 Beaty in 1966 | |
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Born | (1939-10-25)October 25, 1939 Hillister, Texas, U.S. |
| Died | August 27, 2013(2013-08-27) (aged 73) Bellevue, Washington, U.S. |
| Listed height | 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) |
| Listed weight | 225 lb (102 kg) |
| Career information | |
| High school | Scott (Woodville, Texas) |
| College | Prairie View A&M (1958–1962) |
| NBA draft | 1962: 1st round, 3rd overall pick |
| Drafted by | St. Louis Hawks |
| Playing career | 1962–1975 |
| Position | Center |
| Number | 14, 31 |
| Career history | |
Playing | |
| 1962–1969 | St. Louis / Atlanta Hawks |
| 1970–1974 | Utah Stars |
| 1974–1975 | Los Angeles Lakers |
Coaching | |
| 1975–1976 | Virginia Squires |
| Career highlights | |
| |
| Career NBA and ABA statistics | |
| Points | 15,207 (17.1 ppg) |
| Rebounds | 9,665 (10.9 rpg) |
| Assists | 1,365 (1.5 apg) |
Stats at NBA.com  | |
| Stats atBasketball Reference | |
| Basketball Hall of Fame | |
| Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame | |
Zelmo "Big Z" Beaty (/ˈbeɪtiː/BAY-tee;[1] October 25, 1939 – August 27, 2013) was an Americanbasketball player. He played eight seasons in theNational Basketball Association (NBA) and four in the rivalAmerican Basketball Association (ABA). Beaty excelled in both high school and college basketball before being selected as a first round draft pick by the St. Louis Hawks in 1962. He was a two-time All-Star for the team in seven years before deciding to jump to theUtah Stars in 1970. In four seasons with the Stars, he was an ABA All-Star three times while being a key figure in the team's run to the 1971 ABA championship, where he recorded 36 points and 16 rebounds in the decisive Game 7 on his way to being named Playoffs MVP; it is still the only professional basketball championship for the state of Utah. Beaty's career soon drew to a close due to knee injuries due to his physical play of the years that saw him retire in 1975 at the age of 36. A three-timeABA All-Star and two-timeNBA All-Star to go along with being selected to theABA All-Time Team, Beaty was inducted into theNaismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame as a player in 2016.
Zelmo Beaty Jr. was born on October 25, 1939, inHillister, Texas, a small town of 250. Beaty's father died when he was a child.[1] He attended the segregated Scott High School inWoodville, Texas,[1] and played for coach John Payton,[2] winning back-to-backPrairie View Interscholastic League 1A state championships in 1957 and 1958.[3][4]
Beaty attendedPrairie View A&M University, a smallNational Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) school outside of Houston, Texas.[5] "From 1958–1962 at Prairie View A&M Beaty averaged 25points and 20rebounds per game and was a two-time first team NAIA All-American (1960 & 1962)".[3] After having been ranked number one by theAssociated Press (AP) andUnited Press International (UPI) at the end of the 1961-62 regular season,[6] "the 'Big Z' led Prairie View A&M to the NAIA national basketball title in 1962 and was named theChuck Taylor Tournament MVP".[3] He had 28 points and 29 rebounds in the championship game.[7]
He was a "Little All-American" in 1962.[8] As a junior (1960-61), UPI named him to its first-team small college All-America basketball team, after having been named to the third-team a year earlier.[9] He was also an NAIA All-American andNCAA All-American in 1959-60, and participated in the Olympic tryouts.[10]
Beaty was selected with the third pick of the1962 NBA draft by theSt. Louis Hawks.[3] Beaty was named to the inauguralNBA All-Rookie Team in 1963, along withDave DeBusschere,Terry Dischinger,John Havlicek andChet Walker.[1][11] 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.[12] 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.[13]
