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Arnie Ferrin

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Arnie Ferrin
Ferrin from the 1948 Utonian
Personal information
Born(1925-07-29)July 29, 1925
Salt Lake City, Utah, U.S.
DiedDecember 27, 2022(2022-12-27) (aged 97)
Listed height6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)
Listed weight180 lb (82 kg)
Career information
High schoolOgden (Ogden, Utah)
CollegeUtah (1943–1948)
BAA draft1948: 2nd round, 59th overall pick
Selected by the Minneapolis Lakers
Playing career1948–1951
PositionSmall forward / shooting guard
Number18
Career history
1948–1951Minneapolis Lakers
Career highlights and awards
Career BAA and NBA statistics
Points1,037 (5.8 ppg)
Rebounds271 (4.0 rpg)
Assists202 (1.6 apg)
Stats at NBA.com Edit this at Wikidata
Stats at Basketball Reference Edit this at Wikidata
College Basketball Hall of Fame
Inducted in 2008

Chariton Arnold Ferrin Jr. (July 29, 1925 − December 27, 2022) was an American professional basketball player, executive, and college athletics administrator. He played college basketball for the Utah Utes and earned All-American honors four times. He won an NCAA championship in 1944, when he was named the NCAA tournament Most Outstanding Player (MOP). They added a National Invitation Tournament (NIT) title in 1947. Ferrin played professionally with the Minneapolis Lakers in the Basketball Association of America (BAA) and National Basketball Association (NBA). They won league titles in 1949 and 1950.

After his playing career, Ferrin was general manager of the Utah Stars of the American Basketball Association (ABA) from 1972 through 1974. He served as the athletic director at his alma mater, the University of Utah, from 1976 to 1985.

Early life

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Ferrin was born in Salt Lake City.[1] His mother died when he was three years old. Afterwards, his father, Arn, became busy with work; he owned a service station and a small oil delivery company. As his time away from home for work grew, Arn decided to have his parents assume parental responsibilities for his son. When Ferrin was eleven, his father began dating, and eventually remarried. However, Arn had his son continue to live with his grandparents.[2]

College career

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At the University of Utah, Ferrin won the NCAA tournament MOP award in 1944, when the Utes won the NCAA championship over Dartmouth with a 42–40 overtime win.[1] He scored 22 points in the game and was the first freshman to win the award.[3] In 1945, Ferrin averaged 17.5 points per game was named a consensus first-team All-American.[4] Following the end of the regular season, he and teammate Fred Sheffield were drafted into the armed forces, and were unavailable for the NCAA tournament.[5][6] After a year in the Army,[4] Ferrin returned to help Utah win the 1947 NIT and was a runner-up for the tournament's most valuable player award.[7] At the time, the NIT was as prestigious as the fledgling NCAA tournament, if not more so.[8]

As a senior, Ferrin averaged 14.1 points per game,[1] and became the only four-time All-American at Utah,[1] including consensus second-team honors in 1944, 1947, and 1948.[4] His No. 22 was retired by the school.[1]

Professional playing career

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Ferrin played professionally for three years with the Minneapolis Lakers from 1949 through 1951 under coach John Kundla. They won the BAA (later known as the NBA) championship in 1949 and won the NBA championship in 1950.[3] He was a top-five scorer on both championship teams,[9] averaging 7.3 points per game in 1948–49 and 5.4 in 1949–50.[10] Ferrin established his single-game career high of 22 points in his rookie year on February 19, 1949, in a win over the Providence Steamrollers.[10][11] He ended his career with 1,037 total points and an average of 5.8 points per game for the Lakers.[10]

Ferrin was inducted into the National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame in 2008 and the Pac-12 Conference Hall of Honor in 2012.[1][12]

