Paul Birch (basketball)

Paul Birch
Birch, circa 1938
Personal information
Born(1910-01-10)January 10, 1910
Homestead, Pennsylvania, U.S.
DiedJune 5, 1982(1982-06-05) (aged 72)
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, U.S.
Listed height6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)
Listed weight190 lb (86 kg)
Career information
High schoolHomestead
(Homestead, Pennsylvania)
CollegeDuquesne (1931–1934)
Playing career1935–1948
PositionGuard
Career history
Playing
1935-1938New York Celtics
1938–1939Pittsburgh Pirates
1941–1945Fort Wayne Pistons
1945–1946Youngstown Bears
1946–1948Youngstown Cubs
Coaching
1945–1946Youngstown Bears
1946–1947Pittsburgh Ironmen
1951–1954Fort Wayne Pistons
Career highlights

Paul Vincent "Polly" Birch (January 4, 1910 – June 5, 1982) was an American basketball player and coach.

Life and career

A native of Pennsylvania, Birch attended Homestead High School where he played on the school's basketball team. He entered Duquesne University where he was a member of Duquesne Dukes men's basketball] team from 1931-1934. He was given All-America honors while he was there. From 1935-1938 he played for the New York Celtics and in 1938-1939 he was committed to the Pittsburgh Pirates. He then left professional ball for two years to coach the basketball team at his alma mater, Homestead High School.[1]

Birch subsequently played for the Pittsburgh Pirates, Fort Wayne Pistons, and Youngstown Bears during the 1940s.[1] He coached the now-defunct Pittsburgh Ironmen of the Basketball Association of America (a forerunner of the National Basketball Association (NBA)) in 1946, and the NBA's Fort Wayne Pistons from 1951 through 1954. Birch had played for the Pistons during the early 1940s, and the Youngstown Bears of the NBL.[2]

He worked as a coach for the Woodland Hills School District as the coach of Rankin High School, leading the school to a state championship win in 1973.[1]

Career statistics

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 Cable's team won an NBL championship
* NBL leader

NBL

Source[3]

Regular season

Year Team GP FGM FTM PTS PPG
1938–39† Pittsburgh 22 85 51 221 10.0
1941–42 Fort Wayne Z.P. 8 16 10 42 5.3
1942–43 Fort Wayne Z.P. 23* 29 20 78 3.4
1943–44† Fort Wayne Z.P. 22* 27 17 71 3.2
1944–45† Fort Wayne Z.P. 28 29 7 65 2.3
1945–46 Youngstown 31 35 26 96 3.1
Career 134 221 131 573 4.3

Playoffs

Year Team GP FGM FTM PTS PPG
1942 Fort Wayne Z.P. 6 15 7 37 6.2
1943 Fort Wayne Z.P. 6 3 2 8 1.3
1944† Fort Wayne Z.P. 5 7 2 16 3.2
1945† Fort Wayne Z.P. 3 2 3 7 2.3
Career 20 27 14 68 3.4

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 %

BAA/NBA

Source[4]

Team Year G W L W–L% Finish PG PW PL PW–L% Result
Pittsburgh 1946–47 60 15 45 .250 5th in Western — — — — Missed playoffs
Fort Wayne 1951–52 66 29 37 .439 4th in Western 2 0 2 .000 Lost in Division semifinals
Fort Wayne 1952–53 69 36 33 .522 3rd in Western 8 4 4 .500 Lost in Division finals
Fort Wayne 1953–54 72 40 32 .556 3rd in Western 4 0 4 .000 Lost in Division round-robin
Career 267 120 147 .449 14 4 10 .286

References

  1. ^ a b c "Paul Birch, All-America at Duquesne, Dies at 72". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. June 7, 1982. p. 4.
  2. ^ Baseball, Basketball, Hockey and Football Online Statistics Databases - Baseball History, Basketball History, Hockey History, Football History, MLB, NBA, NHL, NFL
  3. ^ "Polly Birch NBL stats". Basketball Reference. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved 25 March 2024.
  4. ^ "Paul Birch NBA coaching stats". Basketball Reference. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved 25 March 2024.
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