On December 3, 1967, Beaty scored an NBA career high 42 points in a 123–109 win over theSeattle SuperSonics.[14][15] During the1969 NBA Playoffs, the first Hawks postseason in Atlanta, Beaty averaged 22.5 points (his highest NBA playoffs average) and 12.9 rebounds in 11 games. In a pattern familiar for the 1960s Hawks, they were eliminated in the Western Division Finals by theLos Angeles Lakers, the round before the NBA Finals.[12][16]
During his Hawks tenure, Beaty made twoNBA All-Star Game appearances in 1966 and 1968,[1][12] and helped the Hawks reach the playoffs every season of his tenure.[17] In 1969, Beaty left the NBA to play in the rivalAmerican Basketball Association (ABA).[1]
After playing in the ABA, Beaty returned to the NBA for one final year, 1974–1975, playing 69 games for the Los Angeles Lakers.[1]
Beaty was legally barred from playing in the ABA by a legal injunction from the Hawks during the1969-70 NBA season, and had to wait a year to join the Utah Stars (who had been the Los Angeles Stars).[1][18] In his first season in the ABA (1970–1971), Beaty led the league in two-point field goal percentage,[19] was third in the league in rebounds per game (15.7),[20] and averaged 22.9 points per game.[5]
Coached byBill Sharman and also featuring ABA starWillie Wise, the Stars were dominant in the regular season and finished with the second best record in the league at 57–27.[21] Utah's success continued in the playoffs, sweeping theTexas Chaparrals in the first round (4–0), before defeating theIndiana Pacers (4–3) to advance to the1971 ABA Finals.[22] In the finals, Beaty averaged 28.4 points and 16 rebounds per game, including recording totals of 36 points and 16 rebounds in a Game 7 win to end the series.[23] After the game, Beaty was awarded theABA Playoffs Most Valuable Player Award for his role in the championship victory.[12][5]
The following year, Beaty averaged a career high (for both his NBA and ABA careers) of 23.6 points per game while playing all 84 games of the regular season.[12][1] However, thatpostseason the Stars would be eliminated during a hard-fought seven-game series in the Western Division Finals by the Pacers, who Utah had beat the year before to advance to the finals.[24]
In total, Beaty played four seasons with the Stars, being named to the All-ABA second-team twice and making theABA All-Star Game three times (1971–1973), before returning to the NBA as a member of theLos Angeles Lakers.[25][1][5]
He also served as president of the ABA's Player Association, as well as union player representative with the Hawks.[26]
By 1974 during his final year with the Stars, Beaty was severely hampered by knee injuries, having undergone six surgeries on his knees during his career.[27] Beaty retired in 1975 with combined ABA/NBA totals of 15,207 points and 9,665 rebounds.[28][12]
In the 1975–1976 season, he briefly served as head coach for the ABA'sVirginia Squires for 42 games.[1][29] He was the Squires third head coach that season, replacing the 4–19Bill Musselman who became coach after the 1–6Al Bianchi was fired.[30] General managerJack Ankerson was a two-game interim coach for the Squires before Beatty's appointment.[31] The Squires ceased operations after that season.[32][33]
Beaty was inducted into the 2014National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame class,[34] the 2015Texas Sports Hall of Fame class,[3] and the 2016 Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame class.[35][5] Earlier, in 1997, Beaty was named to theABA's 30-man all-time team,[3] and in 1989, was inducted into the Prairie View A&M Sports Hall of Fame, and is a recipient of theWilliam "Billy" Nicks Legend Award.[36]
