Paul Birch (basketball)
 Birch, circa 1938 | |
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Born | January 10, 1910 Homestead, Pennsylvania, U.S. |
| Died | June 5, 1982 (aged 72) Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, U.S. |
| Nationality | American |
| Listed height | 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) |
| Listed weight | 190 lb (86 kg) |
| Career information | |
| High school | Homestead (Homestead, Pennsylvania) |
| College | Duquesne (1932–1935) |
| Playing career | 1938–1948 |
| Position | Guard |
| Career history | |
| As player: | |
| 1938–1939 | Pittsburgh Pirates |
| 1941–1945 | Fort Wayne Pistons |
| 1945–1946 | Youngstown Bears |
| 1946–1948 | Youngstown Cubs |
| As coach: | |
| 1945–1946 | Youngstown Bears |
| 1946–1947 | Pittsburgh Ironmen |
| 1951–1954 | Fort Wayne Pistons |
| Career highlights and awards | |
| |
Paul Vincent "Polly" Birch (January 4, 1910 – June 5, 1982) was an American basketball player and coach. He coached the now-defunct Pittsburgh Ironmen of the Basketball Association of America (a forerunner of the National Basketball Association (NBA)) in 1946, and the NBA's Fort Wayne Pistons from 1951 through 1954. Birch had played for the Pistons during the early 1940s, and the Youngstown Bears of the NBL.[1]
Career statistics
| GP | Games played | FGM | Field goals made |
| FTM | Free throws made | FTA | Free throws attempted |
| FT% | Free throw percentage | PTS | Total points |
| PPG | Points per game | Bold | Career high |
| † | Denotes seasons in which Cable's team won an NBL championship |
| * | NBL leader |
NBL
Source[2]
Regular season
| Year | Team | GP | FGM | FTM | PTS | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1938–39† | Pittsburgh | 22 | 85 | 51 | 221 | 10.0 |
| 1941–42 | Fort Wayne Z.P. | 8 | 16 | 10 | 42 | 5.3 |
| 1942–43 | Fort Wayne Z.P. | 23* | 29 | 20 | 78 | 3.4 |
| 1943–44† | Fort Wayne Z.P. | 22* | 27 | 17 | 71 | 3.2 |
| 1944–45† | Fort Wayne Z.P. | 28 | 29 | 7 | 65 | 2.3 |
| 1945–46 | Youngstown | 31 | 35 | 26 | 96 | 3.1 |
| Career | 134 | 221 | 131 | 573 | 4.3 | |
Playoffs
| Year | Team | GP | FGM | FTM | PTS | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1942 | Fort Wayne Z.P. | 6 | 15 | 7 | 37 | 6.2 |
| 1943 | Fort Wayne Z.P. | 6 | 3 | 2 | 8 | 1.3 |
| 1944† | Fort Wayne Z.P. | 5 | 7 | 2 | 16 | 3.2 |
| 1945† | Fort Wayne Z.P. | 3 | 2 | 3 | 7 | 2.3 |
| Career | 20 | 27 | 14 | 68 | 3.4 | |
Head coaching record
| Regular season | G | Games coached | W | Games won | L | Games lost | W–L % | Win–loss % |
| Playoffs | PG | Playoff games | PW | Playoff wins | PL | Playoff losses | PW–L % | Playoff win–loss % |
BAA/NBA
Source[3]
| Team | Year | G | W | L | W–L% | Finish | PG | PW | PL | PW–L% | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pittsburgh | 1946–47 | 60 | 15 | 45 | .250 | 5th in Western | — | — | — | — | Missed playoffs |
| Fort Wayne | 1951–52 | 66 | 29 | 37 | .439 | 4th in Western | 2 | 0 | 2 | .000 | Lost in Division semifinals |
| Fort Wayne | 1952–53 | 69 | 36 | 33 | .522 | 3rd in Western | 8 | 4 | 4 | .500 | Lost in Division finals |
| Fort Wayne | 1953–54 | 72 | 40 | 32 | .556 | 3rd in Western | 4 | 0 | 4 | .000 | Lost in Division round-robin |
| Career | 267 | 120 | 147 | .449 | 14 | 4 | 10 | .286 | |||
References
- ^ Baseball, Basketball, Hockey and Football Online Statistics Databases - Baseball History, Basketball History, Hockey History, Football History, MLB, NBA, NHL, NFL
- ^ "Polly Birch NBL stats". Basketball Reference. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved 25 March 2024.
- ^ "Paul Birch NBA coaching stats". Basketball Reference. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved 25 March 2024.