA Tournament. However, then-existing NCAA rules prohibited graduate students from participating in post-season play; the Wildcats declined the bid because their participation would have forced them to play without Ramsey, Hagan and Tsioropoulos, thus jeopardizing their perfect season.
Ramsey also played onKentucky Wildcats baseball team, earning All-SEC honors as an outfielder in 1951, 1952 and 1954.[2]
Upon completion of his college basketball career, Ramsey scored 1344 points (14.8 ppg), which at the time ranked him fourth in the school's history, and grabbed 1038 rebounds (11.4 rpg), a school record later surpassed by one of his future Kentucky Colonels players,Dan Issel.
After playing his rookie season with the Celtics (1954–1955), Ramsey spent one year in the military before rejoining the team. In the eight seasons he played after military service, he was a member of seven championship teams (1957,1959–1964).[1] He was a major contributor of the Celtics dynasty, playing behind the duo ofBob Cousy andBill Sharman and playing withBill Russell,Sam Jones,K. C. Jones,Tom Heinsohn,John Havlicek andSatch Sanders. In his 623 NBA games Ramsey scored 8378 points for an average of 13.4 points per game. He was inducted into theNaismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in1981. His #23 is retired by the Celtics.
Ramsey's best statistical season was1957–1958; he averaged 16.5 points and 7.3 rebounds per game. It was also his only post-military season in which the Celtics did not win the NBA championship; theBob Pettit-ledSt. Louis Hawks (who also featured Cliff Hagan, Ramsey's ex-college teammate) defeated them in theNBA Finals.
Ramsey was also a head coach for one season (1970–71) in the ABA with the Kentucky Colonels,[1] who were led by two former Kentucky Wildcats – Issel, a rookie, andLouie Dampier. Ramsey was named coach 17 games into an 84-game season (which began withGene Rhodes coaching the first 15 games and fellow Kentucky alumAlex Groza coaching the next two), albeit on his own terms, where he commuted fromMadisonville, Kentucky by plane without moving toLouisville, Kentucky. InLoose Balls, several associates noted Ramsey's methods of precision that ranged from specifically taping the player's ankles himself to taking the first flight out in the morning to even bringing in ammonia to sniff to help deal with thin air for games inDenver. While the team went just 32–35 with Ramsey in the regular season, he coached the Colonels into the playoffs. The Colonels made it all the way to the ABA Finals, where he put an oxygen tank on the bench to apparently deal with the high altitude (apparently, the tank actually had no oxygen in it). They lost to theUtah Stars, as coached by Bill Sharman, Ramsey's ex-Celtic teammate that went the full seven games. On June 20, Ramsey was fired and replaced byJoe Mullaney, who had just been fired by theLos Angeles Lakers.[3][4]
Prior to coaching in the ABA, Ramsey had beenRed Auerbach's first choice to replace his mentor as Celtics coach after Auerbach retired at the end of the 1965–66 season. However, Ramsey decided to move back to Madisonville; his father, Frank Sr., wasn't in good health and Frank Jr. had three children to raise.[5]
Auerbach is often credited throughout basketball with creating thesixth man. Though Ramsey was one of the Celtics' best players, he felt more comfortable coming off the bench and Auerbach wanted him fresh and in the lineup at the end of close games. Ramsey was the first in a series of sixth men who won championship rings with the Celtics. In the championships the Celtics won after Ramsey's retirement, they have had successful sixth men such as Havlicek,Paul Silas,Kevin McHale,Bill Walton, andJames Posey.
Ramsey was mentioned in the episode "If I Could See Me Now" ofMarried... with Children. Bud askedAl the trivia question, "Who was known as the best sixth man in basketball? He played for the Celtics", to which Al nonchalantly replied, "Frank Ramsey".
On November 15, 2005, Ramsey's house was destroyed in atornado that hit his residence in Madisonville. One of his plaques was found miles away from his home, and Ramsey himself was found unhurt.
As of June 2008[update], Ramsey was a bank president inDixon, Kentucky.[6]
Ramsey died of natural causes in his hometown of Madisonville, Kentucky on July 8, 2018, at the age of 86.[7]
| 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 |
| † | Won anNBA championship |
| Year | Team | GP | MPG | FG% | FT% | RPG | APG | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1954–55 | Boston | 64 | 27.4 | .399 | .755 | 6.3 | 2.9 | 11.2 |
| 1956–57† | Boston | 35 | 23.1 | .393 | .791 | 5.1 | 1.9 | 11.9 |
| 1957–58 | Boston | 69 | 29.7 | .419 | .811 | 7.3 | 2.4 | 16.5 |
| 1958–59† | Boston | 72 | 28.0 | .378 | .782 | 6.8 | 2.0 | 15.4 |
| 1959–60† | Boston | 73 | 27.5 | .397 | .787 | 6.9 | 1.9 | 15.3 |
| 1960–61† | Boston | 79 | 25.6 | .407 | .833 | 5.5 | 1.8 | 15.1 |
| 1961–62† | Boston | 79 | 24.2 | .428 | .825 | 4.9 | 1.4 | 15.3 |
| 1962–63† | Boston | 77 | 20.0 | .382 | .816 | 3.7 | 1.2 | 10.9 |
| 1963–64† | Boston | 75 | 16.4 | .374 | .841 | 3.0 | 1.1 | 8.6 |
| Career | 623 | 24.6 | .399 | .804 | 5.5 | 1.8 | 13.4 | |
| Year | Team | GP | MPG | FG% | FT% | RPG | APG | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1955 | Boston | 7 | 22.0 | .519 | .731 | 5.0 | 2.3 | 10.7 |
| 1957† | Boston | 10 | 22.9 | .463 | .780 | 4.3 | 1.7 | 12.2 |
| 1958 | Boston | 11 | 32.0 | .425 | .915 | 8.2 | 1.5 | 18.4 |
| 1959† | Boston | 11 | 27.5 | .495 | .802 | 6.2 | 1.8 | 23.2 |
| 1960† | Boston | 13 | 35.3 | .413 | .873 | 7.7 | 2.1 | 16.7 |
| 1961† | Boston | 10 | 30.0 | .404 | .813 | 6.4 | 2.3 | 17.1 |
| 1962† | Boston | 13 | 16.2 | .375 | .911 | 2.9 | 0.8 | 9.2 |
| 1963† | Boston | 13 | 19.3 | .356 | .723 | 2.7 | 0.9 | 8.3 |
| 1964† | Boston | 10 | 13.8 | .349 | .857 | 2.1 | 1.0 | 6.2 |
| Career | 98 | 24.4 | .424 | .826 | 5.0 | 1.5 | 13.6 | |
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