1961 Fleer #23 Sam Jones Rookie Card

Samuel “The Shooter” Jones (June 24, 1933-December 30, 2021) is second only to Celtics teammate and fellow Hall of Famer Bill Russell in total championships in a career, winning 10 titles over 12 seasons. Jones was the eighth pick overall in the 1957 NBA Draft out of North Carolina Central college. Sam made up have of the Boston Celtics “Jones Boys” backcourt, teaming with another fellow Hall of Famer K.C. Jones. Playing for the powerful Celtics during his entire 12-year career (1957-1969), Sam played in the NBA Finals 10 straight seasons and eleven overall. Sam Jones was known as a clutch shooter with a textbook jump shot. He is widely considered one of the best shooting guards of his era. He led the Celts in scoring during the 1962-63, 1964-66 seasons. He was selected to five NBA All-Star appearances and was named to the All-NBA Second Team in three seasons. Sam finished his career with 15,411 points, 4,305 total rebounds and 2,209 assists. In 1996, Jones was named to the 50 Greatest Players in NBA History list. Sam Jones was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 1984.

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Philip Jordon (September 12, 1933 - June 7, 1965) was unable to play, due to illness, during Wilt Chamberlain’s infamous 100-point game against the New York Knicks. Jordon’s flu is often blamed as the reason for the loss because it left the smaller Knicks team with only one big man to guard Chamberlain during his extraordinary display of dominance and scoring. The Minneapolis Lakers selected Phil Jordon in the sixth round of the 1956 NBA Draft out of Whitworth University. Jordon played power forward and center for seven seasons as a member of the Knicks (1956-1958, 1961-1962)), the Detroit Pistons (1957-1959), the Cincinnati Royals (1959-1961) and the St. Louis Hawks (1962-63). Jordon finished his career following the 1962-63 season with 4,833 points, 3,028 total rebounds and 769 assists. Jordon was tragically killed when he drowned in a rafting accident in Washington State two years after his final season. 

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John G. “Red” Kerr (July 17, 1932 - February 26, 2009) held the record for most consecutive games played (844) at the time of his retirement in 1966, until it was topped in 1983. The Syracuse Nationals selected Red Kerr sixth overall kin the 1954 NBA Draft out of the University of Illinois. Kerr scored 1,299 points with the Illini and helped them to the 1952 Big Ten title and the NCAA Final Four. Red played center and power forward for 12 seasons with the Syracuse Nationals/Philadelphia 76ers (1954-1965) and the Baltimore Bullets (1965-66). In his rookie season with the Nationals, he helped the club to the 1955 NBA Finals Championship alongside Hall of Famer Dolph Schayes. He was selected for three NBA All-Star Games as a National and a 76er. Following the 1966 season, Johnny was taken by his hometown Chicago Bulls in the expansion draft, but he retired instead to take over the reigns of the upstart Bulls franchise. Johnny retired from playing with 12,480 career points, 10,092 total rebounds and 2.004 assists. Though posting a losing record of 33-48, Red led the Chicago Bulls to a relatively successful first season, leading them to a playoff berth and earned the 1967 NBA Coach of the Year Award. He coached another year with the Bulls before spending two seasons with the Phoenix Suns, then retired from coaching for a position in the broadcast booth. As a coach, Red Kerr compiled a record of 93-190. Following his days on the basketball court either as a player or coach, Red became the color commentator for the Chicago Bulls until the end of the 2007-08 season.

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Rudolph A. “Rudy” LaRusso (November 11, 1937 - July 9, 2004) made a cameo appearance on the show Gilligan’s Island in 1967, the show’s third season, to help increase the ratings. Rudy played forward and center for 10 seasons in the NBA with the Minneapolis/Los Angeles Lakers (1959-1967) and the San Francisco Warriors (1967-1969). He was drafted by the Los Angeles Lakers in the second round of the 1959 NBA Draft out of Dartmouth College. His teams only missed the playoffs one time during his career and he was a member of four Lakers teams (1962, 1963, 1965, 1966) to win the Western Conference title only to lose to the high-powered Boston Celtics in the NBA Finals. LaRusso was selected for five NBA All-Star games and was named to the 1969 NBA All-Defensive Second Team. Rudy LaRusso finished his career following the 1968-69 season with 11,507 points, 6.936 total rebounds and 1,556 assists.

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George C. Lee (November 23, 1936-) played small forward and point guard for seven years in the NBA with the Detroit Pistons (1960-1962) and the San Francisco Warriors (1962-1968). The Detroit Pistons selected Lee in the fourth round of the 1959 NBA Draft. In his first season with the San Francisco Warriors, he, alongside Hall of Famers Wilt Chamberlain and Nate Thurmond marched to the Western Conference title, but lost 4-1 to the Boston Celtic in the 1964 NBA Finals. George Lee finished his career with 2,229 points, 1,235 total rebounds and 258 assists. Lee coached the Warriors from 1968-1970 before being replaced by Al Attles.

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William Robert “Slick” Leonard (July 17, 1932-) hit the championship winning shot for Indiana University to capture the 1953 NCAA National Championship. The Baltimore Bullets selected Leonard in the second round of the 1954 NBA Draft out of Indiana University. He played guard for seven seasons with the Minneapolis/Los Angeles Lakers (1956-1963) and the Chicago Packers/Zephyrs (1961-1963). In his final season with the Zephyrs, he had a dual role of player/coach before retiring from playing to focus on head coaching. Slick Leonard finished his playing career with 4,202 points, 1,217 total rebounds and 1,427 assists. He joined the Baltimore Bullets as head coach for the 1963-64 season before finding a home in the ABA at the helm of the Indiana Pacers. He led the Pacers to three ABA Finals Championships (1970, 1972, 1973) and remained with the team as the ABA merged with the NBA in 1976. Bobby spent 12 seasons with the Pacers and compiled a 573-534 career coaching record in 1,107 games. Bobby Leonard retired from coaching after the 1979-80 season and became color commentator for the Pacers adding “Boom, Baby!” to the Indianapolis lexicon when Pacer players hit a three-pointer. 

