Buddy Ackerman

Donald D. "Buddy" Ackerman


Born:
September 4, 1930
New York, NY

Died:
July 9, 2011
Manhasset, NY


Career
1950-51 Long Island University (College)
1951-52 Covert Blackbirds - NYC (Independent)
1952-53 Jersey City Titans (Independent)
1952-53 Manchester British Americans (ABL)
1952-53 Hamilton Standard - Connecticut (Independent)
1953-54 New York Knicks (NBA)

Ackerman, a talented player at LIU, signed with the Jersey City Titans in October of 1952, but after the club was denied entry into the ABL, he signed with the Manchester team. He average 12.4 points for the BA's, missing a few games due to his honeymoon. He was invited to the New York Knicks camp the following fall, played 28 games with the Knicks that season. He was traded to the Celtics after the season, but Ackerman declined to play, wanting not to live in Boston. He started a successful landscaping business that he ran for over 40 years. In 1970, he started a CYO basketball porgram at St. Anthony's on Long Island and coached many youths over the years.

Buddy married Marie (d. 1988) in 1953 and they had four daughters and three sons.

Source:
LIU Athletics, July 11, 2011
Obituary, newsday.com, 2011

Stats:
https://www.basketball-reference.com/players/a/ackerdo01.html

1952-53 Jersey City Titans (ABL)

1952-53 JERSEY CITY TITANS
AMERICAN BASKETBALL LEAGUE (II)

Hoping to keep the ABL at 8 teams for the 1952-53 season, this Jersey City Titans were formed and to be coached by Pete Caruso. The team played some exhibition games prior to the start of the season, but the club had players on the roster who had been implicated in the collegiate basketball point-shaving scandal that was still affecting the game. ABL owners protested these players being in the league and threatened to refuse to play games against them. The Titans, as well as Elmira, who had one suspect player on their roster, withdrew from the league and the league thought it was best to cancel the season since only six teams remained. Elmira would submit to the other owners and release Bill Spivey, the player in question, and the ABL resumed its plans for a 1952-53 season. The Titans would not, and played a few more exhibition games before disbanding. Some of the players who were not involved in the game fixing went to other ABL clubs.

The roster here is for reference, only.

Head Coach:

• Pete Caruso (1921 - June 13, 1965)

PLAYERS:

• Buddy Ackerman (September 4, 1930 - July 9, 2011)

Biography 

• Ralph Beard (December 2, 1927 - November 29, 2007)

Biography

• Charlie Bollinger (July 28, 1928 - July 22, 2014)

Biography

• Charlie Burns 

• Gerry Calabrese (February 4, 1925 - April 13, 2015)

Biography

• Alex Groza (October 7, 1926 - January 21, 1995)

Biography

• Dick Hammock (March 12, 1924 - February 1, 1965)

Biography

• Gene Melchiorrie (b. August 10, 1927)

• Tom Smith (July 5, 1927 - May 31, 1996)

Biography

• William J. Strella (b. around 1929)
 

• Sherman White (December 16, 1928 - August 4, 2011)
  

Sherman White

Dick Hammock

Richard John Hammock


Born:
March 12, 1924
New York, NY

Died:
February 1, 1965
Oklahoma City, OK


Career
1941-42 Seton Hall Prep - South Orange, NJ (High School)
1942-43 St. Bonaventure University (College)
1946-47 Seton Hall University (College)
1947-48 Seton Hall University (College)
1948-49 Seton Hall University (College)
1949-50 Hartford Hurricanes (ABL)
1949-50 Trenton Tigers (ABL)
1951-52 Carbondale Aces (ABL)
1952-53 Jersey City Titans (Independent) 

Born to Sophie and Harry Hammock, Hammock played basketball and baseball at Seton Hall Prep. He played both sports at St. Bonaventure for a year before joining the U.S. Army. After the war, he enrolled at Seton Hall where he played both sports with great acclaim. After graduating, he signed to pitch for Wytheville in the Class-D Blue Ridge League in 1949. He pitched well, going 7-4 with a 2.77 ERA. After baseball season, he played pro basketball with the Hartford Hurricanes and the Trenton Tigers in the ABL. 1950's baseball season saw him with Bristol in the Colonial League (Class-B but unaffiliated with any major league club.) That was his last season in organized baseball, although he apparently played some more basketball in the ABL with Carbondale in 1951-52. In 1960, Hammock moved to Oklahoma City where he owned his own insurance agency. He died in 1965 at the young age of 40.

Dick and his wife, Minna, had four sons and a daughter.


Minor League Baseball stats
https://www.baseball-reference.com/register/player.fcgi?id=hammoc001ric


Source:
Daily Oklahoman (Oklahoma City, February 2, 1965)

Stats:

Charlie Bollinger

Charles G. Bollinger


Born:
July 28, 1928
New Jersey

Died:
July 22, 2014
River Edge, NJ


Career
1944-45 St. Cecila's High School - Englewood, NJ (High School)
1945-46 Holy Cross (College)
1946-47 Holy Cross (College)
1947-48 Holy Cross (College)
1948-49 Holy Cross (College)
1948-49 Hartford Hurricanes (ABL)
1948-49 Brooklyn Gothams (ABL)
1952-53 Jersey City Titans (Independent) 

Born to Charles and Marth Bollinger, Charlie graduated from Holy Cross (where he played on the 1947 National Champions) in early 1949 and signed with Hartford. After a couple games with the Hurricanes, he was released and picked up by the Brooklyn Gothams.

Bollinger work for many years as an accountant for Texaco.

He married Margaretta Foss and they had eight kids.

There was a Charlie Bollinger who played minor league baseball around the same time, but it appears to be a different guy. The pitching Bollinger was from Lanier, Georgia.

Source:
Obituary, Record/Herald News, July 24, 2014

Stats:

Ralph Beard

Ralph Milton Beard, Jr.


Born:
December 2, 1927
Hardinsburg, KY

Died:
November 29, 2007
Louisville, KY


Career
1943-44 Male High School - Louisville, KY (High School)
1944-45 Male High School - Louisville, KY (High School)
1945-46 University of Kentucky (College)
1946-47 University of Kentucky (College)
1947-48 University of Kentucky (College)
1948 United States (Olympics)
1948-49 University of Kentucky (College)
1949-50 Indianapolis Olympians (NBA)
1950-51 Indianapolis Olympians (NBA)
1952-53 Jersey City Titans (Independent)

A star at UK, Beard moved on to the NBA, playing for the Olympians and being named to play in the league's first All-Star Game. However, as the 1951-52 season approached its start, he was named along with many other players to be involved in point-shaving while in college. This was huge scandal that brought down CCNY, the NIT and NCAA winner in 1950. Beard, along with fellow Wildcats Alex Groza and Dale Barnstable, were accused of shaving points at UK. Beard contended that he never shaved points but did indeed take the gambler's money. The three Wildcats pleaded guilty and were given suspended sentences. Beard and Groza, teammates on the Olympians, were banned for life by the NBA.
Beard worked for many years as a pharmaceutical executive for many years, dying in 2007.

Ralph was married to Bettye Scott in 1955 and they had two sons.

Source:
Obituary, Courier-Journal, November 30, 2007
NY Times Obituary, November 30, 2007

Stats:
http://www.basketball-reference.com/players/b/beardra01.html
http://www.justsportsstats.com/basketballstatsindex.php?player_id=beardra01