Don Meineke
Personal information
Born(1930-10-30)October 30, 1930
Dayton, Ohio, U.S.
DiedSeptember 3, 2013(2013-09-03) (aged 82)
Dayton, Ohio, U.S.
Listed height6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)
Listed weight208 lb (94 kg)
Career information
High schoolWilbur Wright (Dayton, Ohio)
CollegeDayton (1949–1952)
NBA draft1952: 2nd round, 12th overall pick
Selected by the Fort Wayne Pistons
Playing career1952–1958
PositionPower forward
Number54, 17, 5, 22
Career history
1952–1955Fort Wayne Pistons
1955–1958Rochester / Cincinnati Royals
Career highlights and awards
Career statistics
Points2,338 (6.8 ppg)
Rebounds1,626 (4.7 rpg)
Assists433 (1.3 apg)
Stats Edit this at Wikidata at NBA.com
Stats Edit this at Wikidata at Basketball-Reference.com

Don "Monk" Meineke (October 30, 1930 – September 3, 2013) was an American basketball player. He played college basketball for the University of Dayton and was a consensus second-team All-American in 1952. He later played professionally in the National Basketball Association and won the inaugural Rookie of the Year award in 1953.[1][2]

College career

Meineke averaged 20.6 points as a junior for the Dayton Flyers, carrying the team to an NIT runner-up finish in 1951. He averaged 21.1 points per game as a senior and led the team to another second-place finish in the NIT in 1952.[3] Meineke was an AP second-team All-American selection after his senior year.[4]

Professional career

Meineke received the National Basketball Association's first Rookie of the Year Award after the 1952–53 NBA season while playing for the Fort Wayne Pistons. He led the league in personal fouls and disqualifications the same season. The 26 disqualifications he had in his first year is still the NBA single-season record. His 334 personal fouls in only 68 games gave him an average of more than 4.9 fouls per game.[5]

Meineke played for the Rochester Royals in the 1955–56 season, and after sitting out the 1956–57 season, rejoined the relocated Cincinnati Royals in 1957–58.

Personal life

Meineke was married to Mary Jane (Hautman) and with her had four children.[2]

NBA career statistics

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

Regular season

Year Team GP MPG FG% FT% RPG APG PPG
1952–53 Fort Wayne 68 33.1 .381 .783 6.9 2.2 10.7
1953–54 Fort Wayne 71 20.9 .344 .805 5.2 1.1 5.7
1954–55 Fort Wayne 68 15.1 .372 .700 3.6 0.9 5.8
1955–56 Rochester 69 18.1 .372 .700 3.6 1.5 7.1
1957–58 Cincinnati 67 11.8 .356 .647 3.4 0.6 4.9
Career 343 19.8 .367 .756 4.7 1.3 6.8

Playoffs

Year Team GP MPG FG% FT% RPG APG PPG
1953 Fort Wayne 8 28.4 .375 .682 3.3 1.3 7.5
1954 Fort Wayne 4 21.8 .261 .636 3.8 1.5 4.8
1955 Fort Wayne 11 14.7 .450 .920 4.4 0.8 5.4
1958 Cincinnati 2 16.0 .091 .750 5.5 0.5 4.0
Career 25 20.3 .351 .750 4.0 1.0 5.8

References

  1. ^ Dave Lance (25 January 2004). "UD legend Meineke learned the hard way". Dayton Daily News. pp. C1, C4. Retrieved 17 February 2023 – via Newspapers.com.Open access icon
  2. ^ a b "U of Dayton star Meineke dies at 82". The Paducah Sun. Associated Press. 5 September 2013. p. A8. Retrieved 17 February 2023 – via Newspapers.com.Open access icon
  3. ^ Harris, Doug (September 4, 2013), "UD legend Meineke dies", Dayton Daily News, archived from the original on March 4, 2016, retrieved September 5, 2013
  4. ^ "Don Meineke, 82, early NBA player, Dayton hoops hero", Chicago Sun-Times, September 5, 2013
  5. ^ The Official NBA Basketball Encyclopedia. Villard Books. 1994. p. 665. ISBN 0-679-43293-0.

External links

1952 NCAA Men's Basketball Consensus All-Americans
1952 NBA draft
NBA Rookie of the Year Award
Categories