William John "Wild Bill" Hapac (January 26, 1918 – March 9, 1967) was the first consensus All-American to play for the University of Illinois men's basketball team when he garnered the recognition during his senior season of 1939–40. A native of Chicago, Illinois, Hapac was an all-state player for J. Sterling Morton High School East in 1935.
 Bill Hapac c. 1939 | |
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Born | January 26, 1918 Chicago, Illinois, US |
| Died | March 9, 1967 (aged 49) Chicago, Illinois, US |
| Listed height | 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) |
| Listed weight | 190 lb (86 kg) |
| Career information | |
| High school | J. Sterling Morton (Chicago, Illinois) |
| College | Illinois (1937–1940) |
| Playing career | 1940–1948 |
| Position | Guard / forward |
| Number | 19 |
| Career history | |
| 1940–1941 | Chicago Bruins |
| 1945–1946 | Chicago American Gears |
| 1946–1947 | Anderson Packers |
| 1947–1948 | Oshkosh All-Stars |
| Career highlights and awards | |
| |
Hapac would star for the Fighting Illini before playing in the National Basketball League from 1940 to 1948. He set a then-unheard of Big Ten Conference single game scoring record of 34 points against Minnesota on February 10, 1940. His senior year, he was honored as a Consensus NCAA First Team All-American and was the first ever recipient of the University of Illinois' Athlete of the Year award. In addition to basketball, Hapac also lettered for three years while playing for the school's baseball team.
Hapac played professionally for the Chicago Bruins for the 1940–41 season, followed by four years of military service. He returned to the NBL in 1945, playing for the Chicago American Gears for the 1945–46 season, the Anderson Packers for the 1946–47 season and the Oshkosh All-Stars for the 1947–48 season. Hapac finished his professional career by playing for an independent league team, the Chicago Ingots, for the 1947–48 season.[1]
Military and beyond edit
Hapac was pursued by the Detroit Tigers, but while waiting for spring training to begin, he was inducted into the US Army, eventually earning him the rank of captain. Hapac coached basketball with fellow Illini player, Jim Vopicka, at Morton East from 1952 until his death in 1967 at 49 years of age of an undisclosed rare disease. Shortly after his death, the newly constructed gymnasium at Morton East was dedicated to his memory.[2][3]
Honors edit
- 1940 – Consensus All-American
- 1940 – First-team All-Big Ten
- 1940 – University of Illinois Athlete of the Year[4]
- 1973 – Inducted into the Illinois Basketball Coaches Association's Hall of Fame as a player.[5]
- September 13, 2008 – Honored as one of the thirty-three honored jerseys which hang in the State Farm Center to show regard for being the most decorated basketball players in the University of Illinois' history.
Statistics edit
College edit
| Season | Games | Points | PPG | Big Ten Record |
Overall Record |
Postseason |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1937–38 | 18 | 110 | 6.1 | 4–8 | 9–9 | – |
| 1938–39 | 22 | 101 | 4.6 | 9–3 | 13–3 | Big Ten All-Conference 2nd team |
| 1939–40 | 18 | 244 | 13.6 | 7–5 | 14–6 | Consensus All-American |
| Totals | 58 | 455 | 7.8 | 20–16 | 36–18 |
NBL edit
| Legend | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GP | Games played | MPG | Minutes per game | ||
| FG% | Field-goal percentage | FT% | Free-throw percentage | ||
| RPG | Rebounds per game | APG | Assists per game | ||
| PPG | Points per game | Bold | Career high | ||
Regular season edit
| Year | Team | GP | MPG | FG% | FT% | RPG | APG | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1940–41 | Chicago | 24 | – | – | .626 | – | – | 9.5 |
| 1945–46 | Chicago | 19 | – | – | .573 | – | – | 5.5 |
| 1946–47 | Anderson | 41 | – | – | .678 | – | – | 6.8 |
| 1947–48 | Oshkosh | 47 | – | – | .621 | – | – | 6.8 |
| Career | 131 | – | – | .634 | – | – | 6.4 | |
Playoffs edit
| Year | Team | GP | MPG | FG% | FT% | RPG | APG | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1940–41 | Chicago | 1 | – | – | .333 | – | – | 5.0 |
| 1945–46 | Chicago | 4 | – | – | .333 | – | – | 1.5 |
| 1946–47 | Anderson | 2 | – | – | .615 | – | – | 6.0 |
| 1947–48 | Oshkosh | 4 | – | – | .688 | – | – | 5.8 |
| Career | 11 | – | – | .579 | – | – | 4.2 | |
References edit
- "Woods, Carney and Hapac Join List of Honored Jerseys". University of Illinois. 14 August 2008. Archived from the original on 2015-04-02. Retrieved 26 June 2010.
- "Phillip, Kerr and Fletcher Next on List of Honored Jerseys". University of Illinois. 9 September 2008. Archived from the original on 9 June 2011. Retrieved 26 June 2010.
- "IHSA Boys All-State Players". Illinois High School Association. Retrieved 26 June 2010.
- "Basketball Heroes". basketballhistorian.com. Archived from the original on 25 May 2010. Retrieved 26 June 2010.
- "Known Deceased Basketball Individuals". apbr.org. The Association for Professional Basketball Research. Retrieved 26 June 2010.
