 Bellamy with theFlorida A&M Rattlers during the 1962–63 season | |
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Born | February 1940 (age 85) Bradenton, Florida, U.S. |
| Listed height | 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) |
| Listed weight | 195 lb (88 kg) |
| Career information | |
| High school | Lincoln (Palmetto, Florida) |
| College | Florida A&M (1959–1963) |
| NBA draft | 1963: 4th round, 33rd overall pick |
| Drafted by | St. Louis Hawks |
| Playing career | 1963–1971 |
| Position | Guard |
| Career history | |
| 1963–1971 | Wilmington / Delaware Blue Bombers |
| Career highlights and awards | |
| |
Stats atBasketball Reference  | |
Waite Bellamy Jr. (born February 1940)[1] is an American former professionalbasketball player and coach. He playedcollege basketball for theFlorida A&M Rattlers and was selected in the1963 NBA draft by theSt. Louis Hawks. Bellamy spent his entire professional career with the Wilmington / Delaware Blue Bombers of theEastern Professional Basketball League (EPBL) where he won two championships in 1966 and 1967. He was named as the league'sMost Valuable Player in 1970. Bellamy worked as a teacher and basketball coach at high schools inFlorida after his playing retirement.
Bellamy's mother, Ruth (died 2002), was fromTrilby, Florida, and worked as a seamstress.[2] His father, Waite Sr. (died 1980), was a native ofLittle River, South Carolina, and worked in the railroad industry.[3] Bellamy was raised by his mother[4] and aspired to be a basketball player "as far back as [he] can remember."[5] He used the rim of a can nailed to a tree in his backyard as his childhood basketball hoop and practiced everyday until it became too dark to see.[5] Bellamy's earliest idols wereGeorge Mikan andPaul Arizin.[6]
Bellamy attended Lincoln High School inPalmetto, Florida.[7] He averaged 25 points as a senior while his team finished the season with a 30–5 record and advanced to the state tournament.[7] Bellamy served as captain of thefootball team,[7] where he played as acenter andtackle.[5] He was also president of the school's student body.[7] Bellamy graduated in 1959.[7]
Bellamy did not receive any scholarships from majorSouthern colleges as they did not offer them to black players at the time.[7] He was offered a football scholarship to attendFlorida A&M University but a bad back forced him to quit playing football; Florida A&M instead kept Bellamy on a basketball scholarship.[5]
Bellamy tallied 1,600 points and was a three-time All-SIAC selection from 1961 to 1963.[8] He set the Rattlers' single-game scoring record when he totalled 53 points against theBethune–Cookman Wildcats.[8]
Bellamy graduated from Florida A&M with aBachelor of Science in physical education.[5]
Bellamy was inducted into the Florida A&M Athletics Hall of Fame in 1987.[9] His number 25 jersey was retired by the Rattlers and hangs in theAl Lawson Center.[8]
Bellamy was selected by theSt. Louis Hawks in the 4th round of the1963 NBA draft.[5] He only attended the first day of summer camp with the Hawks when they discovered that he had a fractured foot; Bellamy had tried to conceal the injury because he feared he could not otherwise participate.[6] In September 1963, the Hawks informed Bellamy that he was not needed but they had arranged for him to play with theScranton Miners in theEastern Professional Basketball League (EPBL) if he desired.[6] Bellamy spent one day inScranton, Pennsylvania, when he was approached by Bill Kauffman who was organizing a new EPBL team called the Wilmington Blue Bombers and recruited Bellamy to join.[6] Bellamy liked the idea of playing for a new team and Kauffman's "deal sounded better."[6]
Bellamy played with the Blue Bombers for eight seasons.[7] Bellamy was awarded as theEPBL Most Valuable Player in 1970 and earned three selections to the All-EPBL team.[10] He won twochampionships with the Blue Bombers in 1966 and 1967.[11] He led the league in scoring during the 1969–70 season with 838 points.[12]
Bellamy earned invitations toNational Basketball Association (NBA) training camps with thePhiladelphia 76ers,Baltimore Bullets andNew York Knicks during his EPBL career.[7] He had "shook off" his ambitions of playing in the NBA by 1969 yet did not know why he never made an NBA team.[6] 76ers head coachJack Ramsay offered to try getting him into theAmerican Basketball Association (ABA) but Bellamy preferred his set-up in Wilmington where he worked as a teacher to supplement his basketball career.[6] Blue Bombers owner, Joe Horwitz, reflected in a 2002 interview: "I never knew why [Bellamy] never made the NBA. He was the star of the league, the best shooter in the league."[4]
Bellamy's relationship with the Blue Bombers soured in January 1971 when his salary was cut from $150 to $100 per game.[13] The team folded in July 1971 and Bellamy was selected in the dispersal draft by a team inCherry Hill, New Jersey.[13] He attended four pre-season practices with the team but decided not to join because "things were too shaky there."[13] Bellamy announced his retirement from playing basketball in December 1971, citing disenchantment.[13]
Bellamy worked as a mathematics teacher and coached basketball and football in theSarasota County high school system for 16 years.[4] He started atSarasota High School and then moved toBooker High School where he worked until his retirement in May 2001.[4]
Bellamy was inducted in the National Negro High School Basketball Hall of Fame in 2008 and the Florida Association of Basketball Coaches Court of Legends in 2016.[11][7]
On March 24, 2023, Bellamy and his surviving Blue Bombers teammates were honored byDelaware Blue Coats during the halftime of anNBA G League game.[14] Bellamy was presented with his 1970 EBL MVP trophy for the first time while he received chants of "MVP" from the crowd.[15]
On February 9, 2024, the Delaware Blue Coats announced that they would retire Bellamy's number 9 jersey and hang it in the rafters ofChase Fieldhouse.[16] Bellamy said that it was "one of the greatest honors any athlete can experience."[16]
Bellamy has two sons who played basketball at Sarasota High School.[15]
Bellamy will be 29 years old in a week