 Beisser with thePhillips 66ers | |
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Born | (1919-05-09)May 9, 1919 Des Moines, Iowa, U.S. |
| Died | October 7, 2000(2000-10-07) (aged 81) Bartlesville, Oklahoma, U.S. |
| Listed height | 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) |
| Career information | |
| High school | North (Des Moines, Iowa) |
| College | Creighton (1940–1943) |
| Position | Center |
| Number | 48 |
| Career highlights | |
| |
Edward J. Beisser (May 9, 1919 – October 7, 2000) was an American standoutbasketball player forCreighton University in the early 1940s and was named aconsensus NCAA First Team All-American as asenior in 1942–43.[1] He was a three-time First Team All-Missouri Valley Conference selection and was later named one of the MVC's "50 Greatest Players" in the conference's history.[2]
Beisser attendedNorth High School inDes Moines, Iowa.[3] He had been a first team all-statecenter and enrolled atCreighton in the fall of 1939.[3] Since collegefreshmen were not allowed to play varsity sports back then, he had to wait until hissophomore year in 1940–41. In his three varsity seasons, Beisser was First Team All-MVC, won two outright conference championships (1941, 1943) and shared a co-MVC title withOklahoma A&M in 1942, and capped his career with an All-American selection.[3] In1941, Creighton participated in the third-everNCAA Tournament, but lost in the first round. In1942 and1943, Beisser led the Bluejays toNational Invitation Tournament (NIT) appearances. They won the Third Place Game in 1942 overToledo, 48–46, but lost in the first round the following year toWashington & Jefferson, 43–42. Beisser was named to the All-Tournament Team in 1942.[4]
After college, Beisser joined the Phillips Oilers in theAmateur Athletic Union (AAU) and teamed withBob Kurland, a two-time NCAA champion and futureBasketball Hall of Famer, to lead the Oilers to three straight national championships in 1946, 1947 and 1948.[3] Phillips then defeated theUniversity of Kentucky in a1948 Olympic Games playoff match.[3] As a result, Beisser was selected as an alternate for theUnited States men's national basketball team.[3] He never played for them, however, and he stayed with thePhillips Petroleum Company throughout his later life while living inBartlesville, Oklahoma.[3]