Zelmo Beaty

Zelmo Beaty Jr. was born on October 25, 1939, in Hillister, Texas, a small town of 250. Beaty's father died when he was a child. winning back-to-back Prairie View Interscholastic League 1A state championships in 1957 and 1958. == College ==

Beaty attended Prairie View A&M University, a small National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) school outside of Houston, Texas. "From 1958–1962 at Prairie View A&M Beaty averaged 25 points and 20 rebounds per game and was a two-time first team NAIA All-American (1960 & 1962)". "the 'Big Z' led Prairie View A&M to the NAIA national basketball title in 1962 and was named the Chuck Taylor Tournament MVP". He was a "Little All-American" in 1962. As a junior (1960-61), UPI named him to its first-team small college All-America basketball team, after having been named to the third-team a year earlier. He was also an NAIA All-American and NCAA All-American in 1959-60, and participated in the Olympic tryouts. == NBA ==

St. Louis Hawks Beaty was selected with the third pick of the 1962 NBA draft by the St. Louis Hawks. He averaged more than 20 points per game in three different seasons, and over ten rebounds per game in six of his seven seasons with the Hawks. On December 3, 1967, Beaty scored an NBA career high 42 points in a 123–109 win over the Seattle SuperSonics. During the 1969 NBA Playoffs, the first Hawks postseason in Atlanta, Beaty averaged 22.5 points (his highest NBA playoffs average) and 12.9 rebounds in 11 games. In a pattern familiar for the 1960s Hawks, they were eliminated in the Western Division Finals by the Los Angeles Lakers, the round before the NBA Finals. During his Hawks tenure, Beaty made two NBA All-Star Game appearances in 1966 and 1968, and helped the Hawks reach the playoffs every season of his tenure. In 1969, Beaty left the NBA to play in the rival American Basketball Association (ABA). After playing in the ABA, Beaty returned to the NBA for one final year, 1974–1975, playing 69 games for the Los Angeles Lakers. == ABA ==

in 1971 Utah Stars Beaty was legally barred from playing in the ABA by a legal injunction from the Hawks during the 1969-70 NBA season, and had to wait a year to join the Utah Stars (who had been the Los Angeles Stars). In his first season in the ABA (1970–1971), Beaty led the league in two-point field goal percentage, was third in the league in rebounds per game (15.7), and averaged 22.9 points per game. Utah's success continued in the playoffs, sweeping the Texas Chaparrals in the first round (4–0), before defeating the Indiana Pacers (4–3) to advance to the 1971 ABA Finals. In the finals, Beaty averaged 28.4 points and 16 rebounds per game, including recording totals of 36 points and 16 rebounds in a Game 7 win to end the series. After the game, Beaty was awarded the ABA Playoffs Most Valuable Player Award for his role in the championship victory. In total, Beaty played four seasons with the Stars, being named to the All-ABA second-team twice and making the ABA All-Star Game three times (1971–1973), before returning to the NBA as a member of the Los Angeles Lakers. By 1974 during his final year with the Stars, Beaty was severely hampered by knee injuries, having undergone six surgeries on his knees during his career. Beaty retired in 1975 with combined ABA/NBA totals of 15,207 points and 9,665 rebounds. He was the Squires third head coach that season, replacing the 4–19 Bill Musselman who became coach after the 1–6 Al Bianchi was fired. General manager Jack Ankerson was a two-game interim coach for the Squires before Beatty's appointment. The Squires ceased operations after that season. ==Legacy and honors==

Beaty was inducted into the 2014 National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame class, the 2015 Texas Sports Hall of Fame class, The March 16, 2022, game between Maryland Eastern Shore and Coastal Carolina at The Basketball Classic been designated the Zelmo Beaty Game. Host Josh Levin ends every episode of the Slate sports podcast Hang Up and Listen by saying, "Remember Zelmo Beaty." This is a reference to an appearance by Shaquille O'Neal on the Late Show with David Letterman in which the host asked O'Neal about several centers from earlier eras and O'Neal did not know about Beaty even though Beaty made significant contributions to the game on and off the court. ==Personal life and death==

After pro ball, Beaty worked in financial planning. He worked at a bank in Southern California during the year between playing for the Hawks and Stars. He also worked as a substitute physical education teacher in Seattle elementary schools. Beaty died from cancer on August 27, 2013, at his home in Bellevue, Washington. He was 73 years old. He had been married to his wife for about 50 years, and had two children. == NBA/ABA career statistics ==

Regular season Playoffs ==References==