Dick McGuire
(1926-2010)
Hall of Fame Induction: 1993
Card Shown:
2007 Press Pass Legends
Position: PG
Height: 6’0″
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Dick McGuire, “Tricky Dick,” was a slick-passing, ball-handling guard who led the New York Knicks to three NBA Finals appearances in the early 1950s. McGuire was a pass-first point guard, always looking to set up his teammates for an easy bucket. He achieved basketball success at St. John’s University and had a long professional basketball career, primarily with the Knicks. When he passed away in 2010 at the age of 84, Dick was still working for the Knicks as a basketball consultant. McGuire was a Knick as a player, coach, assistant coach, scout, or consultant, for 53 of their first 64 years as an organization.
Awards and Honors
- McGuire played for coach Joe Lapchick on the St. John’s team that won the National Invitational Tournament (NIT) in 1944.
- In the NBA’s first season, 1949-1950, Dick led the league in total assists with 386. His average of 5.7 assists per game was second in the league to Andy Phillip, who totaled 5.8 per game.
- In his eleven-year NBA career, McGuire was an All-Star seven times, five times as a Knick and twice as a member of the Detroit Pistons.
- Dick led his Knicks teams, which included Harry Gallatin, Nat Clifton, Carl Braun, and his brother Al McGuire, to three straight NBA Finals. In 1951 the Knicks lost to Bob Davies, Bobby Wanzer, Arnie Risen, and the Rochester Royals 4-3. In 1952 and 1953 they lost to the Minneapolis Lakers dynasty that featured George Mikan, Jim Pollard, Slater Martin, and Vern Mikkelsen in seven games and five games, respectively.
- The Knicks retired McGuire’s number 15 jersey in a ceremony at Madison Square Garden on March 14, 1992.
Points of Interest
- McGuire won the Haggerty Award honoring New York City’s Outstanding College Player, in both 1944 and 1949. Other winners of the award include Dolph Schayes (1948), Tom “Satch” Sanders (1960), and Chris Mullin (1983, 1984, 1985).
- Dick’s brother Al McGuire was inducted into the Hall of Fame as a coach in 1992, the year before Dick. Al led Marquette to 11 postseason appearances, including an NCAA championship in 1977 when they defeated North Carolina in the final. Dick and Al are the only brothers in the Hall of Fame.
- Al’s son (Dick’s nephew) Allie McGuire was drafted by the Knicks in the 1973 NBA Draft. In his NBA career, Allie played five minutes in two games for New York, scoring two points on 1/2 from the field.
- In 1959-60, his last year in the NBA, Dick served as a player-coach for the Detroit Pistons. He continued to coach the Pistons for three more years and then returned to coach the Knicks for parts of three seasons.
- McGuire finished his NBA career with averages of 8.0 points, 4.2 rebounds, and 5.7 assists per game.
Statistics
Dick McGuire Statistics
provided by Basketball-Reference.com