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Johnny Kerr
John Graham Kerr (July 17, 1932 – February 26, 2009), also known as Red Kerr, was an American basketball player, coach, executive and broadcaster who devoted six decades to the sport at all levels. In 2009, he was honored with the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame's John W. Bunn Lifetime Achievement Award for his contributions to basketball.
The affable 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m), 230-pound (104.3 kg) center starred for the University of Illinois (1951–1954) before he became a three-time All-Star and one-time league champion in the NBA (1954–66), primarily as a member of the Syracuse Nationals.
Kerr was the first of the NBA iron men in the early years of the league. From 1954 to 1965, he played in 917 consecutive games, including 844 in the regular season, a record that stood for 17 years. He averaged 13.8 points, 11.2 rebounds and 2.2 assists in 905 games over 12 seasons, all except one with the Nationals (later the Philadelphia 76ers). More consistent than spectacular, Kerr averaged in double figures in points and rebounds in seven consecutive seasons (1956–64), when he earned the reputation as one of the best big men in the league.
After retirement as a player, Kerr held several coaching and administrative positions, most notably coach of the Chicago Bulls and Phoenix Suns in their first-ever seasons. In his debut on the bench, the 1966-67 Bulls defied long odds to earn a postseason berth, the first expansion team in major professional team sports to do so.
The Chicago native concluded his career as a Bulls television analyst for thirty-three years, during which he was one of the most recognizable personalities of the Bulls dynasty in the 1990s decade.
Kerr was born on July 17, 1932, in Chicago. His father was born in Scotland, and was a top soccer player. He came to the United States and worked as a meat packer in Chicago, dying of pneumonia at age 32, when Kerr was three years old. Kerr was raised in the 67th and Racine neighborhood on the South Side of Chicago. Kerr was a frequent 16-inch softball player, his personal favorite sport, at Ogden Park. He had aspirations of a career working in a foundry, in which he became proficient as a Tilden Technical High School student. Kerr said "'People from Tilden didn't go to college.... They went to work. My courses were shop, woodworking, auto mechanics and foundry.'"
Although Kerr's first passion[citation needed] was soccer, an eight-inch growth spurt during his senior year[citation needed] at Tilden Tech coupled with some friendly persuasion from its head basketball coach Bill Postl and school principal Robert Lakemacher[citation needed] turned his attention to basketball. Kerr had entered high school at 6 ft (1.83 m) tall and was 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) by his senior year. The pivotman (center) led the Blue Devils to the 1950 Chicago Public League championship in his only season with the team. After that, Kerr received college basketball scholarship offers.
Upon graduation from high school in mid-year (January 1950), Kerr was set to attend Bradley in the fall. However, after a visit from Illini freshman Irv Bemoras touting the benefits of playing for head coach Harry Combes and the Fighting Illini, he made a visit to Champaign and quickly changed his mind. Always quick with a quip, Kerr became known for his self-deprecating humor. When asked about his introduction to Chaucer in college, Kerr said the two hadn't met yet, but he assumed they would at a fraternity party.
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Johnny Kerr
John Graham Kerr (July 17, 1932 – February 26, 2009), also known as Red Kerr, was an American basketball player, coach, executive and broadcaster who devoted six decades to the sport at all levels. In 2009, he was honored with the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame's John W. Bunn Lifetime Achievement Award for his contributions to basketball.
The affable 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m), 230-pound (104.3 kg) center starred for the University of Illinois (1951–1954) before he became a three-time All-Star and one-time league champion in the NBA (1954–66), primarily as a member of the Syracuse Nationals.
Kerr was the first of the NBA iron men in the early years of the league. From 1954 to 1965, he played in 917 consecutive games, including 844 in the regular season, a record that stood for 17 years. He averaged 13.8 points, 11.2 rebounds and 2.2 assists in 905 games over 12 seasons, all except one with the Nationals (later the Philadelphia 76ers). More consistent than spectacular, Kerr averaged in double figures in points and rebounds in seven consecutive seasons (1956–64), when he earned the reputation as one of the best big men in the league.
After retirement as a player, Kerr held several coaching and administrative positions, most notably coach of the Chicago Bulls and Phoenix Suns in their first-ever seasons. In his debut on the bench, the 1966-67 Bulls defied long odds to earn a postseason berth, the first expansion team in major professional team sports to do so.
The Chicago native concluded his career as a Bulls television analyst for thirty-three years, during which he was one of the most recognizable personalities of the Bulls dynasty in the 1990s decade.
Kerr was born on July 17, 1932, in Chicago. His father was born in Scotland, and was a top soccer player. He came to the United States and worked as a meat packer in Chicago, dying of pneumonia at age 32, when Kerr was three years old. Kerr was raised in the 67th and Racine neighborhood on the South Side of Chicago. Kerr was a frequent 16-inch softball player, his personal favorite sport, at Ogden Park. He had aspirations of a career working in a foundry, in which he became proficient as a Tilden Technical High School student. Kerr said "'People from Tilden didn't go to college.... They went to work. My courses were shop, woodworking, auto mechanics and foundry.'"
Although Kerr's first passion[citation needed] was soccer, an eight-inch growth spurt during his senior year[citation needed] at Tilden Tech coupled with some friendly persuasion from its head basketball coach Bill Postl and school principal Robert Lakemacher[citation needed] turned his attention to basketball. Kerr had entered high school at 6 ft (1.83 m) tall and was 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) by his senior year. The pivotman (center) led the Blue Devils to the 1950 Chicago Public League championship in his only season with the team. After that, Kerr received college basketball scholarship offers.
Upon graduation from high school in mid-year (January 1950), Kerr was set to attend Bradley in the fall. However, after a visit from Illini freshman Irv Bemoras touting the benefits of playing for head coach Harry Combes and the Fighting Illini, he made a visit to Champaign and quickly changed his mind. Always quick with a quip, Kerr became known for his self-deprecating humor. When asked about his introduction to Chaucer in college, Kerr said the two hadn't met yet, but he assumed they would at a fraternity party.