Art Spector

Art Spector
Spector in 1948
Personal information
Born(1920-10-17)October 17, 1920
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.
DiedJune 18, 1987(1987-06-18) (aged 66)
New York City, New York, U.S.
Listed height
6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)
Listed weight
200 lb (91 kg)
Career information
High schoolWest Philadelphia
(Philadelphia, Pennsylvania)
CollegeVillanova (1940–1941)
Playing career
1946–1950
PositionForward
Number12
Career history
1944–1946Baltimore Bullets
1946–1950Boston Celtics
Career statistics
Points852
Assist143
Stats at NBA.com Edit this at Wikidata
Stats at Basketball Reference Edit this at Wikidata

Arthur Edward Spector (nicknamed "Speed"; 17 October 1920 – 18 June 1987) was an American basketball player. He played as a forward for the Boston Celtics from 1946 to 1950.

Early life and education

Spector was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and lived in West Philadelphia. He was Jewish. His grandson is American former soccer player Jonathan Spector.

Spector attended and played basketball first at West Philadelphia High School, where he was team captain. He then played basketball at Villanova University, graduating in 1941.

Professional basketball

He was the first player ever to be signed by the Boston Celtics. Later, he was a scout for the Celtics. He played as a forward for the Celtics from 1946 to 1950.

He lived later in Newtown, Connecticut.

BAA and NBA career statistics

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

Regular season

Year Team GP FG% FT% APG PPG
1946–47 Boston 55.267.553.86.0
1947–48 Boston 48.276.652.44.0
1948–49 Boston 59.300.5521.35.5
1949–50 Boston 7.167.250.4.7
Career 169.280.575.85.0

Playoffs

Year Team GP FG% FT% APG PPG
1948 Boston 3.222.500.02.0
Career 3.222.500.02.0

References

  1. ↑ "These are (pretty much) all the nicknames in NBA history". February 25, 2019.
  2. 1 2 "Spector, Art : Jews in Sports @ Virtual Museum". Archived from the original on May 24, 2012. Retrieved June 15, 2010.
  3. 1 2 Charles Rosen. The Chosen Game: A Jewish Basketball History U of Nebraska Press, 2017.
  4. ↑ "World Cup / Meet America's Jewish players". Haaretz. Archived from the original on June 17, 2018.
  5. ↑ "Two Jewish SoCal Soccer Players Head for World Cup". Jewish Journal. June 8, 2010.
  6. ↑ "The Morning News from Wilmington, Delaware on February 3, 1938 · Page 8". Newspapers.com. February 3, 1938.
  7. ↑ Pagano, Rich (November 7, 2013). "Sports Flashback: Referee Pete D'Ambrosio a part of NBA history". Delco News Network.
  8. ↑ "Art Spector Player Profile, Boston Celtics, NBA Stats, NCAA Stats, Game Logs, Bests, Awards - RealGM". basketball.realgm.com.
  9. 1 2 3 "Celtics Forgotten 50: Part 1 — The Early Years". RSN.
  10. ↑ "ART SPECTOR".
  11. ↑ Neil Singelais. "Art Spector, first player signed to play for Celtics; at 70". Boston Globe. June 20, 1987. Retrieved on August 27, 2009.
  12. ↑ They Cleared the Lane: The NBA's Black Pioneers. U of Nebraska Press. March 2004. ISBN 9780803294547.
  13. ↑ Legendary Locals of Newtown. Arcadia. 2013. ISBN 9781467100717.