Walter Jones Bellamy was an American professional basketball player.
13 Facts About Walt Bellamy
2.
Walt Bellamy averaged 20.6 points per game and shot 51.7 percent from the floor for his college career.
3.
Walt Bellamy holds the school records for most rebounds in a season and most double-doubles in a career.
4.
Walt Bellamy was named an All-American in both his junior and senior year.
5.
Walt Bellamy was the first Hoosier taken No 1 in the 1961 NBA draft and the first Hoosier named NBA Rookie of the Year.
6.
Walt Bellamy was the starting center on the gold medal-winning 1960 American basketball team at the 1960 Summer Olympics.
7.
Walt Bellamy had a stellar 14-year career in the NBA, and was the NBA first overall draft pick in 1961.
8.
Walt Bellamy was named the NBA Rookie of the Year in 1962 after having arguably one of the three greatest rookie seasons in NBA history along with Wilt Chamberlain and Oscar Robertson.
9.
Walt Bellamy led the NBA in field goal percentage in his rookie season, and had a 23-point, 17-rebound performance in the 1962 NBA All-Star Game.
10.
Walt Bellamy later played for several seasons with the Atlanta Hawks, and finished his career with the New Orleans Jazz.
11.
Walt Bellamy ended his NBA career with 20,941 points and 14,241 rebounds, and is a two-time Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame inductee, being inducted in 1993 for his individual career, and in 2010 as a member of the 1960 United States men's Olympic basketball team.
12.
Walt Bellamy served as a Goodwill Ambassador and member of the Executive Committee of the NAACP's Georgia State Conference.
13.
Walt Bellamy was survived by his wife of 53 years, Helen Hollie Ragland Bellamy, son Derrin Bellamy, and two grandsons.