Robert Gruenig
Inducted:
1963
Player Stats
6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)
220 lb (100 kg)
Born:
March 12,1913
Chicago, Illinois, U.S.
Died:
August 11,1958
Del Norte, Colorado,U.S.
Position:
Center
College:
Northwestern University
Robert Gruenig, was one of basketball's first dominant big men and among the greatest Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) players in history.His playing career dominated the Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) during the 1930s and 1940s, alongside a brief professional stint in the National Basketball League (NBL) with the Denver Nuggets in 1948–49.
Standing 6-foot-8,he revolutionized the center position with his mobility, rebounding and devastating hook shot, which he could shoot effectively with either hand. Gruenig earned an incredible 10 AAU All-America selections and led the Denver Safeway, Denver Nuggets and Denver American Legion teams to three AAU National Championships.
He was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 1963 as a player.
Gruenig's Awards and Honors
- 10× AAU All-American
- 3× AAU National Champion (1937, 1939, 1942)
- Los Angeles Sports Award Medallion
- Helms Athletic Foundation Hall of Fame
- Colorado Sports Hall of Fame
NBA Teams
Denver Nuggets (1948–1949)
NBA Stats
Career/Tenor:
1932-1949
NBA Career:
1948-1949
Game:
49
Points:
558
Points per Game:
11.4
AAU National Champion:
3 (1937, 1939, 1942)
All-Star Selections:
10 (1937–1940, 1942–1946, 1948)