Cliff Hagan Won Championships in High School, College, and the NBA
Cliff Hagan, who teamed up with fellow Hall of Famer
Bob Pettit to lead the 1957-58 St. Hawks to the franchise’s only NBA title, passed away on Thursday at the age of 94. Hagan was a potent scorer who led Owensboro High School to the 1949 Kentucky state title before staying near home to play for the University of Kentucky, helping the Wildcats win the 1951 NCAA championship. In 10 NBA seasons, Hagan's Hawks reached the NBA Finals four times and played in the Western Division Finals eight times. Hagan was a player-coach for the 1968 Dallas Chaparrals when they advanced to the ABA Western Division Finals. Hagan made the All-Star team six times in 13 professional seasons, including five selections in 10 seasons with the Hawks plus one selection in his first two seasons with the Chaparrals before retiring at age 38 midway through his third season in Dallas. Hagan averaged 17.7 ppg in 839 career regular season games and 19.9 ppg in 95 career playoff games.
After a record-setting prep career, Hagan was a two-time All-America selection (1952, 1954) at Kentucky. The NCAA suspended the Wildcats for the 1952-53 season as a result of an infamous point shaving scandal in which Hagan was not implicated. Hagan led the Wildcats to an undefeated 1953-54 regular season and a number one ranking in the season-ending AP poll. Hagan, Frank Ramsey and Lou Tsioropolous graduated from Kentucky in 1953, so NCAA rules at that time permitted them to participate in the regular season but not the NCAA Tournament, which is why Kentucky declined its invitation to the 1954 NCAA Tournament. During Hagan's three varsity seasons, the Wildcats went 86-5 and won three regular season Southeastern Conference titles; he played in 77 of those games. Hagan averaged 19.2 ppg and 13.4 rpg in three varsity seasons.
The Boston Celtics drafted Hagan in 1953, but Hagan served in the Air Force from 1953-56. Hagan led Andrews Air Force Base to the Worldwide Air Force Basketball Championship in 1954 and 1955. On April 30, 1956, the Celtics traded Hagan--who still had not played in the NBA--and three-time All-NBA First Team center Ed Macauley for the draft rights to Bill Russell, who led the Celtics to 11 NBA titles in his 13 seasons.
After the trade, the Celtics faced the Hawks in four of the next five NBA Finals, with the Celtics winning three of those four matchups. The Hawks defeated the defending champion Celtics in the 1958 NBA Finals. During the Finals, Hagan ranked second on the team to Pettit in scoring (25.2 ppg) and rebounding (9.7 rpg), but Hagan was the NBA's overall 1958 playoff scoring leader in both total points (305) and average (27.7 ppg). Hagan also led the NBA in playoff scoring average (28.5 ppg) in 1959, when the Hawks lost to the Minneapolis Lakers 4-2 in the Western Division Finals.
Hagan ranked in the top 15 in the NBA in scoring six times when the rankings were determined by total points (not scoring average), peaking at fifth in 1958-59 and 1959-60. He finished in the top five in field goal percentage for three straight seasons (1958-60), demonstrating that he was an efficient scorer.
In addition to being a top scorer,
Hagan was a crafty and effective passer. He ranked in the top 10 in total assists for three straight seasons (1960-62), and in the top ten in assists per game for four straight seasons (1959-62). In his first ABA season, Hagan ranked seventh in total assists and second in apg, the highest ranking for a forward in single season apg until LeBron James ranked second in the NBA in 2017-18 before leading the NBA in 2019-20.
After retiring from the Hawks, Hagan spent one season as a television commentator before coming out of retirement to join the ABA's Dallas Chaparrals as a player-coach. Hagan is the first player selected as an All-Star in both the NBA and the ABA. Hagan averaged 18.2 ppg, 6.0 rpg, and 4.9 apg as a 36 year old as the Chaparrals went 46-32 in the ABA's debut season. Hagan took a smaller role as a player in his second season in Dallas, and in his third ABA season he played in just three games before resigning as coach after the team started with a 22-21 record.
Hagan is the first UK Wildcat player to be inducted in the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame (1978). He served as the university's athletics director from 1975 to 1988. Kentucky won the 1978 NCAA men's basketball title.
It is easy for modern fans and commentators to overlook Hagan because his career professional totals (14,870 points, 5555 rebounds, 2646 assists) are not eye-popping, but it is important to remember several key factors when evaluating Hagan and other players from his era:
1) Both the regular season and the playoffs had fewer games, so total numbers from that era are inevitably lower.
2) Careers tended to be shorter because players could make a better living outside of pro basketball than inside pro basketball.
3) Playing conditions were harsher--scheduling, travel, and training/medical care were all markedly worse than they are today--which impacted productivity/efficiency while also truncating careers.
Cliff Hagan's basketball career began when he was a high school player in the pre-shot clock era in the 1940s, and lasted until the ABA's 1969-70 season. He should be remembered as one of the sport's pioneers whose teams won championships at the prep, collegiate, and professional levels.
Labels: ABA, Cliff Hagan, Dallas Chaparrals, NBA, St. Louis Hawks, University of Kentucky
posted by David Friedman @ 11:07 AM
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