Gene Melchiorre

Gene "Squeaky" Melchiorre (born August 10, 1927 in Highland Park, Illinois, United States) was drafted by the Baltimore Bullets NBA basketball and was the first overall pick in the 1951 NBA Draft, although he never played a game due to his ban from professional basketball for point shaving.

Early life

He was the fifth of six children born to a gardener who moved his family from Joliet to Highland Park in 1936. Though always being of short stature and having pigeon toes, Melchiorre excelled in nearly ever sport he tried. He was a starting wingback on the Highland Park football team, a basketball player, a baseball player, a tennis player, and in his later years, a golfer [http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qn4155/is_20010325/ai_n13895827/pg_3] .After joining the Army, Melchiorre joined the basketball team at Fort Sheridan, known as the Ramblers, that won 58 of 63 games during his two-year tour (1945-47).

College

Melchiorre played guard for Bradley University starting in the 1947-48 season till the 1950-51 season. Standing only 5'8 and weighing 175 lbs, but he was famous for his passing abilities and his ability to score almost at will. During his tenure, Bradley won 119 games while losing only 22. He participated in both the NIT and NCAA Tournament in 1950, in which Bradly lost to CCNY in both games. During one NIT game in 1949, Melchiorre scored an 71 points, a tournament record that stands to this day.

He was named to the Missouri Valley Conference first team three times, and in his junior year made the all-NIT team. For the 1951 season, he was an Associated Press, United Press International and Colliers Magazine first team All-American and selected by the magazine, Sports Album, as one of the two best offensive players in the country [http://www.gpshof.org/Inductees/melchiorre.html] . He also was a letter-winner on the Bradley baseball team, and he received a degree in business administration.

Point shaving scandal

Melchiorre was involved in a massive point shaving scandal in 1951 which brought seven schools and 32 players from around the US to face charges on violations of the New York state penal code. On July 24, 1951, Melchiorre and four of his teammates admitted to taking bribes to hold down scores against St. Joseph's University in Philadelphia in 1951 and against Oregon State University in Chicago [http://espn.go.com/classic/s/basketball_scandals_explosion.html] .

Melchiorre and two of his teammates pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor in New York. Though the players faced three years jail time, the assistant District Attorney praised the threesome's cooperation, giving them a suspended sentence.

NBA

Upon his completion of four years at Bradley and a suspended sentence for the point shaving scandal, Melchiorre entered the 1951 NBA Draft. He was selected as the first overall pick in the draft by the Baltimore Bullets. Melchiorre would never play a minute of NBA basketball though. His involvement in the scandal banned him for life from the NBA and involvement in any NCAA honors.

Later years

He married Kay Boles in 1951. He returned to his native Highland Park in the mid-1950s, at first working in the Post Office. He then moved into insurance and appliance sales, women's wear and finally started his own small trucking firm. He was inducted into the Greater Peoria Sports Hall of Fame in 1996.

See also

*NBA first overall draft pick

External links

* [http://www.gpshof.org/Inductees/melchiorre.html Greater Peoria Sports Hall of Fame page]
* [http://thedraftreview.com/history/drafted1951/Melchiorre-Gene.htm The Draft Review player profile.]
* [http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qn4155/is_20010325/ai_n13895827/pg_1 Chicago Sun-Times article "A Brave Spirit"]