20 Facts About Bob Ferry

1.

Robert Dean Ferry was an American professional basketball player, assistant coach, and general manager in the National Basketball Association.

FactSnippet No. 2,516,232
2.

Bob Ferry played for the St Louis Hawks, Detroit Pistons, and Baltimore Bullets from 1959 to 1969.

FactSnippet No. 2,516,233
3.

Bob Ferry then served as GM of the Bullets from 1973 to 1990, overseeing the franchise's only NBA championship in 1978.

FactSnippet No. 2,516,234
4.

Bob Ferry was born in St Louis on May 31,1937, and was the oldest of four children.

FactSnippet No. 2,516,235
5.

Bob Ferry's father, Willard, worked at Fisher Body; his mother, Elsie, was a housewife who was employed by Pet, Inc He attended Cleveland High School, where he played baseball, before concentrating on basketball.

FactSnippet No. 2,516,236
6.

Bob Ferry graduated with a degree in General Studies that same year, and his number 43 was later retired by the Saint Louis Billikens.

FactSnippet No. 2,516,237
7.

Bob Ferry was selected in the 1959 NBA draft as the territorial pick of the St Louis Hawks, who had the seventh overall selection that year.

FactSnippet No. 2,516,238
8.

Bob Ferry made his NBA debut on October 24,1959, scoring one point on a free throw against the Minneapolis Lakers.

FactSnippet No. 2,516,239
9.

Bob Ferry ultimately played ten seasons in the NBA with the Hawks, Pistons, and Bullets, scoring 5,780 points to go along with 906 assists and 3,343 rebounds.

FactSnippet No. 2,516,240
10.

Bob Ferry was credited with advising the franchise to select Wes Unseld in the 1968 NBA draft.

FactSnippet No. 2,516,241
11.

Bob Ferry was eventually promoted to general manager of the Bullets on June 13,1973.

FactSnippet No. 2,516,242
12.

Bob Ferry won the NBA Executive of the Year Award in 1979 and 1982, and was one of only 11 league GMs to win the award in multiple seasons at the time of his death.

FactSnippet No. 2,516,243
13.

Bob Ferry was one of four GMs in NBA history with at least 700 wins, 13 playoff appearances, and one championship, the others being R C Buford, Jerry West, and Jerry Krause.

FactSnippet No. 2,516,244
14.

Bob Ferry quit as the Bullets GM on June 12,1990, on the heels of two subpar seasons, having come to a mutual agreement with Pollin that the franchise was in need of a change in administration.

FactSnippet No. 2,516,245
15.

Bob Ferry then became a scout for the Cleveland Cavaliers, the Hawks, and the Brooklyn Nets over the next quarter of a century.

FactSnippet No. 2,516,246
16.

Bob Ferry had a brief stint on The NBA on NBC as an "Insider" alongside Peter Vescey in the early 1990s.

FactSnippet No. 2,516,247
17.

Bob Ferry participated in a senior basketball league until he was in his 70s, and took up tennis and golf.

FactSnippet No. 2,516,248
18.

Bob Ferry was married to Rita Brooks for over sixty years until his death.

FactSnippet No. 2,516,249
19.

Bob Ferry died on October 27,2021, at Anne Arundel Medical Center in Annapolis.

FactSnippet No. 2,516,250
20.

Bob Ferry suffered from melanoma and a heart condition, and was hospitalized for 12 days prior to his death at the age of 84.

FactSnippet No. 2,516,251