Ken Sailors

For the Arkansas Tech basketball player, see Kenny Saylors.

Kenneth Lloyd Sailors (January 14, 1921 – January 30, 2016) was an American professional basketball player active in the 1940s and early 1950s.^[1] A 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) guard, he is notable for inventing the jump shot as an alternative to the two-handed, flat-footed set shot.^{[2][dubious – discuss]}

Ken Sailors

Sailors in 1950
Personal information
Born	(1921-01-14)January 14, 1921 Bushnell, Nebraska, U.S.
Died	January 30, 2016(2016-01-30) (aged 95) Laramie, Wyoming, U.S.
Listed height	5 ft 10 in (1.78 m)
Listed weight	175 lb (79 kg)
Career information
High school	Laramie (Laramie, Wyoming)
College	Wyoming (1940–1943, 1945–1946)
Playing career	1946–1951
Position	Point guard
Number	4, 5, 27, 13
Career history
1946–1947	Cleveland Rebels
1947	Chicago Stags
1947	Philadelphia Warriors
1947–1949	Providence Steamrollers
1949–1950	Denver Nuggets
1950	Boston Celtics
1950–1951	Baltimore Bullets
Career highlights and awards
All-BAA Second Team (1949) 2× AAU All-American (1943, 1946) NCAA champion (1943) NCAA Tournament Most Outstanding Player (1943) Consensus first-team All-American (1943) Consensus second-team All-American (1946) No. 4 retired by Wyoming Cowboys
Stats at NBA.com
Stats at Basketball Reference
College Basketball Hall of Fame Inducted in 2012

Sailors was born January 14, 1921, in Bushnell, Nebraska,^[3] and grew up on a farm south of Hillsdale, Wyoming, where he developed his effective jump shot while playing against his 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) older brother Barton (known as Bud).^[4] He eventually brought his skills to the University of Wyoming, and he led the Cowboys to the NCAA Men's Basketball Championship in 1943. Sailors was named the NCAA basketball tournament Most Outstanding Player for his efforts.^[5] He was the unanimous selection as College Basketball Player of the Year in 1943.^[6] He would earn the honor again in 1946. Sailors was the only player in the history of Wyoming Cowboys basketball to be selected as an All-American three times, in 1942, 1943, and 1946.^[6]

Sailors, circa 1948

From 1946 to 1951, Sailors played professionally in the BAA and NBA as a member of the Cleveland Rebels, Chicago Stags, Philadelphia Warriors, Providence Steamrollers, Denver Nuggets, Boston Celtics, and Baltimore Bullets. He was second in the BAA in total assists in 1946–47, was named to the All-BAA 2nd team in 1948–49, and averaged a career high 17.3 points per game in the 1949–50 season.^[7] He scored 3,480 points in his professional career.^[8] Sailors was inducted into the University of Wyoming Athletics Hall of Fame on October 29, 1993.^[6] In 2012, he was named to the National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame.^[9]

John Christgau, author of the book The Origins of the Jump Shot, said that Sailors’ jump shot technique was the one that modern fans would recognize as the "jump shot".^[4]

In 2014, the University of Wyoming announced its plans to erect a specially-commissioned sculpture of Sailors outside of the university's basketball stadium, the Arena-Auditorium.^[10]

Sailors died on January 30, 2016, sixteen days after his 95th birthday, of complications from a heart attack he had in December 2015.^[11]

BAA/NBA career statistics

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

Regular season

Year	Team	GP	FG%	FT%	RPG	APG	PPG
1946–47	Cleveland	58	.309	.595	–	2.3	9.9
1947–48	Chicago	1	.000	.000	–	.0	.0
1947–48	Philadelphia	2	.667	.000	–	.0	2.0
1947–48	Providence	41	.300	.692	–	1.4	12.7
1948–49	Providence	57	.341	.766	–	3.7	15.8
1949–50	Denver	57	.349	.721	–	4.0	17.3
1950–51	Boston	10	.160	.625	.3	.8	1.8
1950–51	Baltimore	50	.348	.738	2.3	2.8	9.5
Career		276	.329	.712	2.0	2.8	12.6

Playoffs

Year	Team	GP	FG%	FT%	RPG	APG	PPG
1947	Cleveland	2	.375	.750	–	2.0	7.5
Career		2	.375	.750	–	2.0	7.5

See also

• John Miller Cooper

References

1. "Sailors still big shot in Wyoming history". The Denver Post. January 14, 1921. Retrieved January 31, 2016.
2. "Wyoming @ Utah: Sailors, Ferrin, Mikan and The Great Santini". January 21, 2007. Archived from the original on July 14, 2011. Retrieved May 15, 2009.
3. Schudel, Matt (January 30, 2016). "Kenny Sailors, forgotten star credited with inventing basketball's jump shot". The Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved February 2, 2016.
4. McDonald, William (January 30, 2016), "Kenny Sailors, a Pioneer of the Jump Shot, Dies at 95", The New York Times
5. Christgau, John (March 1, 1999). The Origins of the Jump Shot: Eight Men Who Shook the World of Basketball. University of Nebraska Press. ISBN 9780803263949. Archived from the original on February 10, 2007. Retrieved March 9, 2007.
6. "University of Wyoming Official Athletic Site – Traditions". Wyomingathletics.com. October 29, 1993. Archived from the original on May 14, 2012. Retrieved December 17, 2015.
7. Sachare, Alex (1994). The Official NBA basketball encyclopedia (1994 ed.). Villard Books. pp. 40, 372, 737.
8. "Kenny Sailors NBA Stats". Basketball-Reference.com. Retrieved January 31, 2016.
9. The New York Times. College Basketball. B14. March 7, 2012.
10. "Wyoming's Arena-Auditorium Renovation Project Launches Today, With Recognition of Both Private Donors and the Support Provided by the Wyoming State Legislature – University of Wyoming Official Athletic Site". Gowyo.com. January 25, 2014. Archived from the original on December 22, 2015. Retrieved December 17, 2015.
11. "University of Wyoming legend Kenny Sailors dies at 95 | Men's Basketball". Trib.com. January 30, 2016. Retrieved January 31, 2016.

Further reading

• Christgau, John (1999). "Kenny and Bud". Origins of the Jump Shot: Eight Men Who Shook the World of Basketball. Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press. pp. 187–214. ISBN 0-8032-6394-5.

External links

• Career statistics and player information from NBA.com  and Basketball-Reference.com
• Official website for Kenny Sailors
• "Birth of the Jump Shot - CBSSports.com"
• "Kenny Sailors, forgotten star credited with inventing basketball’s jump shot," by Matt Schudel, Washington Post, January 30, 2016
• Jump shot
• Kenny Sailors Papers at the American Heritage Center
• Selection of videos and photographs of Sailors at AHC Digital Collections
• Sports, Recreation, and Leisure at AHC blogs