Buddy Jeannette

Harry Edward "Buddy" Jeannette (September 15, 1917 – March 11, 1998)^[1] was an American professional basketball player and coach.

Buddy Jeannette

Jeannette in 1948
Personal information
Born	(1917-09-15)September 15, 1917 New Kensington, Pennsylvania, U.S.
Died	March 11, 1998(1998-03-11) (aged 80) Nashua, New Hampshire, U.S.
Listed height	5 ft 11 in (180 cm)
Listed weight	175 lb (79 kg)
Career information
High school	New Kensington (New Kensington, Pennsylvania)
College	Washington & Jefferson (1934–1938)
Playing career	1938–1950
Position	Guard
Number	26, 6, 14
Coaching career	1946–1970
Career history
As a player:
1938–1939	Cleveland White Horses
1939–1941	Detroit Eagles
1942–1943	Sheboygan Red Skins
1943–1946	Fort Wayne Pistons
1947–1950	Baltimore Bullets
As a coach:
1946–1951	Baltimore Bullets
1952–1956	Georgetown Hoyas
1958–1961	Baltimore Bullets (EPBL)
1964–1965	Baltimore Bullets
1966–1967	Baltimore Bullets (interim)
1969–1970	Pittsburgh Pipers
Career highlights
BAA champion (1948) All-BAA Second Team (1948) 3× NBL champion (1943–1945) 4× All-NBL First Team (1941, 1944–1946) All-NBL Second Team (1943) 4× WPBT champion (1941, 1944–1946) 2× WPBT MVP (1941, 1945) 3× All-WPBT First Team (1942, 1943, 1945)
Stats at NBA.com
Stats at Basketball Reference
Basketball Hall of Fame
Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame

Biography

Jeannette was widely regarded as the premier backcourt player between 1938 and 1948. He was named to the First Team of the National Basketball League (NBL) four times, and won titles with the NBL's Sheboygan Red Skins in 1943 and Fort Wayne Pistons in 1944 and 1945. Jeannette also won a title with the American Basketball League's Baltimore Bullets in 1948.

Most of his playing career came prior to the formation of the modern National Basketball Association (NBA) in its predecessor leagues the National Basketball League (NBL) and Basketball Association of America (BAA) including three years as a player-coach for the original Baltimore Bullets of the Basketball Association of America (BAA). In the 1948 BAA playoffs, he became the first player-coach to win a professional championship. After his playing career ended in 1950, he coached the original Bullets for one more season. He then became the head coach at Georgetown University for four seasons, leading the team to an appearance in the 1953 National Invitation Tournament. Jeannette served as head coach of the Baltimore Bullets in the Eastern Professional Basketball League (EPBL) from 1958 to 1961.^[2]

Jeannette returned to the ranks of professional coaching in the NBA to lead the modern Baltimore Bullets twice, once for a full season and once as an interim coach. He later would coach the American Basketball Association's Pittsburgh Pipers for part of a season.

In 1994, Jeannette was enshrined in the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. Jeannette attended Washington and Jefferson College, in Washington, Pennsylvania.^[3]

Career playing statistics

NBL

Legend

GP	Games played	FGM	Field goals made
FTM	Free throws made	FTA	Free throws attempted
FT%	Free throw percentage	PTS	Total points
PPG	Points per game	Bold	Career high

†	Denotes seasons in which Jeannette's team won an NBL championship

NBL

Source^[4]

Regular season

Year	Team	GP	FGM	FTM	FTA	FT%	PTS	PPG
1938–39	Cleveland	26	54	65			173	6.7
1939–40	Detroit	26	46	54			146	5.6
1940–41	Detroit	23	75	54	86	.628	204	8.9
1942–43†	Sheboygan	4	24	14	17	.824	62	15.5
1943–44†	Fort Wayne	22	68	48	65	.738	184	8.4
1944–45†	Fort Wayne	27	85	82	111	.739	252	9.3
1945–46	Toledo	34	99	105	136	.772	303	8.9
Career		162	445	422	415	.730	1,324	8.2

