PLAYER PROFILE

BOB CALIHAN

STATISTICS & HISTORY

Bob Calihan was a native of Chicago who went on to become Detroit’s most famous basketball personality of the first half of the century.  Calihan led Detroit University to a 41-18 record during his three collegiate seasons. In 1940, he signed a pro contract with the Detroit Eagles of the National Basketball League. The Eagles managed only a fourth-place finish in the NBL, but came alive in the post-season to win the 1941 Chicago Pro Tournament. For his play during his rookie season, Calihan was named a second-team all-league performer, the first of four times he would win such an honor. Calihan was a capable defender and strong rebounder, but offense was his forte. He usually played with his back to the basket on the right side of the court from where he launched graceful left-handed hook shots with deadly efficiency. Calihan served in the military for four years during World War II. After the war, he returned to professional basketball with his hometown Chicago Gears., a powerful teams that featured Bobby McDermott and George Mikan. The Gears won the 1946-47 NBL title. In the fall of 1947, Gears’ owner Maurice White formed a 16-team league with the Gears as the flagship franchise. The whole idea went up in smoke after just four weeks and the Gears’ players were distributed to teams through the NBL. Calihan was assigned to Flint where he enjoyed his most productive scoring season as a pro, but endured a tough year on a dreadful team that won just 8 of 60 games. In 1948, Calihan was hired as basketball coach of his alma mater. The same year, he also played an abbreviated schedule with the Syracuse NBL team, in what was his last season as a player. Calihan compiled a 301-242 record over 21 seasons at Detroit University before he retired after the 1968-69 season.

 

 

BOB CALIHAN Height: 6:03 Weight: 200 College: Detroit’40
Robert James Patrick Calihan Born:: Aug 2, 1918 Died:  Sep 22, 1989 Hometown: Evanston, Ill.
REGULAR SEASON RECORD
Year Team League     GA FGM  FTM   FTA  PCT.  AST  PTS   AVG
1936-37 Detroit (Frosh) College
1937-38 Detroit College
1938-39 Detroit College
`939-40 Detroit College
1940-41 Detroit NBL 23 69 43 65 .662 181 7.9
1941-42 Detroit Eagles Indep
1942-45 U.S. Navy Military Service
1942-43 New London CSL 12 94 20 208 17.3
1942-43 Harrisburg ABL 1 2 1 5 5.0
1943-44 New London Diesels Indep 23 397 17.3
1943-44 Hartford Villanovas Indep
1945-46 Chicago NBL 31 109 52 77 .675 270 8.7
1946-47 Chicago NBL 44 196 92 132 .697 484 11.0
1947-48 Chicago PBLA 6 15 8 10 .800 38 6.3
1947-48 Flint NBL 56 273 260 371 .701 806 14.4
1948-49 Syracuse NBL 11 28 13 21 .619 69 6.3
Major League Totals 172 692 469 1853 10.8
Minor League Totals 12 94 20 208 17.3
POST SEASON RECORD
Year Team League     GA FGM  FTM   FTA  PCT.  AST  PTS   AVG
1940-41 Detroit NBL 3 10 1 21 7.0
1940-41 Detroit WBT 4 16 8 11 .727 40 10.0
1945-46 Chicago WBT 5 21 14 22 .636 56 11.2
1946-47 Chicago NBL 11 57 21 37 .568 135 12.3
1948-49 Syracuse NBL 6 21 17 23 .739 59 9.8
Major League Totals 29 125 61 93 .656 311 10.7
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