Arthur Edward Spector (nicknamed "Speed";[1] 17 October 1920 – 18 June 1987) was an American basketball player. He played as a forward for the Boston Celtics from 1946 to 1950.
 Spector in 1948 | |
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Born | October 17, 1920 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S. |
| Died | June 18, 1987 (aged 66) New York City, U.S. |
| Listed height | 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) |
| Listed weight | 200 lb (91 kg) |
| Career information | |
| High school | West Philadelphia (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania) |
| College | Villanova (1940–1941) |
| Playing career | 1946–1950 |
| Position | Forward |
| Number | 12 |
| Career history | |
| 1946–1950 | Boston Celtics |
| Career statistics | |
| Points | 852 |
| Assist | 143 |
| Stats at NBA.com | |
| Stats at Basketball-Reference.com | |
Early life and education edit
Spector was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and lived in West Philadelphia.[2][3] He was Jewish.[2][3] His grandson is American former soccer player Jonathan Spector.[4][5]
Spector attended and played basketball first at West Philadelphia High School, where he was team captain. He then played basketball at Villanova University, graduating in 1941.[6][7][8][9][10]
Professional basketball edit
He was the first player ever to be signed by the Boston Celtics.[9][11] Later, he was a scout for the Celtics.[12] He played as a forward for the Celtics from 1946 to 1950.[9]
He lived later in Newtown, Connecticut.[13]
BAA and NBA career statistics edit
| Legend | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GP | Games played | FG% | Field-goal percentage | ||
| FT% | Free-throw percentage | APG | Assists per game | ||
| PPG | Points per game | Bold | Career high | ||
Regular season edit
| Year | Team | GP | FG% | FT% | APG | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1946–47 | Boston | 55 | .267 | .553 | .8 | 6.0 |
| 1947–48 | Boston | 48 | .276 | .652 | .4 | 4.0 |
| 1948–49 | Boston | 59 | .300 | .552 | 1.3 | 5.5 |
| 1949–50 | Boston | 7 | .167 | .250 | .4 | .7 |
| Career | 169 | .280 | .575 | .8 | 5.0 | |
Playoffs edit
| Year | Team | GP | FG% | FT% | APG | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1948 | Boston | 3 | .222 | .500 | .0 | 2.0 |
| Career | 3 | .222 | .500 | .0 | 2.0 | |
References edit
- ^ "These are (pretty much) all the nicknames in NBA history". February 25, 2019.
- ^ a b "Spector, Art : Jews in Sports @ Virtual Museum". Archived from the original on 2012-05-24. Retrieved 2010-06-15.
- ^ a b Charles Rosen. The Chosen Game: A Jewish Basketball History U of Nebraska Press, 2017.
- ^ "World Cup / Meet America's Jewish players". Haaretz.
- ^ "Two Jewish SoCal Soccer Players Head for World Cup". Jewish Journal. June 8, 2010.
- ^ "The Morning News from Wilmington, Delaware on February 3, 1938 · Page 8". Newspapers.com.
- ^ PaganoCORRESPONDENT, Rich (7 November 2013). "Sports Flashback: Referee Pete D'Ambrosio a part of NBA history". Delco News Network.
- ^ "Art Spector Player Profile, Boston Celtics, NBA Stats, NCAA Stats, Game Logs, Bests, Awards - RealGM". basketball.realgm.com.
- ^ a b c "Celtics Forgotten 50: Part 1 — The Early Years". RSN.
- ^ "ART SPECTOR".
- ^ Neil Singelais. "Art Spector, first player signed to play for Celtics; at 70". Boston Globe. June 20, 1987. Retrieved on August 27, 2009.
- ^ They Cleared the Lane: The NBA's Black Pioneers. U of Nebraska Press. March 2004. ISBN 9780803294547.
- ^ Legendary Locals of Newtown. Arcadia. 2013. ISBN 9781467100717.
External links edit
- Profile at NBA.com