Born:
Died:
Career
Overbrook High School - Philadelphia (High School)
University of Toledo (College)
1941-42 Toledo Jim White Chevrolets (NBL)
Using the information that Wallace went to Overbrook and UT, we find this Paul Wallace:
http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=55039076
However, if that IS the Paul Wallace who played for the Chevrolets, he would have been 16 years old. Granted, he was a big star in Philadelphia HS, but how would he wind up playing a single game at such a young age in a city far far away. There is nothing to indicate that his family lived in Toledo at the time. This Paul Wallace went to UT after World War 2. So this doesn't make sense.
So.... two things here. Paul "Hook" Wallace was 16 when he played one game for Toledo when he was there for some reason in the winter of 41-42, and went to UT 5 years later.
OR
The Paul Wallace who played for the Chevrolets has no connection to Overbrook and UT as reported elsewhere.
I personally subscribe to the latter, especially since Hooks' obit on the findagrave site says nothing about playing professionally at age 16, which I think would be notable.
The only Paul Wallace (or surname of Wallace of any first name) was Hook Wallace. ('47 and '48)
There is this Paul G.Wallace, who would be 19, but lived in Toledo in 1930 and 1940
https://familysearch.org/search/record/results?count=20&query=%2Bgivenname%3Apaul~%20%2Bsurname%3Awallace~%20%2Bbirth_place%3Aohio~%20%2Bbirth_year%3A1915-1925~%20%2Bresidence_place%3A%22Toledo%2C%20Ohio%22~%20%2Bresidence_year%3A1930-1940~
Update 8/22/16
Having located a photo of Paul Wallace in his Toledo '48 uniform, and comparing it to his obituary photo, it looks like the same guy, and therefore conclude that Paul "Hook" Wallace, UT '48, is the Paul Wallace from Philly who lived 1925-1998. So did he play for the Chevrolets at 16? Or is the Paul Wallace of UT not the same as the one who played for the Chevys?
Mystery continues
Pro Basketball Encyclopedia says it is this guy: (born Aug 17, 1923, died Feb 1976)
http://search.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/sse.dll?_phsrc=fxk1916&_phstart=successSource&usePUBJs=true&gss=angs-g&new=1&rank=1&gsfn=Paul&gsfn_x=0&gsln=Wallace&gsln_x=1&msypn__ftp=Ohio,%20USA&msypn=38&msypn_PInfo=5-%7C0%7C1652393%7C0%7C2%7C0%7C38%7C0%7C0%7C0%7C0%7C0%7C&MSAV=1&msbdy=1923&msddy=1976&msddy_x=1&cp=0&catbucket=rstp&uidh=q12&msbdy_x=1&msbdp=1&pcat=ROOT_CATEGORY&h=65215482&recoff=4%205&db=ssdi&indiv=1&ml_rpos=1
However, following their lead of a middle initial (G) I find Paul Gordon Wallace (July 7, 1922 - August 16, 2007). Born in Pioneer, Ohio, to Clair(e) Wallace (b. 1890?) and Ruby I. Harmon Wallace (b. 1895?) died in Tucson. Sister is Jean E. Wallace, born 1920. WW2 veteran, enlisted Nov 20, 1942. Married: Ethel E. Kelley (born Aug 31. 1926) on August 3, 1946 (daughter of Chester Kelley and Fannie Upham). He remarried to Maureen around 1988. He had a son named Scott.
Stats:
http://www.basketball-reference.com/nbl/players/w/wallapa01n.html
http://www.justsportsstats.com/basketballstatsindex.php?player_id=wallapa01
Paul HOOK (hook--singular) Wallace was my uncle, my dad's only brother, and yes--a fantastic HS player who was named to Philadelphia's All-Public team as a guard in early 1940s before he graduated from hoop-famous Overbrook High and went off to Army service near end of WWII. I never heard that he played one (1) pro game for Toledo at age 16, BUT it IS conceivable. However, while his young b-ball picture above is same one shown
ReplyDeleteonline at Pro Basketball Encyclopedia, the birth & death dates listed for him there are both incorrect. So there may have been some OTHER Paul Wallace who played that one pro Toledo game. A mystery, yes.
I fixed his name to "Hook" in my notes. My apolgies for that.
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