Urgel "Slim" Wintermute (born July 9, 1917 – presumed dead October 1977) was an American collegiate and professional basketball player.

Slim Wintermute
Wintermute from the 1939 Oregana
Personal information
Born(1917-07-19)July 19, 1917
Portland, Oregon
Diedpresumed dead in October, 1977 (aged 60)
NationalityAmerican
Listed height6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)
Career information
High schoolLongview (Longview, Washington)
CollegeOregon (1936–1939)
PositionCenter
Career history
1939–1940Detroit Eagles
Career highlights and awards

Collegiate career edit

Born in Portland, Oregon, Wintermute attended high school in Longview, Washington.[1] A mobile 6-foot-8-inch (2.03 m) center, Wintermute was a key member of the 1938–39 Oregon Ducks men's basketball team, winners of the first NCAA Tournament championship. Wintermute was voted first-team All-Pacific Coast Conference and named an All-American in 1939.[2] He was elected to the University of Oregon Athletic Hall of Fame in 1994 and is one of six Ducks whose numbers have been retired.[3]

Professional career edit

Wintermute played professionally for the Detroit Eagles of the National Basketball League.[2] He also served as player/coach for the Portland Indians of the Pacific Coast Professional Basketball League.[2][4]

After basketball edit

Following his basketball career, Wintermute worked for Boeing.[1] He was elected to the Oregon Sports Hall of Fame in 1980.[3] On October 21, 1977, Wintermute set out in his yacht from Portage Bay in Seattle's Lake Union and did not return.[5] His boat was found a few days later, with one of Wintermute's friends asleep on the boat who claimed that Slim was still alive when he went to sleep. Wintermute was never found.

See also edit

References edit

  1. ^ a b "Tallest of Tall Firs believed dead". Eugene Register-Guard. 1977-10-24. Retrieved 2009-07-27.
  2. ^ a b c "Slim Wintermute". OregonStars.com. Retrieved 2009-07-27.
  3. ^ a b "Urgel "Slim" Wintermute". GoDucks.com. Archived from the original on 2009-04-29. Retrieved 2009-07-27.
  4. ^ Kenyon, J. Michael. "Pacific Coast Professional Basketball League 1946–47 to 1947–48". Association for Professional Basketball Research. Retrieved 2009-07-27.
  5. ^ Ian Thomsen (April 3, 1988). "As 1st Champ, 'Tall Firs' Started Something Big". tribunedigital-sunsentinel. Retrieved 2017-07-07.