Frank Ramsey (basketball)

American basketball player and coach (1931–2018)

Frank Vernon Ramsey Jr. (July 13, 1931 – July 8, 2018) was an American professional basketball player and coach. A 6 3 forward/guard, he played his entire nine year (1954–1964) NBA career with the Boston Celtics and played a major role in the early part of their dynasty, winning seven championships as part of the team. Ramsey was also a head coach for the Kentucky Colonels of the ABA during the 1970–1971 season. Ramsey was inducted into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame in 1982.

Raised in Madisonville, Kentucky, Ramsey was a multi sport athlete at the University of Kentucky, playing baseball as well as basketball. Playing under legendary coach Adolph Rupp, Ramsey, as a sophomore in 1951, helped the Wildcats win the NCAA Championship with a 68–58 victory over Kansas State. In the fall of 1952, a point shaving scandal involving three Kentucky players (a fourth player, Bill Spivey, a teammate of Ramsey's on the 1951 championship team, was accused of being involved in the scandal but denied the charge) over a four year period forced Kentucky to forfeit its upcoming season, Ramsey's senior year, as well as that of Cliff Hagan and Lou Tsioropoulos. The suspension of the season made Kentucky's basketball team, in effect, the first college sports team to get the "death penalty," although it was nothing more than the NCAA asking members schools not to schedule Kentucky, and not mandating it. Ramsey, Hagan and Tsioropoulos all graduated from Kentucky in 1953 and, as a result, became eligible for the NBA draft. All three players were selected by the Boston Celtics—Ramsey in the first round, Hagan in the third, and Tsioropoulos in the seventh. All three also returned to Kentucky for one more season despite graduating. After finishing the regular season (one in which Ramsey averaged 19.6 points per game) with a perfect 25–0 record and a #1 ranking in the Associated Press, Kentucky had been offered a bid into the NCAA Tournament. However, then existing NCAA rules prohibited graduate students from participating in post season play; the Wildcats declined the bid because their participation would have forced them to play without Ramsey, Hagan and Tsioropoulos, thus jeopardizing their perfect season. Ramsey also played on Kentucky Wildcats baseball team, earning All SEC honors as an outfielder in 1951, 1952 and 1954. Upon completion of his college basketball career, Ramsey scored 1344 points (14.8 ppg), which at the time ranked him fourth in the school's history, and grabbed 1038 rebounds (11.4 rpg), a school record later surpassed by one of his future Kentucky Colonels players, Dan Issel.

After playing his rookie season with the Celtics (1954–1955), Ramsey spent one year in the military before rejoining the team. In the eight seasons he played after military service, he was a member of seven championship teams (1957, 1959–1964).

Auerbach is often credited throughout basketball with creating the sixth man. Though Ramsey was one of the Celtics' best players, he felt more comfortable coming off the bench and Auerbach wanted him fresh and in the lineup at the end of close games. Ramsey was the first in a series of sixth men who won championship rings with the Celtics. In the championships the Celtics won after Ramsey's retirement, they have had successful sixth men such as Havlicek, Paul Silas, Kevin McHale, Bill Walton, and James Posey. Ramsey was mentioned in the episode "If I Could See Me Now" of Married with Children. Bud asked Al the trivia question, "Who was known as the best sixth man in basketball? He played for the Celtics", to which Al nonchalantly replied, "Frank Ramsey".

On November 15, 2005, Ramsey's house was destroyed in a tornado that hit his residence in Madisonville. One of his plaques was found miles away from his home, and Ramsey himself was found unhurt. as of 2008, Ramsey was a bank president in Dixon, Kentucky. Ramsey died of natural causes in his hometown of Madisonville, Kentucky on July 8, 2018, at the age of 86.

Ramsey was inducted into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame in 1982. In 2005, Ramsey was inducted into the University of Kentucky Athletics Hall of Fame. In 2006, Ramsey was a charter inductee to the College Basketball Hall of Fame. Ramsey's #23 jersey is retired by the Boston Celtics. Ramsey's #30 jersey is retired by the University of Kentucky Wildcats.

YearTeamGPMPGFG%FT%RPGAPGPPG1954–55Boston6427.4.399.7556.32.911.21956–57†Boston3523.1.393.7915.11.911.91957–58Boston6929.7.419.8117.32.416.51958–59†Boston7228.0.378.7826.82.015.41959–60†Boston7327.5.397.7876.91.915.31960–61†Boston7925.6.407.8335.51.815.11961–62†Boston7924.2.428.8254.91.415.31962–63†Boston7720.0.382.8163.71.210.91963–64†Boston7516.4.374.8413.01.18.6Career62324.6.399.8045.51.813.4

YearTeamGPMPGFG%FT%RPGAPGPPG1955Boston722.0.519.7315.02.310.71957†Boston1022.9.463.7804.31.712.21958Boston1132.0.425.9158.21.518.41959†Boston1127.5.495.8026.21.823.21960†Boston1335.3.413.8737.72.116.71961†Boston1030.0.404.8136.42.317.11962†Boston1316.2.375.9112.90.89.21963†Boston1319.3.356.7232.70.98.31964†Boston1013.8.349.8572.11.06.2Career9824.4.424.8265.01.513.6