PLAYER PROFILE

PAUL BIRCH

STATISTICS & HISTORY

Paul Birch  attended Homestead High School (1927-1931)  and later returned to coach Homestead to the 1939 Pennsylvania state titleHe played at Duquesne University form 1932-1935 under coach Chick Davies and helped lead the Dukes to a record of 51-4.  Birch was named a First-Team Converse All-American in 1935. Birch toured  with the famed New York Celtics from the mid-thirties into the  early forties. He joined Pittsburgh in the National Basketball League for the 1938-39 season and led the team in scoring. Birch also spent four seasons in the NBL (1941-45) with the Fort Wayne Pistons. Birch was 31 years old when he joined the Pistons, no longer a stop scorer, but he brought maturity and court savvy to  the team.  He developed a strong relationship with Bobby McDermott, the Pistons’ volatile star. Birch excelled at reading defenses, setting picks and and pinpoint passes to McDermott, who was the most accurate set shooter in the league. In 1946-47, Birch coached Pittsburgh in the  inaugural  season of the Basketball Association of America and later coached Fort Wayne for three seasons ( 1951-54)  in the NBA. After leaving the NBA, Birch was a high school coach in the Pittsburgh area for twenty years. He coached General Braddock High School to the 1972-73 Pennsylvania state title.

 

PAUL BIRCH Height: 6:01 Weight: 195 College: Duquesne’35
Paul Vincent Birch Born:  Jan 4, 1910: Died: Jun 5, 1982 Hometown: Homestead, Pa.
Polly Birch REGULAR SEASON RECORD
Year Team League     GA FGM  FTM   FTA  PCT.  AST  PTS   AVG
1931-32 Duquesne (Frosh) College
1932-33 Duquesne College
1933-34 Duquesne College
1934-35 Duquesne College
1934-35 New York Celtics Indep
1935-36 New York  Celtics Indep
1936-37 New York Celtics Indep
1937-38 New York Celtics Indep
1938-39 Pittsburgh NBL 22 85 51 221 10.0
1938-39 Pittsburgh Pirates Indep
1939-40 New York Celtics Indep
1940-41 New York  Celtics Indep
1941-42 New York  Celtics Indep
1941-42 Fort Wayne NBL 8 16 10 42 5.3
1942-43 Fort Wayne NBL 23 29 20 78 3.4
1943-44 Fort Wayne NBL 22 27 17 32 .531 71 3.2
1944-45 Fort Wayne NBL 28 29 7 15 .467 65 2.3
1945-46 Youngstown NBL 31 35 26 96 3.1
1947-48 Youngstown AAL 4 8 1 17 4.3
48-50 Voluntraily Retired
1950-51 Erie AAL 4 1 3 5 1.3
Major League Totals 116 144 81 369 3.2
POST SEASON RECORD
Year Team League     GA FGM  FTM   FTA  PCT.  AST  PTS   AVG
1941-42 Fort Wayne NBL 6 15 7 37 6.2
1941-42 Fort Wayne WBT 1 2 0 0 .000 4 4.0
1942-43 Fort Wayne NBL 6 3 2 8 1.3
1942-43 Fort Wayne WBT 4 8 4 8 .500 20 5.0
1943-44 Fort Wayne NBL 5 7 2 16 3.2
1943-44 Fort Wayne WBT 3 2 0 0 .000 4 1.3
1944-45 Fort Wayne NBL 3 2 3 7 2.3
1944-45 Fort Wayne WBT 3 0 0 0 .000 0 0.0
Major League Totals 28 39 18 96 3.4

 

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