Lee Knorek
Knorek in 1948
Personal information
Born(1921-07-15)July 15, 1921
Rossford, Ohio, U.S.
DiedJuly 22, 2003(2003-07-22) (aged 82)
Rossford, Ohio, U.S.
NationalityAmerican
Listed height6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)
Listed weight215 lb (98 kg)
Career information
High schoolCentral Catholic (Toledo, Ohio)
College
Playing career1946–1950
PositionCenter
Number5, 19
Career history
1946–1949New York Knicks
1949–1950Baltimore Bullets
Stats  at NBA.com
Stats  at Basketball-Reference.com

Leonard J. Knorek (July 15, 1921 – July 22, 2003) was an American professional basketball player. A 6'7" center, he spent the majority of his career with the New York Knicks of the Basketball Association of America. He was of Polish descent.

Early life

Born in Rossford, Ohio, Knorek graduated from Central Catholic High School in 1939. He played basketball at DeSales College in Toledo until the school closed in 1942, the University of Detroit, then enlisted in the United States Navy to serve in the Pacific theater of World War II.

Birthplace

Although an Ohio native, Knorek's birthplace is listed in official NBA records as Warsaw, Poland. This is the result of a joke between Knorek and Paul Taylor as Knorek signed his contract with the Knicks. "When I signed my contract my friend had me put down Warsaw because he thought it was better," he later explained.[1] Knorek did speak Polish,[2] and teammate Nat Militzok recalled that Knorek once pretended to be an ambassador from Poland while staying at a hotel on a road trip.[3]

Professional career

After returning home at the end of the war, a friend, Paul Taylor, signed Knorek to the New York Knicks. He participated in the first BAA game, a November 1, 1946 contest between the Knicks and the Toronto Huskies. The Knicks won 68–66. Knorek remained with the Knicks until 1950, when he was sold to the Baltimore Bullets.[1] He only played one game with the Bullets before quitting the team, claiming that he was hobbled by an old knee injury[4] (though he later explained that he had grown too used to the "beautiful facilities" in New York.) The Bullets sued him for breach of contract in a case that lasted almost two years. Knorek eventually promised the Bullets that he would not play professional basketball with any team. He ended his NBA career with 873 career points.

Later life

Knorek and his wife settled in Ohio, where he operated a liquor distribution company called Schenley Distillers. Knorek briefly returned to basketball in 1959 to join a team of retired players at the NBA All-Star Game. His team competed against a lineup of college all-stars, who won the game.[5]

BAA/NBA career statistics

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

Year Team GP FG% FT% APG PPG
1946–47 New York 22.283.6531.07.8
1947–48 New York 48.268.5081.05.4
1948–49 New York 60.341.7162.37.4
1949–50 Baltimore 1.000.000.0.0
Career 131.303.6371.66.7

Playoffs

Year Team GP FG% FT% APG PPG
1947 New York 5.362.5791.610.6
1948 New York 3.412.7691.712.7
1949 New York 6.405.5631.76.5
Career 14.388.6251.69.3

References

  1. 1 2 Ignazio Messina. "Basketball now a different game since Knorek played for Knicks". The Toledo Blade. 1 April 1999. E1.
  2. ↑ Steve Jacobson. "Remembering the Good Old Days". Newsday. Sports, 04.
  3. ↑ Steve Jacobson. "Memories of a Game Long Ago". Newsday. 1 November 1996. A101.
  4. ↑ "Knorek through as a player". New York Times. 14 December 1949. 47.
  5. ↑ Louis Effrat. "West Defeats East in Ninth Annual All-Star Basketball Contest at Detroit". New York Times. 24 January 1959. 15.
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