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Clyde Edward Lovellette (September 7, 1929 - March 9, 2016) is the first player in NBA history to play for an NCAA, Olympic and NBA champion. Lovellette was a three-time All American at the University of Kansas and led them to the 1952 NCAA Tournament Championship, and garnered the 1952 NCAA Most Outstanding Player Award. During the successful 1952 season, he led the nation in scoring and captured the Helms College Player of the Year Award as well. He remains to only NCAA player to lead the nation in scoring and win the NCAA Tournament title in the same season. He won a gold medal with the United States Olympic Basketball team in the 1952 Helsinki Olympic Games. The Minneapolis Lakers selected Clyde in the first round of the 1952 Draft teaming him with future Hall of Famers Slater Martin, Vern Mikkelsen and George Mikan. The power packed Lakers won the Western Conference and the 1954 NBA Finals in his first season. Lovellette played center and power forward for the Lakers (1953-1957), the Cincinnati Royals (1957-58), the St. Louis Hawks (1958-1962) and the Boston Celtics (1962-1964). He was named to four NBA All-Star Games and the 1956 All-NBA Second Team. In 1963 and 1964, Clyde joined the already Hall of Fame-laden Boston Celtics and won two more NBA Finals Championships. Clyde finished his career with 11,947 points, 6,663 total rebounds and 1,165 assists. Clyde Lovellette was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall Of Fame in 1988.

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John Joseph “Johnny” McCarthy (April 25, 1934-) was the first player in NBA history to record a triple-double in his first ever playoff game. The Rochester Royal selected Johnny in thefourth round of the 1956 NBA Draft out of Canisius College. He played point guard for six seasons in the NBA with the Rochester/Cincinnati Royals 91956-1959), the St. Louis Hawks (1959-1962 and the Boston Celtics (1963-64). Playing alongside Hall of Famers John Havlicek, Sam and K.C. Jones, Bill Russell, Frank Ramsey and Clyde Lovellette, McCarthy and the Celtics captured the 1964 NBA Finals Championship over the San Francisco Warriors. Johnny McCarthy finished his career with 2,450 points, 1,145 total rebounds and 1,184 assists. Johnny briefly coached the NBA’s expansion Buffalo Braves before the franchise moved to the west coast, becoming the San Diego Clippers.

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Thomas Nicholas “Tom” Meschery (October 26, 1938-) was a Russian born immigrant who relocated to California after World War II where he graduated from St. Mary’s College of California. The Philadelphia Warriors selected Meschery as the seventh pick overall in the 1961 NBA Draft. In his rookie season, Tom led the league in personal fouls. Teamed with young star Wilt Chamberlain, he and Warriors reached the Eastern Conference Finals in his rookie season before losing to the Boston Celtics. When the team moved to the west coast becoming the San Francisco Warriors, Meschery was a member of two Western Conference champions that lost the NBA Finals again to the Celtics (1964) and the 76ers (1967). He played 10 seasons at power forward for the Warriors (1961-1967) and the Seattle SuperSonics (1967-1971). In 1963, he was named to the NBA All-Star Game. Tom Meschery ended his playing career with 9,904 points, 6,698 total rebounds and 1,331 assists. Meschery briefly coached the ABA’s Carolina Cougars before returning to school to get a Masters Degree of Fine Arts. He became a high school teacher in Reno, Nevada until he retired in 2005.

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William Dean “Willie” Naulls (October 7, 1934 - November 22, 2018) averaged a double-double during his seven seasons with the New York Knicks. The St. Louis Hawks took Naulls in the second round of the 1956 NBA Draft out of UCLA. He played power forward and center in only a handful of games with the Hawks (1956) before being traded to the Knicks (1956-1962) where he played most of his career. In 1962, he was traded to the San Francisco Warriors (1962-63) for Kenny Sears and Hall of Famer Tom Gola, and was later sold to the Boston Celtics (1963-1966) in 1963. With the Knicks, Willie became the first African-American player to be named captain of a major professional team. He was selected for four NBA All-Star Games and won three NBA Finals Championships with the Boston Celtics (1964-1966). Willie Naulls ended his career after the 1965-66 season with 11,305 points, 6,508 total rebounds and 1,114 assists.

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Donald Jay Ohl (April 18, 1936-) was included in one of the earliest major blockbuster deals that sent he and five of his Pistons teammates to Baltimore for three Bullets players. The Philadelphia Warriors selected Ohl in the fifth round of the 1958 NBA Draft out of the University of Illinois, but Ohl never played a game for the Philadelphia team. Ohl made his NBA debut at point guard with the Detroit Pistons where he played for four seasons (1960-1964) was then traded to Baltimore (1963-1968) and eventually rounded out his 10-year career with the St. Louis/Atlanta Hawks (1967-1970). Don was considered one of the best outside shooters of his era and he earned an All-Star Game selection in five consecutive seasons from 1963-1967. Don Ohl finished his career with 11,549 points, 2,163 total rebounds and 2,243 assists.

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