 Palmer in 1948 | |
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Born | (1921-09-14)September 14, 1921 Hollywood, California, U.S. |
| Died | March 19, 2013(2013-03-19) (aged 91) West Palm Beach, Florida, U.S. |
| Listed height | 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) |
| Listed weight | 180 lb (82 kg) |
| Career information | |
| High school | |
| College | Princeton (1941–1943) |
| Playing career | 1946–1949 |
| Position | Power forward /center |
| Number | 16 |
| Career history | |
| 1946–1949 | New York Knicks |
Stats at NBA.com  | |
| Stats atBasketball Reference | |
John Shove "Bud" Palmer (bornJohn Palmer Flynn;[1] September 14, 1921 – March 19, 2013) was an American professionalbasketball player andsportscaster. He was a member of theNew York Knicks during the team's first three seasons in theBasketball Association of America and was the leading scorer in the team's inaugural1946–47 season. Palmer is considered to be one of the inventors of thejump shot.[2][3]
Born inHollywood, California, Palmer was the son of football player and actorMaurice Bennett "Lefty" Flynn and singer Blanche Palmer.[2] He was nicknamed "Bud" due to being the budding image of his father; Palmer relinquished his father's surname from his name when his parents divorced.[1] Palmer was 5 ft 4 in (1.63 m) when he started playing basketball atHun School of Princeton, and started using the jump shot to compensate for his height.[2] He grew a foot taller to 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) by the time he began playing college basketball atPrinceton University, and played for three seasons before he enlisted in theU.S. Navy duringWorld War II.[2]
After his NBA career ended, Palmer went on to have a successful career as asportscaster.[2][4] He was Chief of Protocol and Official Greeter for theCity of New York for seven years duringJohn Lindsay's administration. Palmer modeled menswear, advertised Vitalishair tonic, and wrote as anadvice columnist inGlamour magazine.[1]
Palmer died at 91 of metastaticprostate cancer in 2013 inWest Palm Beach, Florida.[2][5]
| Legend | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GP | Games played | FG% | Field-goal percentage | ||
| FT% | Free-throw percentage | APG | Assists per game | ||
| PPG | Points per game | Bold | Career high | ||
| Year | Team | GP | FG% | FT% | APG | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1946–47 | New York | 42 | .307 | .669 | 0.8 | 9.5 |
| 1947–48 | New York | 48 | .315 | .744 | 0.9 | 13.0 |
| 1948–49 | New York | 58 | .350 | .762 | 1.9 | 12.3 |
| Career | 148 | .326 | .739 | 1.3 | 11.7 | |
| Year | Team | GP | FG% | FT% | APG | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1947 | New York | 5 | .351 | .600 | 0.8 | 15.6 |
| 1948 | New York | 3 | .421 | .769 | 0.0 | 14.0 |
| 1949 | New York | 6 | .422 | .771 | 1.7 | 13.5 |
| Career | 14 | .388 | .721 | 1.0 | 14.4 | |
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
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