Fred Scolari

Fred Scolari
Personal information
Born(1922-03-01)March 1, 1922
San Francisco, California, U.S.
DiedOctober 17, 2002(2002-10-17) (aged 80)
San Ramon, California, U.S.
Listed height5 ft 10 in (1.78 m)
Listed weight180 lb (82 kg)
Career information
High schoolGalileo (San Francisco, California)
CollegeSan Francisco (1942–1946)
PositionPoint guard
Number14, 23, 20, 10, 24
Career history
As player:
19461951Washington Capitols
1951Syracuse Nationals
19511953Baltimore Bullets
19531954Fort Wayne Pistons
1954–1955Boston Celtics
As coach:
1951–1952Baltimore Bullets
Career highlights and awards
Stats at NBA.com Edit this at Wikidata
Stats at Basketball Reference

Fred Joseph Scolari (March 1, 1922 – October 17, 2002) was an American professional basketball player. At 5'10", he played the point guard position.

Though he was blind in one eye, deaf in one ear and often overweight, "Fat Freddie" excelled in basketball at Galileo High School and the University of San Francisco. In 1946, he joined the Washington Capitols of the Basketball Association of America (now the NBA) at the start of a nine-year (1946–1955) professional career with the Capitols, Syracuse Nationals, Baltimore Bullets, Fort Wayne Pistons and Boston Celtics. He was one of the last two NBA players who played in its predecessor BAA from its inception in 1946 to retire.

Scolari became known for his unorthodox, yet effective, shooting style, in which he released the ball from his hip. He led the BAA in free-throw percentage for the 1946–47 BAA season. He was also a well-regarded defender, and was voted to the All-BAA Second Team in 1947 and 1948.

After his basketball career ended, he became a successful insurance salesman. He later served as director of the Salesian Boys and Girls Club in San Francisco. In 1998, he was elected to the Bay Area Sports Hall of Fame.

BAA/NBA career statistics

Legend
  GP Games played  MPG  Minutes per game
 FG%  Field-goal percentage  FT%  Free-throw percentage
 RPG  Rebounds per game  APG  Assists per game
 PPG  Points per game  Bold  Career high

Regular season

Year Team GP MPG FG% FT% RPG APG PPG
1946–47 Washington 58 .294 .811 1.0 12.6
1947–48 Washington 47 .294 .732 1.2 12.5
1948–49 Washington 48 .310 .798 2.1 11.2
1949–50 Washington 66 .343 .822 2.7 13.0
1950–51 Washington / Syracuse 66 .327 .843 3.3 3.9 13.4
1951–52 Baltimore 64 35.0 .334 .835 3.3 4.7 14.6
1952–53 Baltimore 46 35.2 .334 .849 3.5 4.3 14.2
1952–53 Fort Wayne 16 31.6 .377 .824 2.9 2.3 11.1
1953–54 Fort Wayne 64 24.8 .324 .800 2.2 2.0 7.2
1954–55 Boston 59 10.5 .305 .796 1.3 1.6 3.2
Career 534 26.4 .321 .818 2.7 2.6 11.3

Playoffs

Year Team GP MPG FG% FT% RPG APG PPG
1947 Washington 6 .232 .794 .8 11.8
1949 Washington 9 .270 .700 1.8 9.1
1950 Washington 2 .481 1.000 1.5 18.5
1951 Syracuse 7 .355 .815 5.9 2.3 12.6
1953 Fort Wayne 8 33.5 .322 .803 3.1 2.6 13.4
1954 Fort Wayne 4 15.0 .250 .000 1.8 1.5 3.0
1955 Boston 5 5.8 .267 .800 1.0 .6 2.4
Career 41 21.0 .302 .792 3.3 1.7 10.0