About Walt Bellamy
Walter Jones Bellamy was an American professional basketball player. He played 14 seasons as a center in the National Basketball Association, playing for four different teams. As a star for Indiana University in basketball, he was invited to join the 1960 United States men's Olympic basketball team. In the Games that year, the team won every game by an average of over 40 points and is considered among the best amateur level basketball teams of all time. Bellamy was the first overall pick of the 1961 draft, where he was selected by the expansion team Chicago Packers. In his rookie season, he averaged 31.6 points per game and 19 rebounds on his way to winning Rookie of the Year in what has been called one of the best rookie seasons in NBA history. As a senior in 1956, he was on the football team that won a state championship, with Bellamy gaining All-State honors as a football player. Bellamy graduated from Indiana University holding the school record for most rebounds in a career with 1,087 in only 70 games, or 15.5 per game.
Biography source: Wikipedia. The profile adds birthday-specific historical context from the Celebs Birthday Today editorial database.