Quote:
Originally Posted by stone193
Wow Michael - I didn't see this card when running thru them!
Outdoor basketball!
I looked up the '36 roster but they don't include jersey numbers.
And, on one web, I found a list of who used what numbers in the olympics - unfortunately #12 doesn't go all the way to 1936.
Thanx for all the info.
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The U.S team at the Olympics was different then it is now. There was an Olympic qualifying tournament. Universal Pictures won, McPherson Oilers finished second and the University of Washington finished third. As the winners, Universal was able to place 7 players on the 14 man roster - Duane Swanson, Carl Knowles, Carl Shy, Sam Balter, Frank Lubin, Art Mollner and Don Piper. McPherson got 6 players - Joe Fortenberry, Jack Ragland, Bill Wheatly, Francis Johnson, Tex Gibbons and Willard Schmidt. The University of Washington got 1 - Ralph Bishop. They decided that the Universal members would get the first 7 numbers and the other players the rest. Additionally, they would alternate games. The first round was a walkover. The second round the Universal players beat Estonia on August 9. They got a bye in the third round. In the quarterfinals McPherson/UWashington players beat the Philippines on August 12. In the semifinals the Universal players beat Mexico August 13. The gold medal game was the McPherson/UWashington players beating Canada August 14. Since the McPherson/UWashington players won the gold medal game they attended the medal ceremony. It appears that only five players were allowed to attend the medal ceremony. Bill Wheatly received the gold medal and laurel wreath on the medal stand. The other players at the ceremony were Jack Ragland, Willard Schmidt, Joe Fortenberry and Ralph Bishop.
All of this information was provided to me in 1998 by Frank Lubin. He wrote a letter to me providing this information and identified all of the players on a photo of the medal ceremony. Lubin is generally considered one of the greatest basketball players before the advent of professional basketball. His parents were born in Lithuania. After the Olympics he would coach the Lithuanian national team (Americans of Lithuanian descent) to the Eurobasket championship in 1937. In 1939 as player/coach of the team they won the championship again. He is considered the grandfather/godfather of Lithuanian basketball. He used the Lithuanian version of his name, Prakas Lubinas, while playing over there.
As noted on the back of the card, this is the game versus the Philippines. As noted above, the McPherson/UWashington players competed in this game as it was the second game played by the U.S.