Zeke Zawoluk

Robert Michael "Zeke" Zawoluk


Born:
October 13, 1930
Brooklyn, NY

Died:
January 9, 2007
Spring Valley, NY


Career
1947-48 Saint Francis Prep - Brooklyn (High School)
1949-50 St. John's University (College)
1950-51 St. John's University (College)
1951-52 St. John's University (College)
1952-53 Indianapolis Olympians (NBA)
1953-54 Philadelphia Warriors (NBA)
1954-55 Philadelphia Warriors (NBA)
1998-99 Lehman College - The Bronx (College) Assistant coach

Standing 6'6, Zawoluk averaged 20.1 points per game and graduated from St. John's with a school-record 1826 points, a mark which stood until broken by Chris Mullin. 65 of those points came against St. Peter's in 1950. An agile big-man, Zeke played in the NBA for three seasons before a knee injury ended his career. His life was filled with high and lows. In 1986, he was fired from his job as a car salesman and retaliated by setting fire to a few of the dealership's cars and rammed his car in 19 others. He pleaded guilty to attempted arson and received probation on the condition he received treatment for his alcoholism. He did not succeed in fighting his alcohol problem, and spiraled into drugs and crack cocaine. He was arrested for shoplifting, but since he was carrying a knife on him at the time, it was considered armed robbery and he served two years in a state prison in New York.

In a late-life attempt to straighten out his life, he managed to get a job as an assistant coach at Lehman College in the Bronx, but was fired after a month when he made would were referred to as "inappropriate" phone calls to other members of the athletic department.

Zawoluk died of a heart attack in 2007 at 76 years of age.

Zeke and his wife, Alice, had four daughters.

Source:
Obituary, N.Y. Times January 18, 2007

Stats:
https://www.basketball-reference.com/players/z/zawolze01.html
https://www.justsportsstats.com/basketballstatsindex.php?player_id=zawolze01