Gene Conley

Donald Eugene "Gene" Conley


Born:
November 10, 1930
Muskogee, OK

Died:
July 4, 2017
Foxboro, MA





Career
Columbia High School - Richland, WA (High School)
1948-49 Washington State University (College)
1949-50 Washington State University (College)
1952-53 Boston Celtics (NBA)
1958-59 Boston Celtics (NBA)
1959-60 Boston Celtics (NBA)
1960-61 Boston Celtics (NBA)
1961-62 Washington / New York Tapers (ABL)
1962-63 New York Knicks (NBA)
1963-64 New York Knicks (NBA)
1968-69 New Haven Elms (EBL) Head coach / player
1969-70 Hartford Capitols (EBL) Head coach

Conley was born in Oklahoma but the family moved to Washington when Gene was 12. While at Columbia High School, Conley participated in baseball, basketball and track. Standing 6-foot-8, Conley went to Washington State on an athletic scholarship, where he continued to shine on the hardwood as well as the pitching mound. He intended to stay in school to finish his education and continue playing both sports, but he signed with the Boston Braves in October of 1950. He was assigned to their Eastern League affiliate in Hartford where he won 20 games with an ERA of 2.15. Late in that season, Hartford was in Wilkes-Barre for a series and the American Basketball League's Wilkes-Barre Barons offered Conley a contract to play basketball in the 1951-52 off-season. The Braves gave Conley $1000 to not consider playing basketball again. Conley passed on the Baron's offer and stuck with baseball... for now.

Conley was brought up by the Braves to start the 1952 season on the pitching staff, but after 4 rough outings, he was sent down to their AAA club in Milwaukee for more seasoning. He went 11-4 with Milwaukee, and Conley decided to accept an offer to play with the Boston Celtics in the NBA. He played in 39 games with the Celtics, averaging 2.3 points. During that time, the Braves moved from Boston to Milwaukee, and Toledo was the new AAA farm team for the Braves. Conley spent 1953 with Toledo, sporting a 23-9 record and assured himself a spot on the Braves roster when the 1954 season kicked off.

With the Braves no longer in Boston, Conley quit the Celtics and basketball for the time being. He was an important piece of the Milwaukee Braves World Series championship in 1957, and although he struggled in 1958, Milwaukee won the National League Pennant again. He was having shoulder problems and it was really effecting his pitching. He wanted to play for the Celtics again in the off-season, against the wishes of the Braves. He would go on to win three NBA championships with the Celtics, but the Braves traded him to the Phillies after the 1958 season. He enjoyed a resurgence on the mound with the Phillies in 1959, being named to the NL All-Star team twice, but struggled some in 1960 before being sent to the Boston Red Sox. He played hard with the Celtics, and in 1960-61 got his third NBA ring in three seasons.
In 1961, the NBA was expanding and the Celtics left Conley unprotected in the expansion draft and he was selected by the Chicago Packers. He thought about taking the season off and did not report to the Packers, but when the Washington / New York Tapers of the brand-new American Basketball League offered him a contract, he took them up on it and spent the season in the upstart league.

He was still a reliable starter for the Red Sox, hurling 240+ innings in 1962, but his baseball days were quickly winding down. He had suffered a broken finger and a severely sprained ankle really hampered him. In basketball, he returned to the NBA in 1962 for two seasons with the New York Knicks, but in the spring of 1964, he was released by the Red Sox and his playing days in both sports were over. He is the only player to win a World Series title and an NBA Championship. He and his wife started the Foxboro Paper Company and were very successful. Conley was 86 when he died of heart failure in 2017.

Gene married Kathryn Dizney in 1951 and they had three children.

Major League Baseball Stats
https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/c/conlege01.shtml

Source:
SABR Biography
NY Times obituary, July 5, 2017

Stats:
https://www.basketball-reference.com/players/c/conlege01.html
https://www.justsportsstats.com/basketballstatsindex.php?player_id=conlege01