Donald Jay Ohl (born April 18, 1936) is an American former basketball player who played college ball at the University of Illinois then spent 10 seasons (1960–1970) in the National Basketball Association (NBA). Among the most lethal off-the-dribble and pull-up jump shooters of his era, he played in five consecutive All-Star Games (1963-67). He went by the nickname of Waxie because of his trademark crew cut.^[1]

College career

Ohl attended Edwardsville High School in Edwardsville, Illinois before he moved on to the University of Illinois. In 66 games over three seasons with the Illini, the guard averaged 14.0 points, including 19.6 as a senior. He graduated as one of the most accomplished players in school history.

Professional career

In his final college season, Ohl piqued the interest of several NBA teams in advance of the draft. The Philadelphia Warriors selected him in the fifth round of the 1958 NBA draft, but he was unconvinced that he was ready for the next step. He accepted a position with the Peoria Caterpillar Tractor Company in Morton, Ill., where he worked while he played one season for the Peoria Cats in the National Industrial Basketball League.

As Ohl told The Edwardsville (Ill.) Intelligencer in a 2020 interview, “It may have been a mistake, but I didn’t end up playing in the NBA until two years after I got drafted. I didn’t think I was good enough for the NBA even though people who should have known kept telling me that I was. I started working for Caterpillar and they had a team in the industrial league, which might be comparable to a farm club of the NBA.

“In 1960, we won an AAU tournament in Denver, and the next week they had the Olympic Trials to see who would represent the U.S. in the Olympics. We played the final game against the college all-stars, who had a bunch of All-Americans like (future NBA stars) Oscar Robertson, Jerry West, Walt Bellamy and Jerry Lucas, and of course, they beat us.”

Ohl performed well enough at the Olympic Trials to put himself back on the NBA radar. After the Detroit Pistons acquired his rights from the Warriors, they made an offer that Ohl couldn't turn down. He went on play 10 seasons for the Pistons, Baltimore Bullets, and St. Louis-Atlanta Hawks. Among the most lethal off-the-dribble and pull-up jump shooters of his era, the crafty 6'3", 190-pounder scored 11,549 points and was a five-time NBA All-Star Game selection.

In 1968, Ohl was traded to the Hawks for Tom Workman and a third round pick. Two years later, he was taken in the 1970 NBA Expansion draft by the Cleveland Cavaliers but opted for retirement at 34 years of age.^[2]

Ohl twice scored a career high of 43 points in a single game, first on January 23, 1963 in a 123–119 defeat against the Los Angeles Lakers and again on December 25, 1966 in a 129–127 loss to his former team, the Pistons.^[3]

'Brinks Robbery in Baltimore'

Shortly after the 1963–64 campaign, Ohl was involved one of the first so-called megatrades, this one an eight-player deal between the Pistons and Bullets. On June 9, 1964, the Pistons sent Ohl, center Bob Ferry, forward Bailey Howell, forward Les Hunter and the draft rights to guard Wally (later Wali) Jones to the Bullets in exchange for forwards Terry Dischinger and Don Kojis and guard Rod Thorn. The deal turned out to a fortuitous one for the Bullets, as Howell and Ohl became mainstays with the team.

“They called it the Brinks robbery out in Baltimore because it was so one-sided to Baltimore,” Ohl said. “Dickey McGuire was my coach my first two years and I just admired him to death. He quit and Charlie Wolf took over, and for me it was not a good situation and apparently for two or three other players, because they went with me. I was happy to get out. I liked Detroit, but I was ready to go.”

Wild West Shootout

Ohl experienced his finest hour in the 1965 playoffs, which saw the Bullets eliminate the St. Louis Hawks in four games in round one. In the Western Division finals, Ohl and future Hall of Fame guard Jerry West were locked in a tense shootout that saw West and the Los Angeles Lakers finally prevail in six games, each of which was decided by eights points or less. Ohl averaged 26.1 points in 10 games that post-season, including 28.8 points along with 5.7 rebounds in the division finals.^[4]

“(Lakers co-star Elgin) Baylor wasn’t playing -- he was hurt,” Ohl recalled. “It was the third game. It was in Baltimore. We played, we won and in the locker room I said, ‘How many did West get?’ and they said, ‘51 (points).’ I said, ‘51, you got to be kidding me.’ I think I had 35 or 38, I don’t remember. I said, ‘I guarantee you one thing you can print is he won’t get 51 tomorrow night.’

“We go play the next game, we win and I said, ‘How many did West get?’ They said, ‘53.’ I said, ‘You got to be kidding me.’ (Fred) Schaus, the coach, just put him on the side of the floor, gave him the ball and let him work it in until he got a shot, because like I said, Baylor wasn’t playing. Great player, good friend, I enjoy him.”

Career statistics

NBA

Source^[2]

Regular season

Playoffs