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| Richie Guerin | |
|---|---|
| Name | Richard Joseph Guerin |
| Caption | Guerin in 1962 |
| Position | Guard |
| Weight lb | 190 |
| Number | 22, 9 |
| Birth date | 29 July 1932 |
| Birth place | Bronx, New York City, New York |
| Death date | 10 June 2021 |
| Death place | Bronx, New York City, New York |
| High school | Christopher Columbus High School |
| College | Iona (1951–1953, 1956–1957) |
| Drafted year | 1956 |
| Drafted pick | 11 |
| Drafted team | New York Knicks |
| Career start | 1956 |
| Career end | 1970 |
| Years | 1956–1963, 1964–1970 |
| Teams | New York Knicks (1956–1963), St. Louis Hawks (1964–1970) |
| Coach start | 1964 |
| Coach end | 1970 |
| Coaching history | New York Knicks (player-coach, 1964), St. Louis Hawks (1964–1968), Atlanta Hawks (1968–1970) |
| Hof year | 2013 |
Richie Guerin was an American professional basketball player, coach, and executive notable for exceptional scoring, playmaking, and leadership in the National Basketball Association during the 1950s and 1960s. A two-time NBA All-Star captain and later head coach and general manager, he helped shape the fortunes of the New York Knicks and St. Louis Hawks franchises and was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. Guerin combined collegiate stardom at Iona College with a pro career that intersected with major figures and events in mid-century basketball history.
Guerin was born in the Bronx, New York City, and attended Christopher Columbus High School, where he excelled in basketball alongside contemporaries from the New York City basketball scene that produced players for City College of New York, DeWitt Clinton High School, and St. Raymond High School pipelines. He matriculated at Iona College in New Rochelle, starring for the Iona Gaels under coaches connected to the Northeastern collegiate circuit that included Seton Hall University, Fordham University, Manhattan College, and Saint Peter's University. After military service with the United States Marine Corps, he resumed play at Iona, earning All-Metropolitan recognition and drawing scouting attention from the NBA and teams such as the New York Knicks.
Guerin was selected in the 1956 NBA draft by the New York Knicks and debuted as a scoring guard during an era dominated by stars like Bill Russell, Wilt Chamberlain, Bob Cousy, and Jerry West. Known for averaging over 20 points per game in multiple seasons, he made six consecutive NBA All-Star Game appearances and served as Knicks captain during campaigns that faced rivals including the Boston Celtics, Minneapolis Lakers, and later the Los Angeles Lakers. In 1963 he briefly retired to pursue business interests and returned in 1964 to join the St. Louis Hawks, playing with and against Hall of Famers such as Bob Pettit, Oscar Robertson, Elgin Baylor, and John Havlicek. His tenure spanned the franchise relocation that created the Atlanta Hawks; he finished his playing career in 1970 after amassing more than 15,000 career points and thousands of assists while navigating changing offensive schemes influenced by coaches like Red Auerbach and Alex Hannum.
While still a player Guerin took on player-coach responsibilities with the New York Knicks in 1964, a role that echoed earlier player-coach models in the NBA and ABA eras and paralleled figures such as Lenny Wilkens and Bill Russell. He later became head coach of the St. Louis Hawks and, after the franchise moved, the Atlanta Hawks, overseeing rosters that included Lou Hudson, Zelmo Beaty, and Pete Maravich—although roster composition shifted with trades involving teams like the Chicago Bulls and Cincinnati Royals. Transitioning to the front office, Guerin served as general manager and executive, negotiating contracts, draft decisions, and personnel moves during a period when the league engaged with issues involving the National Basketball Players Association, television contracts with networks like ABC and CBS, and competition from the American Basketball Association.
Guerin's playing style blended aggressive scoring, perimeter shooting, and crafty playmaking; he operated both as a primary scorer and a facilitator in backcourt sets influenced by the point-forward evolution happening around contemporaries such as Oscar Robertson and Jerry West. Defensively he utilized positional intelligence against guards from teams like the Celtics and Lakers, while offensively he executed mid-range shots, drives, and pick-and-roll actions that presaged later guard play exemplified by players such as Rick Barry and John Stockton. His leadership on and off the court influenced coaching approaches in the NBA and inspired future guards from the New York metropolitan area and smaller collegiate programs to transition to professional roles as players, coaches, and executives.
Guerin received multiple accolades: six NBA All-Star selections, All-NBA honors, and franchise records during his career with the Knicks and Hawks. He was named to various all-time and anniversary teams by organizations tracking NBA history and was enshrined in the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2013. His legacy is preserved in halls of fame at Iona College and in retrospectives by historians of basketball media outlets and alumni associations from the Bronx and New York City. He remains cited in discussions of mid-century NBA guards alongside contemporaries like Dolph Schayes, Gail Goodrich, and Hal Greer.
Category:1932 births Category:2021 deaths Category:National Basketball Association players Category:Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame inductees