Professional basketball player and the NBA's first superstar. His height (6 ft 10 in) and domineering play underneath the basket resulted in many rule changes designed to limit the unfair advantage of big players. Playing the center position for DePaul University, George Mikan simply swat away any shot above the rim, which led the NCAA to institute the goal-tending rule. This made it illegal for any player to touch a shot on its downward arc toward the basket. The NBA doubled the width of the free throw lane and countered slowdown tactics used against him. In 1950, the Lakers lost a game 19 to 18 in the lowest-scoring game in NBA history; this led to a rule change implementing the 24-second shot clock. Because of his popularity, Mikan is credited with taking the fledgling professional basketball game from playing in front of hundreds of spectators to playing in front of thousands at packed houses in cities across America. He was born George Lawrence Mikan Jr to second-generation Croatian parents George and Minnie Mikan. The family ran a bar and restaurant in the prison and steel town of Joliet, Illinois. The restaurant was owned by his Croatian immigrant grandparents George and "Blondie" Mikan. He had a brother Joe (older) and Ed (younger) and a sister, Marie (the baby). The family residence was on the second floor of the tavern. George was well over 6 feet tall by the time he was eleven. His only early sports achievement was winning the Will County marble-shooting championship at age ten where the prize was free attendance to a game at Comiskey Park between the White Sox and New York Yankees. The high point was a meeting with Babe Ruth. George attended St Mary's Croatian Elementary School and was on the basketball team. He then went to Joliet Catholic High School, but the coach found him to be nearsighted and unable to see without thick glasses and cut him from the team. This caused him to enroll at Quigley Preparatory Seminary in Chicago. His grandmother wanted him to become a priest. After graduation, DePaul University basketball coach Ray Meyer gave him an athletic scholarship. With George in the lineup, DePaul won the 1945 National Invitational Tournament. He was named all-American three times and college Player of the Year twice. He was rejected for military service during World War II because of his extreme height and poor eyesight. His professional career started with the Chicago American Gears. He then became a mainstay with the Minneapolis Lakers, where he led them to five championships. He announced his retirement due to injury after just ten years in the game. During his career, he suffered from broken legs, feet, wrists, fingers, nose, and kneecap. In his post-basketball life, he coached the Lakers during the disastrous 1957-58 season. When the now-defunct American Basketball Association was organized, he was appointed commissioner and introduced the distinctive, conspicuous, red, white, and blue-striped ball. Mikan subsequently became a lawyer in Minneapolis and ran a very successful travel agency. Along with Minnesota Governor Rudy Perpich, he lobbied for an NBA franchise for the Twin Cities, which would replace the long-departed Lakers. The idea proved successful when the Minnesota Timberwolves were awarded the franchise. Mikan also ventured into the field of roller hockey with ownership of the Chicago Cheetahs, but the franchise folded after only two seasons. He ran for the 3rd U.S. congressional seat of Minnesota as a Republican in 1956 but lost by a scant few thousand votes. As the shadows of old age fell over George and with health problems, he left the cold of Minnesota and moved to Arizona. Diabetes and kidney problems plagued him. George was admitted to a Scottsdale hospital, where he spent six weeks receiving treatment. He then transferred to a Scottsdale Arizona rehabilitation center and passed away on June 1, 2005, 18 days shy of his 81st birthday. A small private memorial service was held at Messinger Pinnacle Peak Mortuary in North Scottsdale, with his wife of 58 years, Patricia, his children, grandchildren, and close friends in attendance. During a game in the 2005 NBA playoffs, there was a moment of silence to honor the man who gave professional basketball exciting play, sport recognition, and acceptance when it held the "Orphan Annie" niche of sports. He was elected a charter member of the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 1959. in 1996, George was named one of the NBA's 50 Greatest Players. In 1950, the Associated Press voted him the greatest basketball player of the first half of the century. A statue of Mikan taking his trademark hook shot was dedicated at the Target Center in Minneapolis during a Timberwolves vs. Lakers game. In a bit of trivia, he was the first basketball player to appear on the Wheaties "Breakfast of Champions" cereal box. Mikan and ghostwriter Joseph Oberle penned his biography entitled "Unstoppable-The Story of George Mikan", which was published in 1997.