Whitey Von Nieda

Whitey Von Nieda
Personal information
Born	June 19, 1922 (age 102); Ephrata, Pennsylvania
Nationality	American
Listed height	6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)
Listed weight	170 lb (77 kg)
Career information
High school	Ephrata ; (Ephrata, Pennsylvania)
College	Penn State (1942–1943)
Playing career	1946–1953
Position	Guard / Forward
Number	6, 4
Coaching career	1950–1979
Career history
As player:
1946–1947	Lancaster Red Roses
1947–1950	Tri-Cities Blackhawks
1950	Baltimore Bullets
1950–1953	Lancaster Red Roses
As coach:
1950–1952	Elizabethtown
1950–1953	Lancaster Red Roses
1961–1962	Hazleton Hawks
1977–1979	Lancaster Red Roses (assistant)
Career highlights and awards
	All-NBL Second Team (1949);
	Stats at NBA.com
	Stats at Basketball Reference

Stanley Lee "Whitey" Von Nieda Jr. (born June 19, 1922) is an American retired professional basketball player and coach. He was born in Ephrata, Pennsylvania.

He played basketball at Ephrata High School and Penn State University. Enlisting in the army during World War II, he played with the Fort Benning, Georgia paratroopers. There he led the country, both college and service teams, in scoring with 1062 points in 44 games. After being discharged he played for the Lancaster Red Roses in the Eastern Basketball League where he led that league in scoring, averaging better than 24 points per game.

In 1947 he began playing for the Tri-Cities BlackHawks in the National Basketball League (NBL). While with the Blackhawks he made the All-Rookie team averaging 12 points a game. The team made it to the final round of the playoffs in both of the years he played there. In 1949, the founding year of the National Basketball Association (NBA), he was traded to the Baltimore Bullets where he completed the 1949 and 1950 NBA seasons. In Baltimore he started every game playing both point guard and shooting guard. Whitey was known for his quickness on the court.

After leaving the NBA he coached at Elizabethtown College for two years. In 1952 he became the player/coach of the Lancaster Red Roses for four years making it to the finals three of the four years. Again in 1985 he coached Lancaster in the Continental League, these teams were a stepping stone to the NBA. Once again his team made it to the finals. For many years he coached junior teams where he worked with 10- and 12-year-old kids teaching them the fundamentals of basketball.

NBA career statistics

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

Regular season

Year	Team	GP	FG%	FT%	APG	PPG
1949–50	Tri-Cities	26	.345	.630	1.4	4.2
1949–50	Baltimore	33	.364	.638	3.2	6.2
Career		59	.357	.635	2.4	5.3

External links

Career statistics and player information from NBA.com and Basketball-Reference.com