Bill Closs
 Closs, circa 1947 | |
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Born | January 8, 1922 Edge, Texas |
| Died | June 6, 2011 (aged 89) Palo Alto, California |
| Nationality | American |
| Listed height | 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) |
| Listed weight | 195 lb (88 kg) |
| Career information | |
| High school | Hearne (Hearne, Texas) |
| College | Rice (1940–1943) |
| Playing career | 1949–1952 |
| Position | Small forward |
| Number | 11, 16, 14 |
| Career history | |
| 1946–1948 | Indianapolis Kautskys |
| 1948–1950 | Anderson Packers |
| 1950–1951 | Philadelphia Warriors |
| 1951–1952 | Fort Wayne Pistons |
| Career highlights and awards | |
| |
| Stats at NBA.com | |
| Stats at Basketball-Reference.com | |
Bill Tom Closs (January 8, 1922 – June 6, 2011) was an American basketball player. He played collegiately for Rice University. In his final year, he led the Southwest Conference in scoring and was All-American in 1943. In 1971 he was inducted into the Rice Athletic Hall of Fame, and in 2003 his basketball jersey was retired.
He joined the Marine Reserve while still at Rice, and was posted in the Fleet Marine Force Pacific Headquarters in Oahu, Hawaii in 1944.
Closs started professional basketball with Indianapolis in 1946. He played for the Anderson Packers (1948–50), Philadelphia Warriors (1950–51) and Fort Wayne Pistons (1951–52) in the National Basketball Association (NBA) for 186 games. Following the conclusion of his professional basketball career, Closs enjoyed over 35 years of success in the sporting goods industry.
Closs died on June 6, 2011.[1]
Career statistics[edit]
| GP | Games played | GS | Games started | MPG | Minutes per game |
| FG% | Field goal percentage | 3P% | 3-point field goal percentage | FT% | Free throw percentage |
| RPG | Rebounds per game | APG | Assists per game | SPG | Steals per game |
| BPG | Blocks per game | PPG | Points per game | Bold | Career high |
NBA[edit]
Source[2]
Regular season[edit]
| Year | Team | GP | MPG | FG% | FT% | RPG | APG | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1949–50 | Anderson | 64 | .315 | .718 | 2.5 | 11.8 | ||
| 1950–51 | Philadelphia | 65 | .320 | .744 | 6.2 | 1.7 | 8.8 | |
| 1951–52 | Fort Wayne | 57 | 19.6 | .308 | .682 | 3.6 | 1.3 | 6.1 |
| Career | 186 | 19.6 | .315 | .718 | 5.0 | 1.9 | 9.0 | |
Playoffs[edit]
| Year | Team | GP | MPG | FG% | FT% | RPG | APG | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1950 | Anderson | 8 | .303 | .833 | 1.8 | 11.4 | ||
| 1951 | Philadelphia | 2 | .250 | .600 | 4.0 | 2.5 | 3.5 | |
| 1952 | Fort Wayne | 1 | 21.0 | .167 | 1.000 | 8.0 | 4.0 | 5.0 |
| Career | 11 | 21.0 | .293 | .816 | 5.3 | 2.1 | 9.4 | |
References[edit]
- ^ Rice Remembers Bill Tom Closs Archived 2011-07-08 at the Wayback Machine, accessed June 17, 2011
- ^ "Bill Closs". Basketball Reference. Sports Reference. Retrieved 7 April 2023.
External links[edit]
- Career statistics and player information from NBA.com and Basketball-Reference.com
- NBL stats
 | This biographical article relating to a United States basketball player, coach, or other figure born in the 1920s is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |
- 1922 births
- 2011 deaths
- All-American college men's basketball players
- American men's basketball players
- United States Marine Corps personnel of World War II
- Anderson Packers players
- Basketball players from Texas
- Fort Wayne Pistons players
- Indianapolis Kautskys players
- People from Brazos County, Texas
- Philadelphia Warriors players
- Professional Basketball League of America players
- Rice Owls men's basketball players
- Small forwards
- Military personnel from Texas
- United States Marine Corps reservists
- American basketball biography, 1920s birth stubs