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| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Born | (1930-03-10)March 10, 1930 Logan, West Virginia, U.S. |
| Died | December 21, 1983(1983-12-21) (aged 53) Bradenton, Florida, U.S. |
| Listed height | 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) |
| Listed weight | 215 lb (98 kg) |
| Career information | |
| High school | Charleston (Charleston, West Virginia) |
| College | West Virginia (1949–1952) |
| NBA draft | 1952: 1st round,1st overall pick |
| Selected by theMilwaukee Hawks | |
| Playing career | 1952–1954 |
| Position | Center |
| Number | 12, 24 |
| Career history | |
| 1952 | Milwaukee Hawks |
| 1952–1953 | Philadelphia Warriors |
| 1953–1954 | Baltimore Bullets |
| Career highlights and awards | |
| |
| Career NBA statistics | |
| Points | 386 (4.9 ppg) |
| Rebounds | 230 (2.9 rpg) |
| Assists | 44 (0.6 apg) |
Stats at NBA.com  | |
| Stats atBasketball Reference | |
Mark Cecil Workman (born March 10, 1930 – December 21, 1983) was an American professionalbasketball player fromCharleston, West Virginia. He played collegiately atWest Virginia University. Workman was thefirst overall pick in the1952 NBA draft, by theMilwaukee Hawks.
Born inLogan, West Virginia, Workman moved from Logan toCharleston, West Virginia, in 10th grade, leading theCharleston High School Mountain Lions to the state title as a junior.[1] Workman averaged 32.8 points per game as a senior in 1948. He scored 63 points in a sectional tournament game that season.[2]
Workman (1952) andHot Rod Hundley (1957 NBA draft) are the onlyNo. 1 overall draft picks to come from the same high School.[3]
He also lettered in track, specializing in shot put, javelin, and discus. Upon graduation some local car dealers gave him aChrysler New Yorker in order make the drive to Morgantown, becoming the first automobile in the Workman family.[1]
After graduating fromCharleston High School, Workman was recruited toWest Virginia University by the legendary coachLee Patton. Patton died from the effects of a car crash before Workman's playing days began. Under Robert N. "Red" Brown, Workman led the Mountaineers from 1950 to 1952, scoring 1,469 career points (21.0 point-per-game average).[4]
Workman averaged 26.1 points a game in 1950–1951. In 1951–1952, he averaged 23.1 points and 17.5 rebounds for the 23–4 Mountaineers.[5] Workman was a1952 NCAA Men's Basketball All-Americans, alongsideNaismith Basketball Hall of Fame inducteesCliff Hagan,Clyde Lovellette andBob Pettit, as well as major league baseball All-StarDick Groat.[6][7][4]
His top scoring performance was 50 points againstSalem College in 1951. He also scored 48 points againstWashington and Jefferson College, and 44 points againstGeorge Washington University. He still holds the WVU single-game records for field goals (22), free throws (17), and points in a half (37), along with four of the top 10 scoring marks.
One of Workman's greatest accomplishments was winning theUnited States Basketball Writers Association Gold Star Award as the outstanding visiting player in the state of New York for the 1951–52 season for leading WVU to wins overNew York University (100–75) andNiagara University (74–71), despite the New York press having labelled him "the Galloping Goon from West Virginia" the previous year.[1]
Workman also competed in Track and Field at West Virginia. He once beat future Olympic ChampionBob Mathias in the javelin. “Mark Workman was a very good athlete — not a goon as some people thought,” said Eddie Barrett, who was the WVU Sports Information Director at the time. “He also competed in varsity track and field.”[8]
Workman was the first overall pick in the1952 NBA draft, selected by theMilwaukee Hawks, but went on a tour of Europe with theHarlem Globetrotters before playing two years for theNBAPhiladelphia Warriors andBaltimore Bullets.
In 1952–1953, Workman played five games for Milwaukee and was traded on November 19, 1952, to the Philadelphia Warriors forDon Sunderlage. He averaged 5.3 points in 60 games for Philadelphia. In 1953–54, Workman played in 14 games for the Warriors, averaging 4.0 points and 3.6 rebounds.[7]
After retiring from basketball, Workman became a salesman, bringing bowling to the Orient as a representative of theBrunswick Corporation. He later moved to Florida where he worked as a salesman for a mining company while enjoying his true love of fishing.[1][9]
Workman died at his home on December 21, 1983, after a long illness. He was survived by his wife, Jane.[10][2]
Workman was inducted into the West Virginia Sports Writers Hall of Fame in 1974.
In 1994, Workman was inducted into the West Virginia University Sports Hall of Fame.[1]
In 2017, Workman was named an inaugural member of West Virginia University's Mountaineer Legends Society.[1][11]
| 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 |
Source[7]
| Year | Team | GP | MPG | FG% | FT% | RPG | APG | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1952–53 | Milwaukee | 5 | 5.8 | .294 | .500 | 1.2 | .2 | 2.2 |
| 1952–53 | Philadelphia | 60 | 16.7 | .320 | .622 | 3.1 | .6 | 5.3 |
| 1953–54 | Baltimore | 14 | 10.8 | .417 | .600 | 2.6 | .5 | 4.0 |
| Career | 79 | 14.9 | .331 | .618 | 2.9 | .6 | 4.9 | |
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