Alex Groza

Alex John Groza (1926 to 1995) was an American basketball player from Martins Ferry, Ohio, whose career ended abruptly in a gambling scandal. At the University of Kentucky he captained and played center for the Fabulous Five that won the 1948 and 1949 NCAA championships, and he was the leading scorer on the gold medal winning United States Olympic basketball team of 1948. He turned professional with the Indianapolis Olympians, where he was a player and co-owner, and averaged 23.4 points per game in his first National Basketball Association season. Implicated in the 1951 college basketball point-shaving scandal, he was banned from the NBA for life by league president Maurice Podoloff. He later coached at Bellarmine College and held coaching and front office posts in the American Basketball Association. His brother Lou Groza is a Pro Football Hall of Famer.