George Lawrence Mikan :: essays research papers fc

George Lawrence Mikan was born on June 18, 1924, in Joliet, Illinois. He was of Croatian and Lithuanian Decent. Georges big top peaked at 6 feet 10 inches and he weighed 245 pounds. His family consisted of his mother Minnie, father Joseph, and two brothers Joe and Ed. All three boys worked in the family restaurant pursual school each day. At a young age Georges passion was the piano and he wanted to someday be a design pianist. Throughout his life this proved to be a beloved hobby. As a boy George did not have many basketball skills and broke his point in a game at the age of thirteen. He gave priesthood a separate out at the Quigley Seminary in downtown Chicago following his attendance at Joliet Catholic High School. The high school coach had discouraged George from basketball because of his eyesight. The Seminary was a thirty-five mile commute from Joliet, which left George no clock for basketball. At this time his 6 foot 10 inch stature had done nothing but cause him to fee l awkward and shy.George gave basketball another try at Notre Dame University. Coach George Keogan was very skeptical of his success because of the quarter inch glasses that he wore. When Notre Dames assistant coach scape Meyer took over as head coach of Chicagos DePaul University he decided to work with George. The workouts with more agile teammates improved his timing. He followed through with foursome varsity seasons for DePaul. In Georges first season, DePaul won nineteen games and lost only five. Georges ability to block shots that were dropping into the basket inspired a new National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) rule against goaltending. In 1944 they lost the National Invitational Tournament but came back to win it the adjacent season. George was a three time All-American, from 1944-1946 after performances such as his 120 points in his final three games at DePaul with a high of 53. In all, George guide DePaul to an 83-18 record scoring 1,870 points, a collegiate record at that time. George played baseball in the off-season and was being scouted by the major leagues as a pitcher. With his height and reputation it was inevitable that he would choose basketball.The National Basketball League (NBL) had begun in 1937, but with a limited amount of teams it was a small time operation until World War II. Georges team was sponsored in the same way as many bowling teams.