Buddy Cate

William Boyd "Buddy" Cate


Born:
May 23, 1926
Ringgold, GA

Died:
February 7, 2011
Bowling Green, KY


Career
1941-42 Bradley High School - Cleveland, TN (High School)
1942-43 Bradley High School - Cleveland, TN (High School)
1943-44 Bradley High School - Cleveland, TN (High School)
1946-47 Western Kentucky University (College)
1947-48 Western Kentucky University (College)
1948-49 Western Kentucky University (College)
1949-50 Western Kentucky University (College)
1950-51 Sheboygan Redskins (NPBL)
1950-51 Grand Rapids Hornets (NPBL)
1950-51 Waterloo Hawks (NPBL)
1958-59 Tennessee Wesleyan College (College) Head coach
1959-60 Tennessee Wesleyan College (College) Head coach
1960-61 Tennessee Wesleyan College (College) Head coach
1961-62 Tennessee Wesleyan College (College) Head coach
1962-63 Tennessee Wesleyan College (College) Head coach
1963-64 Tennessee Wesleyan College (College) Head coach
1964-65 Tennessee Wesleyan College (College) Head coach
1965-66 Tennessee Wesleyan College (College) Head coach
1966-67 Tennessee Wesleyan College (College) Head coach 
1967-68 Kentucky Colonels (ABA) Assistant coach
1969-70 Warren East High School - Louisville  (High School) Head coach
1970-71 Warren East High School - Louisville  (High School) Head coach

Born to Joseph and Rena Cate, Cate grew up in Cleveland, Tennessee, and after graduating from high school, he joined the U.S. Army and served in the South Pacific. After the war, he enrolled at Western Kentucky, where he letterd for four season. Cate was drafted by the Philadelphia Warriors in 1950, but signed with the Sheboygan Redskins. He played two games with the Sheboygans before being waived on November 14, 1950. He was claimed by the Grand Rapids Hornets and stayed with the club until they folded at the end of December, 1950. In a draft where the remaining teams took players from the defunct squads, Cate was selected by Kansas City. He signed with the club in January but was quickly sold to Waterloo before even suiting up for the Hi-Spots. He went on to coach high school basketball in Alabama (not sure where) before taking a coaching job at a Tennessee high school. In November of 1953, Cate signed with the Baltimore Bullets in the NBA, but he did not make the team. He would go on to coach at Tennessee Wesleyan, and then was an assistant coach for the Kentucky Colonels of the ABA.


Buddy was married to Joy David (d. 2013) and they left a lot of their $600,000 estate to various charities and also set up a scholarship at WKU.

Source:
Obituary, BG Daily News, February 9, 2011
BG Daily News, December 10, 2014

Stats:
http://www.justsportsstats.com/basketballstatsindex.php?player_id=catebu01