Jack Smiley

Arthur John "Jack" Smiley


Born:
December 22, 1922
Sandwich, IL

Died:
July 30, 2000
Des Moines, IA


Career
1936-37 Waterman High School - Illinois (High School)
1937-38 Waterman High School - Illinois (High School)
1938-39 Waterman High School - Illinois (High School)
1939-40 Waterman High School - Illinois (High School)
1941-42 University of Illinois (College)
1942-43 University of Illinois (College)
1945-46 University of Illinois (College)
1946-47 University of Illinois (College)
1946-47 Fort Wayne Pistons (Independent)
1947-48 Fort Wayne Zollner Pistons (NBL)
1948-49 Fort Wayne Pistons (BAA)
1949-50 Anderson Packers (NBA)
1949-50 Waterloo Hawks (NBA) Player / Head Coach
1950-51 Waterloo Hawks (NPBL) Player / Head Coach

Born to George and Alta Smiley in Sandwich, Illinois, Smiley starred at Waterman before heading off to Illinois, where he was a member of the fabled Whiz Kids. He left school to join the military, and saw action in the Battle of the Bulge. A member of the 106th division, Smiley manned a Howitzer for 96 straight hours in one of the bloodiest battle in the war, with the 106th suffering a 90% casualty rate.
After the war, he returned to school and then played and coached professionally until the burden of raising a family outweighed his love for athletics. He became a truck driver for a seed and farming supply company, and eventually moved to Iowa. In 1973, he started his own company, X-L Seed Treatment, in Granger, Iowa.

Smiley died in 2000.

Source:
http://ltcbasketball.tripod.com/id11.html


Stats:
http://www.basketball-reference.com/nbl/players/s/smilear01n.html
http://www.basketball-reference.com/players/s/smileja01.html
http://www.justsportsstats.com/basketballstatsindex.php?player_id=smileja01