Nat Hickey

Matthew J. "Nat" Hickey (January 30, 1902 – September 16, 1979)[1] was a multi-sport American professional athlete and coach.

Basketball

As a 5'11" guard/forward in basketball, Hickey played from the 1920s through 1940s with multiple early professional teams, including the Original Celtics,the Cleveland Rosenblums of the American Basketball League and the Pittsburgh Raiders, Indianapolis Kautskys, and Tri-Cities Blackhawks of the National Basketball League.

In the second year after the formation of the Basketball Association of America (the forerunner to the NBA), Hickey served 29 games as head coach of the Providence Steamrollers during the 1947–48 season. Hickey's team posted a 4–25 record during his tenure. On January 28, 1948, two days before his 46th birthday, Hickey decided to activate himself as a player with the Steamrollers for one game. He attempted six field goals – making none – and committed five personal fouls. He scored two points off of foul shots.[2] As a result of that one-game appearance, Hickey still holds the record for the oldest player in NBA history at 45 years and 363 days.[3]

Baseball

Hickey managed and played several seasons of minor league baseball as an outfielder. Notably, he was baseball Hall of Famer Stan Musial's first minor league manager with the Williamson Colts in 1938.[4]

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Obituary Index" (PDF). Johnstown Tribune-Democrat.
  2. ↑ Sachare, Alex (1994). The Official NBA basketball encyclopedia (1994 ed.). Villard Books. p. 577.
  3. ↑ Boeck, Greg (April 2, 2007). "Mavericks make motivated Willis, 44, NBA's oldest player". USA Today. Retrieved May 15, 2010.
  4. ↑ Akin, William E. (2006). West Virginia Baseball: A History, 1865-2000. McFarland. p. 147. ISBN 9780786425709.
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