The March 16, 2022, game betweenMaryland Eastern Shore andCoastal Carolina atThe Basketball Classic been designated the Zelmo Beaty Game.[37]
HostJosh Levin ends every episode of theSlate sports podcastHang Up and Listen by saying, "Remember Zelmo Beaty." This is a reference to an appearance byShaquille O'Neal on theLate Show with David Letterman in which the host asked O'Neal about several centers from earlier eras and O'Neal did not know about Beaty even though Beaty made significant contributions to the game on and off the court.[38]
After pro ball, Beaty worked in financial planning. He worked at a bank in Southern California during the year between playing for the Hawks and Stars. He also worked as a substitute physical education teacher inSeattle elementary schools.[1] As reported by Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of FameCurt Gowdy Award writerPeter Vecsey, Beaty's Utah roommate Willie Wise said Beaty "was greatly influenced byMartin Luther King and became a staunch proponent for equality in all arenas, especially education. That’s why he became a substitute teacher. He went into the unruliest schools in Washington State because he wanted Afro American kids to have a chance to learn.'”[39]
Beaty died from cancer on August 27, 2013, at his home inBellevue, Washington. He was 73 years old. He had been married to his wife for about 50 years, and had two children.[1]
| 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 anABA championship |
| * | Led the league |
| Year | Team | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1962–63 | St. Louis | 80 | – | 24.0 | .439 | – | .717 | 8.3 | 1.1 | – | – | 10.2 |
| 1963–64 | St. Louis | 59 | – | 32.6 | .444 | – | .741 | 10.7 | 1.3 | – | – | 13.1 |
| 1964–65 | St. Louis | 80 | – | 36.5 | .482 | – | .715 | 12.1 | 1.4 | – | – | 16.9 |
| 1965–66 | St. Louis | 80 | – | 38.4 | .473 | – | .758 | 13.6 | 1.6 | – | – | 20.7 |
| 1966–67 | St. Louis | 48 | – | 34.6 | .473 | – | .758 | 10.7 | 1.3 | – | – | 17.8 |
| 1967–68 | St. Louis | 82 | – | 37.4 | .488 | – | .794 | 11.7 | 2.1 | – | – | 21.1 |
| 1968–69 | Atlanta | 72 | – | 35.8 | .470 | – | .731 | 11.1 | 1.8 | – | – | 21.5 |
| 1970–71† | Utah (ABA) | 76 | – | 38.4 | .555* | .500 | .791 | 15.7 | 1.9 | – | – | 22.9 |
| 1971–72 | Utah (ABA) | 84 | – | 37.3 | .539 | .000 | .829 | 13.2 | 1.5 | – | – | 23.6 |
| 1972–73 | Utah (ABA) | 82 | – | 34.2 | .520 | .000 | .803 | 9.8 | 1.5 | – | 1.0 | 16.4 |
| 1973–74 | Utah (ABA) | 77 | – | 32.2 | .524 | .000 | .795 | 8.0 | 1.7 | 0.8 | 0.8 | 13.4 |
| 1974–75 | L.A. Lakers | 69 | – | 17.6 | .439 | – | .800 | 4.7 | 1.1 | 0.7 | 0.4 | 5.5 |
| Career | 889 | – | 33.4 | .494 | .154 | .771 | 10.9 | 1.5 | 0.7 | 0.8 | 17.1 | |
| All-Star | 5 | 1 | 24.6 | .340 | – | .789 | 9.4 | 1.2 | 0.2 | 0.4 | 9.8 | |
| Year | Team | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1963 | St. Louis | 11 | – | 27.9 | .443 | – | .750 | 7.6 | 1.0 | – | – | 10.3 |
| 1964 | St. Louis | 12 | – | 36.3 | .521 | – | .597 | 9.5 | 1.0 | – | – | 14.3 |
| 1965 | St. Louis | 4 | – | 38.5 | .492 | – | .760 | 13.8 | 0.3 | – | – | 19.3 |
| 1966 | St. Louis | 10 | – | 41.8 | .493 | – | .759 | 13.1 | 2.2 | – | – | 19.0 |
| 1967 | St. Louis | 9 | – | 35.3 | .442 | – | .785 | 9.9 | 1.3 | – | – | 15.9 |
| 1968 | St. Louis | 6 | – | 39.8 | .467 | – | .782 | 13.5 | 2.5 | – | – | 21.5 |
| 1969 | Atlanta | 11 | – | 43.0 | .432 | – | .672 | 12.9 | 2.3 | – | – | 22.5 |
| 1971† | Utah (ABA) | 18 | – | 38.8 | .536 | – | .846 | 14.6 | 2.4 | – | – | 23.2 |
| 1972 | Utah (ABA) | 11 | – | 40.3 | .552 | – | .830 | 14.0 | 2.2 | – | – | 20.1 |
| 1973 | Utah (ABA) | 10 | – | 38.7 | .552 | – | .827 | 11.6 | 1.4 | – | – | 15.9 |
| 1974 | Utah (ABA) | 13 | – | 36.3 | .503 | – | .825 | 10.8 | 1.6 | 1.4 | 0.9 | 14.8 |
| Career | 115 | – | 37.8 | .496 | – | .770 | 11.9 | 1.7 | 1.4 | 0.9 | 17.9 | |
· Basketball Reference
