Ralph Beard

Ralph Beard

Personal information
Born	(1927-12-02)December 2, 1927 Hardinsburg, Kentucky
Died	November 29, 2007(2007-11-29) (aged 79) Louisville, Kentucky
Nationality	American
Listed height	5 ft 10 in (1.78 m)
Listed weight	175 lb (79 kg)
Career information
High school	Louisville Male (Louisville, Kentucky)
College	Kentucky (1945–1949)
NBA draft	1949 / Round: 2
Selected by the Chicago Stags
Playing career	1949–1951
Position	Guard
Number	12
Career history
1949–1951	Indianapolis Olympians
Career highlights and awards
NBA All-Star (1951) 2× NCAA Champion (1948, 1949) 3× Consensus first-team All-American (1947–1949)
Career statistics
Points	2,006 (15.9 ppg)
Rebounds	251 (3.8 rpg)
Assists	551 (4.4 apg)
Stats at Basketball-Reference.com
Medals Men's basketball Competitor for the  United States 1948 London Team competition

Ralph Milton Beard Jr. (December 2, 1927 – November 29, 2007) was an American collegiate and professional basketball player.^[1]

Biography

Beard was born in Hardinsburg, Kentucky. He was a member of Adolph Rupp's "Fabulous Five" University of Kentucky basketball team, with Alex Groza, Wallace Jones, Cliff Barker, and Kenny Rollins. Beard won a gold medal in the 1948 Summer Olympics with the Fabulous Five and the Phillips 66ers.

A jersey honoring Beard hangs in Rupp Arena.

Taken in the second round of the 1949 NBA draft, Beard played two seasons with the Indianapolis Olympians and averaged 15.9 points and 4.4 assists per game.^[2]

Following the 1951 season, Beard and teammate Alex Groza were banned from the NBA for life by then-commissioner Maurice Podoloff after the players admitted to point shaving during their college careers. Beard died at his Louisville, Kentucky home in 2007.^[3]

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Ralph Beard.

• Ralph Beard profile
• Ralph Beard Info Page at NBA.com
• Ralph Beard at Basketball-Reference.com
• Ralph Beard at Find a Grave