Charlie Lacina

Charles Lacina


Born:
March 29, 1922
Mount Vernon, NY

Died:
June 21, 2007
The Bronx, NY


Career
1939-40 James Monroe High School - The Bronx, NY (High School)
1940-41 James Monroe High School - The Bronx, NY (High School)
1941-42 St. John's University (College) Freshmen
1946-47 Troy Celtics (ABL)
1946-47 Scranton Miners (PSL)

After being named all-City in basketball at Monroe HS, Lacina was offered many scholarships to college but chose to go to St John's. After one season on the freshmen squad, being their leading scorer, Lacina left school to join the army. He became an officer and would serve in the Pacific during World War 2 as a member of the Army Corps of Engineers and later a supply officer. It was while in the Pacific he met his future wife, an army nurse named Elizabeth ("Bette") Clavin, and they married in 1944. After the war, Lacina declined to return to St. John's and went on to play professional basketball. He joined the ABL's Troy Celtics in November of 1946, and appeared in 8 games and scoring 44 points before he was let go. He then signed with Scranton in the Penn State League and finished out the season. He quit the game to become a policeman for the city of New York, and within a few years became a detective. He was eventually promoted to Detective First Grade and was a part in many big investigation at the time, especially looking into organized crime in the area. He would retire from the NYPD and take a job with the U.S. Department of Defense, overseeing security at various governmental facilities.

An avid boater in retirement, Charlie died in 2007 at the age of 85. He and his wife and two sons.

Source:
Obituary, The City Island Current

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