Trajko Rajković
 Rajković with Yugoslavia at the 1968 Olympics in Mexico City. | |
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Born | 7 December 1937 Leskovac, Vardar Banovina, Yugoslavia |
| Died | 27 May 1970 (aged 32) Belgrade, SR Serbia, Yugoslavia |
| Nationality | Serbian |
| Listed height | 2.10 m (6 ft 11 in) |
| Listed weight | 96 kg (212 lb) |
| Career information | |
| NBA draft | 1959: undrafted |
| Playing career | 1956–1970 |
| Position | Center |
| Number | 9, 7, 14 |
| Career history | |
| 1956–1959 | Železničar Belgrade |
| 1959–1967 | OKK Beograd |
| 1967–1968 | Fargas Livorno |
| 1968–1969 | Noalex Venezia |
| 1969–1970 | OKK Beograd |
| Career highlights and awards | |
| |
Medals | |
Trajko Rajković (Serbian Cyrillic: Трајко Рајковић; 7 December 1937 – 27 May 1970) was a Yugoslav professional basketball player. He represented Yugoslavia internationally.
Playing career[edit]
Rajković played for OKK Beograd, during their so-called "Golden Era", in the late 1950s, and the first half of the 1960s, in the Yugoslav First League. Some of his teammates were: Radivoj Korać, Miodrag Nikolić, Bogomir Rajković, Slobodan Gordić and, Milorad Erkić. OKK Beograd's head coaches during that time were, Borislav Stanković and Aleksandar Nikolić, and the club's sports director at the time was Radomir Šaper. In that period, the club won three Yugoslav League championships, and two Yugoslav Cups.
Rajković went to Italy in 1967, where he played two seasons, with Libertas Livorno and Reyer Venezia, of the Lega Basket Serie A.[1] Rajković was the best scorer of the Italian League's 1967– 68 season, with 521 total points scored.
National team career[edit]
Rajković played with the senior Yugoslavian national basketball team, from 1963 to 1970. During his senior national team career, Yugoslavia won two EuroBasket silver medals (1965 and 1969), and one bronze medal (1963). They also won an Olympics silver medal (1968), in Mexico City. He also won a FIBA World Cup silver medal (1963), and a gold medal (1970, in Ljubljana, Slovenia). He played in a total of 113 games with the senior Yugoslav national team.
Death[edit]
Rajković died in his sleep due to a heart defect, on 28 May 1970, just four days after winning the World Championship with Yugoslavia (Yugoslavia's first-ever gold at the competition).
He is interred in the Alley of Distinguished Citizens in the Belgrade New Cemetery.
Personal life[edit]
He had a wife, Biljana, and a son, Vladimir.[1]
Career achievements[edit]
- Yugoslav League champion: 3 (with OKK Beograd: 1960, 1963 and 1964).
- Yugoslav Cup winner: 2 (with OKK Beograd: 1960, 1962).
References[edit]
- ^ a b Rajkovic Biography at OKK Beograd website (in Serbian)
External links[edit]
- Trajko Rajković at Olympics at Sports-Reference.com (archived)
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- 1937 births
- 1970 deaths
- Sportspeople from Leskovac
- Serbian men's basketball players
- Olympic basketball players for Yugoslavia
- Olympic silver medalists for Yugoslavia
- Olympic medalists in basketball
- OKK Beograd players
- KK Železničar Beograd players
- Medalists at the 1968 Summer Olympics
- Basketball players at the 1964 Summer Olympics
- Basketball players at the 1968 Summer Olympics
- Reyer Venezia players
- Serbian expatriate basketball people in Italy
- FIBA World Championship-winning players
- Burials at Belgrade New Cemetery
- Centers (basketball)
- Yugoslav men's basketball players
- 1963 FIBA World Championship players
- 1967 FIBA World Championship players
- 1970 FIBA World Championship players
- Serbian basketball biography stubs
- Yugoslav sportspeople stubs