Whitey Von Nieda

Whitey Von Nieda

Personal information
Born	(1922-06-19)June 19, 1922 Ephrata, Pennsylvania, U.S.
Died	September 6, 2023(2023-09-06) (aged 101) Elizabethtown, Pennsylvania, U.S.
Listed height	6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)
Listed weight	170 lb (77 kg)
Career information
High school	Ephrata (Ephrata, Pennsylvania)
College	Penn State (1942–1943)
Playing career	1946–1953
Position	Guard / forward
Number	6, 4
Coaching career	1950–1979
Career history
As player:
1946–1947	Lancaster Red Roses
1947–1950	Tri-Cities Blackhawks
1950	Baltimore Bullets
1950–1953	Lancaster Rockets
As coach:
1950–1952	Elizabethtown
1950–1953	Lancaster Red Roses
1961–1962	Hazleton Hawks
1977–1979	Lancaster Red Roses (assistant)
Career highlights and awards
All-NBL Second Team (1949) All-EPBL Second Team (1951)
Stats  at NBA.com
Stats  at Basketball-Reference.com

Stanley Lee "Whitey" Von Nieda Jr. (June 19, 1922 – September 6, 2023) was an American professional basketball player and coach. He was the longest lived National Basketball Association (NBA) player in history.

Career

Von Nieda played basketball at Ephrata High School and Penn State University. Enlisting in the army during World War II, he played with the paratroopers at Fort Benning, Georgia. There, he led the country, both college and service teams, in scoring with 1062 points in 44 games. After being discharged, he played for the Lancaster Red Roses in the Eastern Basketball League, where he led that league in scoring, averaging more than 24 points per game.

In 1947, he began playing for the Tri-Cities BlackHawks in the National Basketball League (NBL). While with the Blackhawks, he made the All-Rookie team, averaging 12 points a game. His team made it to the final round of the playoffs in both of the years he played there. In 1949, the founding year of the NBA, Von Nieda was traded to the Baltimore Bullets, where he completed the 1949–50 NBA season. In Baltimore, he started every game playing both point guard and shooting guard. Von Nieda was known for his quickness on the court.

After leaving the NBA, he coached at Elizabethtown College for two years. In 1952, he became the player/coach of the Lancaster Red Roses for four years, making it to the finals three of those years. Von Nieda was selected to the All-EPBL Second Team in 1951. Again in 1985, he coached Lancaster in the Continental League; these teams were a stepping stone to the NBA. Once again, his team made it to the finals. For many years, he coached junior teams, working with 10- and 12-year-old players and teaching them the fundamentals of basketball.

Personal life and death

Von Nieda resided in Elizabethtown, Pennsylvania, with his wife, Arlene. He turned 100 on June 19, 2022; he was the first NBA player to reach 100 years of age, and thus the longest lived NBA player in history. He died on September 6, 2023, at the age of 101.

Career statistics

Legend
GP	Games played	FGM	Field-goals made
FG%	Field-goal percentage	FTM	Free-throws made
FTA	Free-throws attempted	FT%	Free-throw percentage
APG	Assists per game	PTS	Points
PPG	Points per game	Bold	Career high

NBL

Source

Regular season

Year	Team	GP	FGM	FTM	FTA	FT%	PTS	PPG
1947–48	Tri-Cities	60	276	174	287	.606	726	12.1
1948–49	Tri-Cities	64	247	147	226	.650	641	10.0
Career		124	523	321	513	.626	1,367	11.0

Playoffs

Year	Team	GP	FGM	FTM	FTA	FT%	PTS	PPG
1948	Tri-Cities	6	41	15	28	.536	97	16.2
1949	Tri-Cities	6	20	13	24	.542	53	8.8
Career		12	61	28	52	.538	150	12.5

NBA

Regular season

Year	Team	GP	FG%	FT%	APG	PPG
1949–50	Tri-Cities	26	.345	.630	1.4	4.2
1949–50	Baltimore	33	.364	.638	3.2	6.2
Career		59	.357	.635	2.4	5.3

See also

• List of centenarians (sportspeople)

External links

• Career statistics and player information from NBA.com  and Basketball-Reference.com