Ernie Vandeweghe
American basketball player (1928–2014)
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Ernest Maurice Vandeweghe Jr. (September 12, 1928 – November 8, 2014) was a Canadian professional basketball player. Vandeweghe was best known for playing for the New York Knicks of the NBA and for the athletic successes of his family.
Vandeweghe as a senior at Colgate | |
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Born | September 12, 1928 Montreal, Canada |
| Died | November 8, 2014 (aged 86) |
| Listed height | 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) |
| Listed weight | 195 lb (88 kg) |
| Career information | |
| High school | Oceanside (Oceanside, New York) |
| College | Colgate (1945–1949) |
| NBA draft | 1949: 3rd round |
| Drafted by | New York Knicks |
| Playing career | 1949–1956 |
| Position | Shooting guard / small forward |
| Number | 9, 18 |
| Career history | |
| 1949–1956 | New York Knicks |
| Career highlights | |
| |
| Career statistics | |
| Points | 2,135 (9.5 ppg) |
| Rebounds | 834 (4.6 rpg) |
| Assists | 548 (2.4 apg) |
| Stats at NBA.com | |
| Stats at Basketball Reference | |
Personal life
Vandeweghe and his wife Colleen Kay Hutchins (Miss America for 1952)[1] were the parents of former NBA All-Star Kiki VanDeWeghe and Olympic swimmer Tauna Vandeweghe, and grandparents of tennis professional CoCo Vandeweghe.
Biography
Born in Montreal, Vandeweghe moved to Long Island, New York as a teenager and played football, basketball and baseball for Oceanside High School where he was also a member of the Omega Gamma Delta fraternity. A 6'3" guard, Vandeweghe played collegiately for the Colgate University Raiders, where he was an All-American. He was drafted by the Knicks in the 1949 BAA Draft, and played in the NBA for six seasons. [citation needed]
After retiring from the NBA in 1956, Vandeweghe served as a physician for the Air Force while stationed overseas in Germany. Besides Kiki, he had three other children who were successful athletes: daughter Tauna won a U.S. national swimming championship in the backstroke (and competed in the 1976 Summer Olympics), son Bruk medalled in beach volleyball in the 1994 Goodwill Games, and daughter Heather was captain of the U.S. national women's polo team and followed in her father's footsteps through medical school to become a physician. [citation needed]
Vandeweghe served as chairman of the President's Council on Physical Fitness and Sports, and served on the Olympic Sports Commission under President Gerald Ford, where he assisted with the development of two key pieces of sports legislation – Title IX and the 1976 Amateur Athletic Act. He was also a senior vice president with Focus Partners LLC, a New York–based financial services firm, and a consultant with the United States Golf and Fitness Association. He occasionally provided commentary for several sports publications.
Vandeweghe died at the age of 86 on November 8, 2014.[2]
Career statistics
| GP | Games played | GS | Games started | MPG | Minutes per game |
| FG% | Field goal percentage | 3P% | 3-point field goal percentage | FT% | Free throw percentage |
| RPG | Rebounds per game | APG | Assists per game | SPG | Steals per game |
| BPG | Blocks per game | PPG | Points per game | Bold | Career high |
NBA
Source[3]
Regular season
| Year | Team | GP | MPG | FG% | FT% | RPG | APG | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1949–50 | New York | 42 | – | .421 | .664 | – | 1.9 | 10.0 |
| 1950–51 | New York | 44 | – | .402 | .701 | 4.4 | 2.8 | 7.7 |
| 1951–52 | New York | 57 | 26.4 | .438 | .775 | 4.6 | 2.9 | 9.2 |
| 1952–53 | New York | 61 | 28.6 | .435 | .766 | 5.6 | 2.4 | 12.0 |
| 1953–54 | New York | 15 | 18.1 | .359 | .806 | 1.3 | 1.9 | 6.6 |
| 1955–56 | New York | 5 | 15.4 | .323 | 1.000 | 2.6 | 2.4 | 4.4 |
| Career | 224 | 26.1 | .421 | .740 | 4.6 | 2.4 | 9.5 | |