Later years

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After his playing career, Ferrin was a member of the Athletic Council at the University of Utah and was a radio color commentator for the school's basketball and football programs.[7] He was the general manager of the ABA's Utah Stars from 1972 to 1974.[7][13] He was athletic director at the University of Utah from 1976 to 1985.[1] Under Ferrin, Utah won 10 national championships and 15 conference championships.[14] The Utes' gymnastics program won four national championships under coach Greg Marsden and their men's basketball team, led by coach Jerry Pimm, advanced four times to the Sweet Sixteen of the NCAA tournament.[15]

Ferrin died of natural causes on December 27, 2022, at age 97.[1]

BAA/NBA career statistics

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Legend
  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
 †  Won an NBA championship

Source:[10]

Regular season

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Year Team GP FG% FT% RPG APG PPG
1948–49† Minneapolis 47 .344 .664 – 1.6 7.3
1949–50† Minneapolis 63 .333 .697 – 1.5 5.4
1950–51 Minneapolis 68 .319 .695 4.0 1.6 5.2
Career 178 .332 .686 4.0 1.6 5.8

Playoffs

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Year Team GP FG% FT% RPG APG PPG
1949† Minneapolis 10 .338 .667 – 2.1 8.2
1950† Minneapolis 12 .340 .552 – 2.5 6.8
1951 Minneapolis 7 .333 .944 4.7 2.3 5.9
Career 29 .338 .685 4.7 2.3 7.1

References

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  1. ^ a b c d e f g h Furlong, Josh (December 27, 2022). "Former Runnin' Utes great Arnie Ferrin dies at 97 on Tuesday morning". KSL.com. Retrieved December 28, 2022.
  2. ^ Ferrin, Josh; Ferrin, Tres (2012). Blitz Kids: The Cinderella Story of the 1944 University of Utah National Championship Basketball Team. Gibbs Smith. pp. 31–34. ISBN 9781423624943. Retrieved December 28, 2022.
  3. ^ a b Facer, Dirk (February 9, 2012). "Utah's Arnie Ferrin to be inducted into Pac-12 Basketball Hall of Honor". Deseret News. Retrieved December 28, 2022.
  4. ^ a b c "NCAA Men's Basketball's Finest" (PDF). National Collegiate Athletic Association. p. 47. Retrieved December 28, 2022.
  5. ^ "Seven-Foot Ag Center Tops 400 Points Twice". Salt Lake Telegram. March 21, 1945. p. 15. Retrieved December 28, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  6. ^ Welti, Carl (March 21, 1945). "Utah's NCAA Champions To Defend Title Without Services of Ferrin, Sheffield". The Daily Herald. United Press. p. 4. Retrieved December 28, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  7. ^ a b c "Arnie Ferrin Named General Manager of the Utah Stars". The Daily Herald. May 7, 1972. p. 13. Retrieved December 28, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  8. ^ Covitz, Randy (November 24, 2008). "Former Utah player made his mark early". The Kansas City Star. p. Extra2. Retrieved December 28, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  9. ^ Kragthorpe, Kurt; Newman, Josh; Monson, Gordon (December 28, 2022). "Arnie Ferrin, former Utah basketball star and athletic director, has died". The Salt Lake Tribune. Retrieved December 28, 2022.
  10. ^ a b c d "Arnie Ferrin Stats". Basketball Reference. Retrieved December 28, 2022.
  11. ^ "Lakers Stop Providence". Minneapolis Sunday Trubune. February 20, 1949. p. S1. Retrieved December 29, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  12. ^ "2011–12 Hall of Honor Class Announced". Pac-12 Conference. February 7, 2012. Archived from the original on February 12, 2012.
  13. ^ "Arnie Ferrin Leaves Utah Stars, Accepts Post with University". Ogden Standard Examiner. Associated Press. September 18, 1974. p. 6B. Retrieved December 28, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  14. ^ Polacheck, Laura (December 27, 2022). "Utah basketball great Arnie Ferrin passes away at age 97". Fox 13. Retrieved December 28, 2022.
  15. ^ Coles, Joe (December 28, 2022). "University of Utah basketball legend, athletic director Arnie Ferrin dies at 97". Deseret News. Retrieved December 28, 2022.
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