Bill Closs

Bill Tom Closs (January 8, 1922 – June 6, 2011) was an American basketball player. He played collegiately for Rice University. In his final year, he led the Southwest Conference in scoring and was All-American in 1943. In 1971 he was inducted into the Rice Athletic Hall of Fame, and in 2003 his basketball jersey was retired.

Bill Closs

Closs, circa 1947
Personal information
Born	(1922-01-08)January 8, 1922 Edge, Texas
Died	June 6, 2011(2011-06-06) (aged 89) Palo Alto, California
Nationality	American
Listed height	6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)
Listed weight	195 lb (88 kg)
Career information
High school	Hearne (Hearne, Texas)
College	Rice (1940–1943)
Playing career	1949–1952
Position	Small forward
Number	11, 16, 14
Career history
1946–1948	Indianapolis Kautskys
1948–1950	Anderson Packers
1950–1951	Philadelphia Warriors
1951–1952	Fort Wayne Pistons
Career highlights and awards
NBL champion (1949) All-NBL Second Team (1949) Consensus first-team All-American (1943) First-team All-SWC (1943) No 22 retired by Rice Owls
Stats at NBA.com
Stats at Basketball Reference

He joined the Marine Reserve while still at Rice, and was posted in the Fleet Marine Force Pacific Headquarters in Oahu, Hawaii in 1944.

Closs started professional basketball with Indianapolis in 1946. He played for the Anderson Packers (1948–50), Philadelphia Warriors (1950–51) and Fort Wayne Pistons (1951–52) in the National Basketball Association (NBA) for 186 games. Following the conclusion of his professional basketball career, Closs enjoyed over 35 years of success in the sporting goods industry.

Closs died on June 6, 2011.^[1]