Bruce Blount

John Bruce Blount
played for Evansville under name "John Bruce"


Born:
April 22, 1928
Providence, RI

Died:
August 23, 2016
Columbia, SC


Career
1948-49 Rhode Island State (College)
1949-50 Rhode Island State (College)
1950-51 Evansville Agogans (NPBL)

Born to Joseph and Loretta Blount, Bruce was a baseball and basketball star at Rhode Island State (not URI). He was also a member of ROTC in college, and after a stellar basketball career at Rhode Island, he played for the Evansville Agogans in 1950-51 while on leave. He played under the name "John Bruce" because military personnel were permitted not to play professional sports.

He made the military his career, serving in the Korean and Vietnamese Wars, and on June 30, 1983, was promoted to Lieutenant General and became Chief of Staff of the Allied Forces South, a large NATO command consisting of units from five countries, including Greece, Italy, Turkey, the United Kingdom and the U.S.

He married Joan Garrett in 1950 and they had two daughters and two sons.


Source:
Obituary
Correspondence with family member, August 2017

Stats:
http://www.justsportsstats.com/basketballstatsindex.php?player_id=brucejo01