Basketball Hall of Famer Wanzer dies at age 94
Basketball Hall of Famer Bobby Wanzer died Saturday at the age of 94.
Wanzer played all nine of his NBA seasons with the Rochester Royals and helped to guide the team to the 1951 NBA championship as part of a noted backcourt with fellow Hall of Famer Bob Davies.
A five-time All-Star, he averaged 12.2 points and 3.2 assists in 568 regular-season games. He also was a career .802 free-throw shooter and led the NBA in the 1951-52 season by converting .904 percent of his attempts. He was the first player in NBA history to make better than 90 percent of his free throw attempts in a season.
He was a player-coach with the Royals from 1955-58, finishing with a 98-136 record.
“As one of the first NBA players to shoot over 90 percent from the free thrown line, Bobby Wanzer’s incredible work ethic was on display each time he took the floor,” John L. Doleva, president and CEO of the Basketball Hall of Fame said in a statement. “He was a complete player and an even better teammate. He will be truly missed by the basketball community.”
Wanzer was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1987.
After his playing career he started St. John Fisher College’s basketball program and coached the team from 1963-’87. He finished with a 312-245 record at the school.
He played collegiately at Seton Hall but enlisted in the Marine Corps after his sophomore year. He returned to the school after World War II ended and Davies, his future teammate, was his coach.
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