Playoffs

Year	Team	GP	FGM	FTM	FTA	FT%	PTS	PPG
1940	Detroit	3	6	8			20	6.7
1941	Detroit	3	8	5			21	7.0
1943†	Sheboygan	5	16	17			49	9.8
1944†	Fort Wayne	5	12	10			34	6.8
1945†	Fort Wayne	7	22	23			67	9.6
1946	Fort Wayne	4	7	5	6	.833	19	4.8
Career		27	71	68	6	.833	210	7.8

BAA/NBA

Legend

GP	Games played	GS	Games started	MPG	Minutes per game
FG%	Field goal percentage	3P%	3-point field goal percentage	FT%	Free throw percentage
RPG	Rebounds per game	APG	Assists per game	SPG	Steals per game
BPG	Blocks per game	PPG	Points per game	Bold	Career high
†	Won an NBA championship	*	Led the league

Regular season

Year	Team	GP	FG%	FT%	APG	PPG
1947–48†	Baltimore	46	.349*	.758	1.5	10.7
1948–49	Baltimore	56	.367	.784	2.2	5.6
1949–50	Baltimore	37	.284	.820	2.5	5.2
Career		139	.341	.781	2.1	7.2

Playoffs

Year	Team	GP	FG%	FT%	APG	PPG
1948†	Baltimore	11	.492	.881	1.1	8.8
1949	Baltimore	3	.154	1.000	1.7	2.7
Career		14	.432	.891	1.2	7.5

Head coaching record

Sources^[5]

BAA/NBA/ABA

Legend

Regular season	G	Games coached	W	Games won	L	Games lost	W–L %	Win–loss %
Playoffs	PG	Playoff games	PW	Playoff wins	PL	Playoff losses	PW–L %	Playoff win–loss %

Team	Year	G	W	L	W–L%	Finish	PG	PW	PL	PW–L%	Result
Baltimore	1947–48	28	20	48	.583	2nd in Western	11	8	3	.727	Won BAA Championship
Baltimore	1948–49	60	29	31	.483	3nd in Eastern	3	1	2	.333	Lost in Division Semifinals
Baltimore	1949–50	68	25	43	.368	5th in Eastern	–	–	–	–	Missed playoffs
Baltimore	1950–51	37	14	23	.378	–	–	–	–	–	Fired
Baltimore	1964–65	80	37	43	.463	3rd in Western	10	5	5	.500	Lost Division Finals
Baltimore[6][note 1]	1966–67	16	3	13	.188	–	–	–	–	–	Interim
Pittsburgh[7][note 2]	1969–70	45	15	30	.333	–	–	–	–	–	Missed playoffs
Career (BAA/NBA)		309	136	173	.440		24	14	10	.583
Career (overall)		573	326	247	.569		24	14	10	.583

College

Statistics overview

Season	Team	Overall	Conference	Standing	Postseason
Georgetown Hoyas (college independent) (1952–1956)
1952–53	Georgetown	13–7	–	–	NIT First Round
1953–54	Georgetown	11–18	–	–	none
1954–55	Georgetown	12–13	–	–	none
1955–56	Georgetown	13–11	–	–	none
Total:		49–49
National champion         Postseason invitational champion         Conference regular season champion         Conference regular season and conference tournament champion       Division regular season champion       Division regular season and conference tournament champion       Conference tournament champion

Notes

1. Jeannette was one of three head coaches for Baltimore during the season. Mike Farmer had coached Baltimore to a 1–8 record in its first nine games when Jeannette took over. Jeannette served as interim head coach for the next 16 games. Gene Shue then took over as head coach, posting a 16–40 record to lead Baltimore to a 20–61 finish.
2. Jeannette was Pittsburgh's second head coach of the season, taking over the team from John Clark after it had gone 14–25 in its first 39 games. Jeannette coached Pittsburgh's remaining 45 games, leading the team to a 29–55 finish.