PLAYER PROFILE

POP GATES

STATISTICS & HISTORY

Pop Gates graduated from Benjamin Franklin High School in New York City. In his senior year (1937-38), the school won the city championship and Gates was named a first team all-city star. In the fall of 1938, Gates joined the famed New York Rens. Remarkably,within a month. Gates was a starter on the veteran Rens’ squad. In April of 1939, Gates led the Rens to the World Professional Championship in Chicago with 12 points in the title game. Just one year out of high school, Gates had established himself as one of the top players in professional basketball. Gates primary weapon was the set shot, but he also excelled at cutting to the basket. He was also a strong rebounder and outstanding defender. Gates occasionally showed flashes of temper, but he never played out of control. With the exception of just one season, the Rens were always an independent barnstorming team. The World Professional Tournament held in Chicago from 1939 to 1948 offered most black players their only opportunity to compete for a championship open to all teams. Gates used the tournament to showcase his talents. He was the only player to appear in all ten tournaments and was named to the all-tournament team on three occasions (1940, 1942, 1943). In 1943, he was a key member of the Washington Bears title team. During the 1946-47 season, Gates had his first opportunity to play in a professional league. He had a solid season in the National Basketball League performing with a mediocre team that was handicapped by the midseason transfer of the team from Buffalo to Moline, Illinois. He returned to the NBL two seasons later as the player-coach of the Rens who took over a defunct franchise. Gates had another fine season, but unfortunately the club was overaged and overmatched in what turned out to be the swansong season of the Rens. The following year, Gates won a minor league championship with the Scranton Miners and then returned to barnstorming with the Harlem Globetrotters until the mid 1950’s. In 1989, Gates was elected to the Basketball Hall of Fame.

 

POP GATES Height: 6:02 Weight: 205 College: Clark(Ga)’39 DNP
William Penn Gates Born: Aug 30, 1917 Died: Dec 1, 1999 Hometown: New York, NY
REGULAR SEASON RECORD
Year Team League     GA FGM  FTM   FTA  PCT.  AST  PTS   AVG
1937-38 N.Y. Harlem Yankees Indep
1938-39 New York Rens Indep 8 22 16 60 7.5
1939-40 New York Rens Indep 3 6 5 17 5.7
1940-41 New York Rens Indep 8 22 16 60 7.5
1941-42 Washington Bears Indep 18 82 23 187 10.4
1941-42 Long Island Grumans Indep
1942-43 Washington Bears Indep 21 91 31 213 10.1
1942-43 New York Rens Indep
1942-43 Long Island Grumans Indep
1943-44 Washington Bears Indep 30 106 47 259 8.6
1943-44 New York Rens Indep
1943-44 Long Island Grumans Indep
1944-45 Washington Bears Indep 19 83 14 180 9.5
1944-45 Rochester Indep 1 3 0 6 6.0
1944-45 Long Island Grumans Indep
1945-46 Washington Bears Indep 3 14 6 34 11.3
1945-46 Chicago Monarchs Indep
1945-46 New York Rens Indep
1945-46 Long Island Grumans Indep
1946-47 Buffalo/Tri- Cities NBL 41 125 60 115 .522 310 7.6
1947-48 New York Rens Indep
1948-49 New York Rens Indep
1948-49 Dayton NBL 40 161 126 220 .573 448 11.2
1949-50 Scranton ABL 37 96 84 147 .571 57 276 7.5
1949-50 Harlem Globetrotters Indep
1950-51 Harlem Globetrotters Indep
1951-52 Harlem Globetrotters Indep
1951-52 New York Celtics Indep
1952-53 Harlem Globetrotters Indep
1953-54 Harlem Globetrotters Indep
1954-55 Harlem Globetrotters Indep
1955-56 Harlem Globetrotters Indep
1956-57 Harlem Globetrotters Indep
Major League Totals 81 286 186 758 9.4
PLAYOFF RECORD
Year Team League     GA FGM  FTM   FTA  PCT.  AST  PTS   AVG
1938-39 New York Rens WBT 3 6 7 15 .467 19 6.3
1939-40 New York Rens WBT 2 4 1 3 .333 9 4.5
1940-41 New York Rens WBT 4 12 6 12 .500 30 7.5
1941-42 Long Island Flyers WBT 4 14 7 10 .700 35 8.8
1942-43 Washinton Bears WBT 3 7 8 15 .533 22 7.3
1943-44 New York Rens WBT 4 13 6 9 .667 32 8.0
1944-45 Long Island Hellcats WBT 1 0 1 2 .500 1 1.0
1945-46 Wilkes Barre PSL 3 15 5 35 11.7
1945-46 New York Rens WBT 2 14 1 5 .200 29 14.5
1946-47 Tri-Cities WBT 2 6 6 9 .667 18 9.0
1947-48 New York Rens WBT 3 11 4 10 .400 26 8.7
1949-50 Scranton ABL 8 20 23 63 7.9
Major League Totals 28 87 47 221 7.9
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