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Jack Foley (basketball)

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Jack Foley
Personal information
Born(1939-04-19)April 19, 1939
Worcester, Massachusetts, U.S.
DiedNovember 29, 2020(2020-11-29) (aged 81)
Worcester, Massachusetts, U.S.
Listed height6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)
Listed weight170 lb (77 kg)
Career information
High schoolAssumption
(Worcester, Massachusetts)
CollegeHoly Cross (1959–1962)
NBA draft1962: 2nd round, 16th overall pick
Selected by the Boston Celtics
Playing career1962–1963
PositionForward
Number21, 7
Career history
1962–1963Boston Celtics
1963New York Knicks
Career highlights and awards
Stats at NBA.com Edit this at Wikidata
Stats at Basketball Reference

John E. Foley (April 19, 1939 – November 29, 2020) was an American professional basketball player for the Boston Celtics and New York Knicks of the National Basketball Association (NBA).[1] He was selected in the second round as the 18th pick in the 1962 NBA draft by the Celtics and spent one season playing in the league.[1] Foley was given the nickname "the Shot" because of his explosive offensive ability.[2]

A native of Worcester, Massachusetts, Foley attended Assumption High School, where he graduated in 1958.[1] He decided to stay close to home when playing college basketball and enrolled at the College of the Holy Cross.[2] Since college freshmen were ineligible to participate on varsity teams, Foley's college career did not officially begin until 1959–60. In his three seasons as a Crusader, he scored so many points that his nickname, "the Shot", was what he was commonly referred to. In his sophomore season, Foley averaged 24.6 points per game (ppg), followed by 26.9 ppg and 33.3 ppg during his junior and senior seasons, respectively.[2] In his senior year of 1961–62, he finished second in the nation in scoring behind Utah's Bill McGill (38.8 ppg).[2] That season, Foley garnered consensus Second Team All-American honors. In addition to his high season scoring averages, Foley also put up big single game numbers. He is the record holder of the two highest scoring games in school history—56 points against Connecticut in 1962 and 55 against Colgate in 1960—as well as having scored 40 or more points five times in his career.[2] Foley became the first player in school history to score 2,000 career points, and his 2,185 points was the most in school history until the early 1980s.

Foley's professional career was not spectacular, especially compared to his college career. He played in five total games for the Celtics in 1962–63, averaging 6.4 points, before being sold to the New York Knicks on January 22, 1963.[1] He then played in six games for the Knicks and averaged 3.5 points.[1] For his career, Foley scored 53 points, grabbed 16 rebounds and recorded 5 assists.[1]

Following his basketball career, Foley became a high school teacher and girls' basketball coach. He died from Parkinson's disease on November 29, 2020, at his home in Worcester.[3]

Career statistics

[edit]
Legend
  GP Games played   GS  Games started  MPG  Minutes per game
 FG%  Field goal percentage  3P%  3-point field goal percentage  FT%  Free throw percentage
 RPG  Rebounds per game  APG  Assists per game  SPG  Steals per game
 BPG  Blocks per game  PPG  Points per game  Bold  Career high

NBA

[edit]

Source[1]

Regular season

[edit]
Year Team GP MPG FG% FT% RPG APG PPG
1962–63 Boston 5 9.2 .500 .750 1.4 .0 6.4
1962–63 New York 6 6.2 .280 1.000 1.5 .8 3.5
Career 11 7.5 .392 .857 1.5 .5 4.8

References

[edit]
  1. ^ a b c d e f g "Jack Foley NBA stats". Basketball Reference. Sports Reference LLC. 2010. Retrieved February 17, 2024.
  2. ^ a b c d e "John E. Foley". goholycross.com. College of the Holy Cross. 2010. Archived from the original on July 11, 2011. Retrieved September 11, 2010.
  3. ^ Toland, Jennifer (November 30, 2020). "Holy Cross legend Jack 'The Shot' Foley dies at 81". Telegram & Gazette. Retrieved December 2, 2020.
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