Curly Armstrong

Curly Armstrong
Armstrong in 1948
Personal information
Born(1918-11-01)November 1, 1918
Fort Wayne, Indiana, U.S.
DiedJune 6, 1983(1983-06-06) (aged 64)
Fort Wayne, Indiana, U.S.
Listed height5 ft 11 in (1.80 m)
Listed weight170 lb (77 kg)
Career information
High schoolCentral (Fort Wayne, Indiana)
CollegeIndiana (1938–1941)
Playing career1941–1951
PositionForward / guard
Number31, 3
Career history
As player:
1941–1943,
1945–1951		Fort Wayne Pistons
As coach:
1947Fort Wayne Zollner Pistons (interim HC)
1948–1949Fort Wayne Pistons
1951–1953Wabash
Career highlights and awards
Stats at NBA.com Edit this at Wikidata
Stats at Basketball Reference Edit this at Wikidata

Paul Carlyle "Curly" Armstrong (November 1, 1918 – June 6, 1983) was an American professional basketball player and coach.[1][2]

A 5'11" guard/forward, Armstrong starred at Central High School in Fort Wayne, Indiana, where he reached two state championship games while leading his team to a 50–6 record. In the late 1930s and early 1940s, Armstrong attended Indiana University, earning All-Big Ten Conference honors during his junior year. He then played, and briefly coached, for the Fort Wayne Zollner Pistons professional basketball team (today's Detroit Pistons). In 1943, he was named the World Professional Basketball Tournament's Most Valuable Player.[3] He was inducted into the Indiana Basketball Hall of Fame in 1980.

He was head basketball coach at Wabash College in Crawfordsville, Indiana, for two seasons. His record in 1951–52 was 10 wins and 10 losses. His record in 1952–53 was 9 wins and 10 losses.

Career playing statistics

Legend
  GP Games played  FG%  Field-goal percentage
 FT%  Free-throw percentage  RPG  Rebounds per game
 APG  Assists per game  PPG  Points per game
 Bold  Career high

BAA/NBA

Regular season

Year Team GP FG% FT% RPG APG PPG
1948–49 Fort Wayne 52 .306 .698 – 2.0 7.3
1949–50 Fort Wayne 63 .279 .705 – 2.8 7.3
1950–51 Fort Wayne 38 .310 .644 2.3 2.0 5.3
Career 153 .295 .692 2.3 2.3 6.8

Playoffs

Year Team GP FG% FT% RPG APG PPG
1950 Fort Wayne 3 .182 .250 – 2.0 3.0
1951 Fort Wayne 3 .368 1.000 2.3 1.7 5.0
Career 6 .268 .400 2.3 1.8 4.0

Head coaching record

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
Fort Wayne 1948–49 54 22 32 .407 5th in Western — — — — Missed playoffs

Source[4]

References

  1. ^ "Former IU star, Pistons coach 'Curly' Armstrong dies at 64". The Courier-Journal. June 7, 1983. p. 11. Retrieved November 12, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.Open access icon
  2. ^ "Curly's company". News-Sentinel. Retrieved November 12, 2022.
  3. ^ "Washington takes crown in pro meet". Vidette-Messenger of Porter County. March 18, 1943. p. 8. Retrieved April 6, 2022 – via Newspapers.com. Open access icon
  4. ^ "Curly Armstrong: Coaching Record, Awards". Basketball Reference. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved September 8, 2024.


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