| Born:
June 22, 1947 in Aliquippa, Pa. Died: January 5, 1988 Elected
to Hall of Fame in 1987.
It
happened so suddenly. One minute he was enjoying playing
basketball, telling a friend he felt great. The next, he
was sprawled on the floor, his body con vulsing in a seizure.
An ambulance whisked him to the hospital where doctors tried
for fifty mi nutes to revive him. It was all in vain; Peter
Press Maravich, known to the world as "Pistol Pete,"
slipped into eternity at 9:42 a.m. on January 5, 1988 at
the age of 40.
Noted
for his mop of brown hair and floppy gray socks, Maravich
scored more points in college than any other player in history.
In only three years playing for his father Press at LSU,
Maravich scored 3,667 points -- 1,138 points in 1968, 1,148
points in 1969 and 1,381 points in 1970 while averaging
43.8, 44.2 and 44.5 points per game. In the process, "Pistol
Pete" set numerous NCAA, SEC and school records and
was named a three-time All-America. In his collegiate career,
the 6-5 guard a veraged an incredible 44.2 ppg in 83 contests
and led the NCAA in scoring three times. He also set an
NCAA record by scoring more than 50 points 28 times. The
1970 College Player of the Year was selected third overall
in the NBA draft by the Atlanta Haw ks and wasted little
time becoming a prime-time player by averaging 23.2 ppg
his rookie season. After spending four seasons in Atlanta,
Maravich was traded to the New Orleans Jazz where he peaked
as an NBA showman and superstar. He made the All-NBA First
Team in 1976 and '77 and the All-NBA Second Team in 1973
and '78. He led the NBA in scoring in 1977 with a personal
high 31.1 ppg. Maravich finished his career with the Utah
Jazz and the Boston Celtics in 1980. In ten NBA seasons,
Maravich scored 15,948 p oints in 658 games for a 24.2 ppg
average. His NBA single game high, a 68-point explosion,
came against the New York Knicks on February 25, 1977.
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