Mark Workman
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Born |
March 10, 1930 Logan, West Virginia |
| Died |
December 21, 1983 (aged 53) Bradenton, Florida |
| Nationality | American |
| Listed height | 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) |
| Listed weight | 215 lb (98 kg) |
| Career information | |
| High school | Charleston (Charleston, West Virginia) |
| College | West Virginia (1949–1952) |
| NBA draft | 1952 / Round: 1 / Pick: 1st overall |
| Selected by the Milwaukee Hawks | |
| Playing career | 1952–1954 |
| Position | Center |
| Number | 12, 24 |
| Career history | |
| 1952 | Milwaukee Hawks |
| 1952–1953 | Philadelphia Warriors |
| 1953–1954 | Baltimore Bullets |
| Career highlights and awards | |
| |
| Career NBA statistics | |
| Points | 386 (4.9 ppg) |
| Rebounds | 230 (2.9 rpg) |
| Assists | 44 (0.6 apg) |
| Stats at Basketball-Reference.com | |
Mark Cecil Workman (born March 10, 1930 – December 21, 1983) was an American professional basketball player. Born in Logan, West Virginia, Workman grew up in Charleston, West Virginia, leading the Charleston High School Mountain Lions to the state title as a junior. He also lettered in track, specializing in shot put, javelin, and discus. Upon graduation some local car dealers gave him a Chrysler New Yorker in order make the drive to Morgantown, becoming the first automobile in the Workman family.
At West Virginia University, he led the Mountaineers in 1950–52, scoring 1,553 career points for a 20.4 point-per-game average under the direction of Robert N. "Red" Brown. His top scoring performance was 50 points against Salem College in 1951. He also scored 48 points against Washington and Jefferson College, and 44 points against George Washington University. He still holds the WVU single-game records for field goals (22), free throws (17), and points in a half (37), along with four of the top 10 scoring marks.
One of Workman's greatest accomplishments was winning the United States Basketball Writers Association Gold Star Award as the outstanding visiting player in the state of New York for the 1951–52 season for leading WVU to wins over New York University (100-75) and Niagara University (74-71), despite the New York press having labelled him "the Galloping Goon from West Virginia" the previous year.
Workman was the first overall pick in the 1952 NBA draft, selected by the Milwaukee Hawks, but went on a tour of Europe with the Harlem Globetrotters before playing two years for the NBA Philadelphia Warriors and Baltimore Bullets.
After retiring from basketball, Workman became a salesman, bringing bowling to the Orient as a representative of the Brunswick Corporation. He later moved to Florida where he worked as a salesman for a mining company while enjoying his true love of fishing.
Workman was inducted into the West Virginia Sports Writers Hall of Fame in 1974.