Hall of Fame Professional Basketball Player, Olympic Games Gold Medalist Athlete. For fourteen seasons (1961 to 1975), he played at the center position in the National Basketball Association with the Chicago Packers/Zephyrs, Baltimore Bullets, New York Knicks, Detroit Pistons, Atlanta Hawks and New Orleans Jazz. Born in New Bern, North Carolina, he attended J.T. Barber High School in North Carolina and played collegiate at Indiana University. During his years with the Hoosiers, Bellamy was a dominant defensive force and went onto set several of the school's rebound records including his 17.8 average a game which to date is still an Indiana record. He earned All-American status and was selected for a spot on the 1960 US Olympic Team. Along with Oscar Robertson, Jerry Lucas and Jerry West, Bellamy propelled the US squad to the gold medal. He was selected by the Chicago Packers as the number 1 overall pick during the 1961 NBA Draft. In 1,043 regular season games, he compiled 20,941 points with 14,241 rebounds. His surpassing of twenty-thousand points and fourteen-thousand rebounds places him in an exclusive group of players who accomplished this feat. His impact in the NBA was immediate, as he yielded 2,495 points with 1,500 total rebounds and earned Rookie of the Year honors for 1961-1962. He achieved All-Star status four-times (1962 to 1965). After his retirement from basketball, he worked as a public consultant for the NAACP in Atlanta. He was a charter member of the Indiana University Athletic Hall of Fame in 1982 and was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 1993.
Hall of Fame Professional Basketball Player, Olympic Games Gold Medalist Athlete. For fourteen seasons (1961 to 1975), he played at the center position in the National Basketball Association with the Chicago Packers/Zephyrs, Baltimore Bullets, New York Knicks, Detroit Pistons, Atlanta Hawks and New Orleans Jazz. Born in New Bern, North Carolina, he attended J.T. Barber High School in North Carolina and played collegiate at Indiana University. During his years with the Hoosiers, Bellamy was a dominant defensive force and went onto set several of the school's rebound records including his 17.8 average a game which to date is still an Indiana record. He earned All-American status and was selected for a spot on the 1960 US Olympic Team. Along with Oscar Robertson, Jerry Lucas and Jerry West, Bellamy propelled the US squad to the gold medal. He was selected by the Chicago Packers as the number 1 overall pick during the 1961 NBA Draft. In 1,043 regular season games, he compiled 20,941 points with 14,241 rebounds. His surpassing of twenty-thousand points and fourteen-thousand rebounds places him in an exclusive group of players who accomplished this feat. His impact in the NBA was immediate, as he yielded 2,495 points with 1,500 total rebounds and earned Rookie of the Year honors for 1961-1962. He achieved All-Star status four-times (1962 to 1965). After his retirement from basketball, he worked as a public consultant for the NAACP in Atlanta. He was a charter member of the Indiana University Athletic Hall of Fame in 1982 and was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 1993.
Bio by: C.S.
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