![]() Stanich, circa 1954 | |||||||||||||||
Personal information | |||||||||||||||
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Full name | George Anthony Stanich | ||||||||||||||
Born | November 4, 1928 (1928-11-04) (age 96) Sacramento, California, U.S. | ||||||||||||||
Basketball career | |||||||||||||||
Personal information | |||||||||||||||
Listed height | 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) | ||||||||||||||
Listed weight | 186 lb (84 kg) | ||||||||||||||
Career information | |||||||||||||||
College | UCLA (1947–1950) | ||||||||||||||
NBA draft | 1950: 2nd round, 21st overall pick | ||||||||||||||
Drafted by | Rochester Royals | ||||||||||||||
Position | Guard /Forward | ||||||||||||||
Career history | |||||||||||||||
As a coach: | |||||||||||||||
1955–1970 | El Camino | ||||||||||||||
1970–1971 | Jugoplastika (assistant) | ||||||||||||||
Career highlights | |||||||||||||||
As player:
As assistant coach:
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Stats atBasketball Reference ![]() | |||||||||||||||
Medal record
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George Anthony Stanich (born November 4, 1928) is an American formermulti-sport athlete who won abronze medal at the1948 Summer Olympics inhigh jump.[1] He playedcollege basketball for theUCLA Bruins, where he was a two-timeall-conference player in thePacific Coast Conference (now thePac-12 Conference). He is the brother ofJohn Stanich.[1]
As a Bruin baseball player, he was a pitcher for 3 seasons, including throwing a 5-hit shutout as a sophomore as UCLA beat USC for the first time in five years.[citation needed] He would become a professional baseball player after graduation, pitching for theOakland Oaks of the Pacific Coast League, as well asIdaho Falls Russets and Stockton.[1]
As a basketball player at theUniversity of California, Los Angeles, Stanich was aguard and led his team to its first NCAA tournament appearance in1949–50.[1] He scored 9 points in the East-West All-Star Game and was a first-teamAll-American (as named byConverse),[1][2] the first of 24 Bruins who would earn this honor underJohn Wooden.[citation needed]
Stanich was also anAll-American high jumper for theUCLA Bruins track and field team, finishing 4th at the1949 NCAA Track and Field Championships.[3]
Stanich coached basketball atEl Camino College from 1955 to 1970 before going on a one-yearsabbatical. During the 1970–1971 season, he was an assistant coach toBranko Radović atJugoplastika inSplit, Croatia, where he helped lead the team to theYugoslav League championship.[1][4] He retired from El Camino in 1992.[1]
The qualification for the high jump at the1948 Olympic Games inLondon was held on the morning of July 30, 1948, with the finals later the same day. Stanich was one of twenty men who qualified for the finals which were held in the rain later. The gold medal was won with a jump of 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m). Stanich was one of four competitors who cleared 6 ft 4.75 in (1.95 m). While he thought he had cleared the bar on his last attempt at 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m), his trail leg hit the bar. Officials from the International Amateur Athletic Federation initially announced that fewer misses would be used to determine the finishing places of the four tied jumpers; the IAAF then announced all four would share second place and the silver medal. Days later they reversed themselves again, and Stanich became the bronze medal winner.[citation needed]