Ernie Beck obit

1953 Wharton graduate and NBA champion Ernie Beck dies at the age of 93

The former NBA first overall pick led the Quakers to their first NCAA tournament bid in program history.

 

He was not on the list.

1953 Wharton graduate Ernie Beck, arguably the greatest player in Penn men’s basketball history, died on Thursday at the age of 93. His death came just a day after his 93rd birthday.

While at Penn, the born and raised Philadelphian, who stood at only 6 foot 4, led the NCAA in rebounds in his first season. As a senior, he won an Ivy League Championship and led the Quakers to their first NCAA Tournament appearance in program history. His personal accolades that season included first team All-America and multiple program records, including most rebounds in a career and season, free throws made and attempted, and scoring average with 25.9 points per game. These records have yet to be eclipsed 71 seasons later.

“In my opinion, Ernie Beck was the greatest Quaker of them all,” said current Penn men’s basketball coach Steve Donahue in a statement through Penn Athletics. “A strong, large athletic guy who was kind to everyone he met.”

After graduating from Penn, Beck was selected first overall in the 1953 NBA Draft by the Philadelphia Warriors (soon to be Golden State Warriors), joining future Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Famers Paul Arizin and Neil Johnston to win the 1956 NBA Championship in his second season. He scored 23 points in Game 1 of the championship series.

“I had my best game in the first game of the championship series,” Beck told The Daily Pennsylvanian in 2020. “I was the sixth man on the team and came off the bench and scored 24, 25 points in that game.”

Beck missed the 1954-55 NBA season due to his conscription into the United States Navy during the Korean War where he spent most of his time playing basketball at the Bainbridge Naval Training Center in Port Deposit, Md.

“Ernie had amazing humility considering his icon status, not just at Penn but in the city of Philadelphia and the basketball world,” Donahue said in his statement via Penn Athletics.

The Golden State Warriors also released a statement through the NBA on Thursday regarding Beck’s passing.

Additionally, Beck was in the inaugural class of the Penn Athletics Hall of Fame in 1996 and was inducted into Big 5 Hall of Fame in 2000.

Beck was known to be a frequent attendee to Penn basketball games in the Palestra. He is survived by his wife Betty Beck, two children, Ernie III and John, and two grandchildren, Jessica and Jonathan.

 

Career history

1953–1960            Philadelphia Warriors

1961    St. Louis Hawks

1961            Syracuse Nationals

1961–1964            Sunbury Mercuries

Career highlights and awards

NBA champion (1956)

Consensus first-team All-American (1953)

NCAA rebounding leader (1951)