Background
Kirk grew up in Mount Vernon, Illinois and attended Mount Vernon High School, where he was a second team all-state selection in 1942.
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Kirk grew up in Mount Vernon, Illinois and attended Mount Vernon High School, where he was a second team all-state selection in 1942.
He then attended the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign where he played basketball.
Not to be confused with Walter Kirk, an Australian World War I flying ace. He earned varsity letters in from 1943-1944 through 1946-1947. In 1944-1945, Kirk led the team in scoring at 10.6 points per game while also serving as team captain.
He garnered consensus First Team All-American status at the end of the season as well.
Kirk would go on to play professionally after his senior year of 1947-1948. In four NBL/Bachelor of Applied Arts/National Basketball Association seasons, Kirk played for five different teams: the Fort Wayne Pistons, Indianapolis Jets, Anderson Packers, Tri-Cities Blackhawks and Milwaukee Hawks.
The three of them had been released from the team and they cited poor management and administration on the part of the Jets as the reasons why they were unable to be retained. He later coached high school basketball in Illinois and Iowa.
Kirk died on December 12, 2012.
In April 1949, while a member of the Jets, Kirk joined former teammates George Glamack and Leo Mogus to sue the organization for $4,662.51 each.