Gene E. Englund

Background

Englund was born in Kenosha, Wisconsin.

Education

As a 6 ft 5 in (196 m), 205-lb (93 kg) forward and center, Englund was a large player for the late 1930s and early 1940s. He broke out during his senior season in 1940-1941 when he was team captain. He scored 162 points in Big Ten Conference games, which set a new conference scoring record at the time, and was also named the Big Ten Most Valuable Player. Additionally, he (alongside star teammate John Kotz) led Wisconsin to the school"s first and only men"s basketball national championship when they defeated Washington State, 39–34.

At the end of the season Englund was named a consensus Second Team All-American.

Career

When deciding where to play college basketball, he decided to stick close to home and enrolled at the University of Wisconsin (now University of Wisconsin–Madison). When Englund graduated from college in the spring of 1941, the major professional basketball league was the National Basketball League (NBL). From the 1941-1942 season through the 1943-1944 one, and again from 1946 to 1949, he played for the NBL"s Oshkosh All-Stars (in 1943-1944 he also played for the American Basketball League"s Brooklyn Indians).

The All-Stars also lost the NBL championships in 1942-1943 and 1945-1946 while Englund played for them.

Although he was never a superstar in the league, he did manage to finish third all-time in NBL points scored when the league merged with the Basketball Association of America (Bachelor of Applied Arts) in 1949, resulting in the formation of the present-day National Basketball Association. At age 32 in 1949-1950, Englund was well past his basketball playing prime. He lasted only one season in the National Basketball Association, splitting the year with first the Boston Celtics and then the Tri-Cities Blackhawks.

After playing in 24 games for the Celtics while averaging 8.2 points per game, he was traded on January 29, 1950 for John Mahnken. Englund finished the year out by appearing in 22 games for Tri-Cities and averaged 7.5 points per game.

After his playing career was over, Englund became an official for the Big Ten and National Basketball Association.

Achievements

• Although he played professionally, Englund is best remembered for being a star college basketball player for Wisconsin, where as a senior in 1940-1941 he led the Badgers to win the National Collegiate Athletic Association National Championship. Englund won the NBL Championship as a rookie in 1941-1942, leading his team in scoring while making seven field goals and three free throws en route to 17 points.