Don Boven

Donald Edwin Boven (March 6, 1925 – March 10, 2011) was an American basketball player, coach, and university instructor. He was a World War II veteran who was a standout athlete at Western Michigan University. After playing professional basketball, he served as an instructor at the university for more than 30 years. In the 1980s, Boven retired from his teaching duties but remained active in sporting circles and became involved in public service in his Michigan township.

Early life and military Boven was born in Kalamazoo, Michigan in 1925. He was the second of four sons born to Thomas Boven and Jessie Knapper. His parents were immigrants from the Netherlands, having come from Groningen. Boven was raised on the north side of Kalamazoo and attended Lincoln Junior High School. He then developed into a successful athlete at Kalamazoo Central High School where he lettered in football, baseball, and basketball. He graduated from Central in 1943 He was an athletic standout while at Western and earned 11 varsity letters in football, basketball and baseball. In his final year at Western, he received the university's Academic-Athletic Excellence Honor Medal. He is remembered as having successfully competed against players that were much taller than he was, such as Bowling Green's Don Otten. After college, Boven received offers to play professionally from the Cleveland Browns in football, the Chicago Cubs in baseball, and several professional basketball teams.

Professional career

Waterloo Hawks (1949–1951)

Boven began his career playing for the Waterloo Hawks in 1949. During his college and professional playing days, he stood , weighed , and played most of his career as a small forward. The team finished fifth in the NBA Western Division with a 19–43 record. Boven averaged about 10 points and two assists per game and was in the top 20 in the league making 37% of his field goals. The following season, the Waterloo franchise left the NBA to join the original National Professional Basketball League during its only season in existence. Boven led the entire league in scoring with 781 points. He was also named a member of the league's all-star team. More than half of the league's teams folded over the course of the year and no championship game was played. Boven's Hawks and the Sheboygan Red Skins made claims to being the champions, but the league was dissolved before the matter could be resolved. Waterloo finished the season with the most wins of any team behind Boven's scoring, but Sheboygan defeated the Hawks in 8 of their fifteen meetings.

Milwaukee Hawks (1951–1953) When the Waterloo franchise folded along with the NPBL, Boven was signed with the Milwaukee Hawks for one season. This team finished fifth in the NBA's western division and Boven put up numbers similar to his first year in the NBA. One lasting distinction came during that season. Boven was tied for third most personal fouls in the NBA behind George Mikan and Vern Mikkelsen. He also set a league record by fouling out of six consecutive games that season. Though this record was nearly broken in 1982 and skirted by Shaquille O'Neal in 2007, it still stands as of 2016.

Baltimore Bullets and Fort Wayne Pistons (1953) For the 1952–53 season, Boven was traded to the Fort Wayne Pistons by way of the Baltimore Bullets. Though his stats were slightly lower than his previous seasons, This was Boven's last season in the NBA and he finished his professional career with averages of 10.2 points, 2.0 assists, and 4.2 rebounds per game. Boven's first season was not very successful and the Broncos went 2–20. In 1959–60 Boven put together the first of two winning seasons (12–11). The other came in 1961–62 when the team went 13–11. Boven coached at Western Michigan until 1966 ending his coaching career with a record of 75–112 . His relatively poor winning percentage has been explained by the fact that he scheduled his team to play the best competition available in order to improve their skills on the court. He served as Texas Township Clerk for 12 years and was very active in his retirement. Charlotte Boven died in June 2010 and Donald died as a result of amyloidosis in his heart on March 10, 2011.

Regular season

Playoffs Year Team GP MPG FG% FT% RPG APG PPG 1953 Fort Wayne 8 13.9 .250 .563 2.0 .3 2.9