Matt Aitch

Matthew Alexander Aitch Jr. (September 21, 1944 – April 4, 2007) was an American professional basketball player who played one season in the American Basketball Association (ABA).

Early life Aitch was born in St. Louis, Missouri, to parents Matthew Sr. and Viola (née Kinder) Aitch. He attended Maplewood Richmond Heights High School in Maplewood, Missouri, where he led the team to three straight conference championships as a center.

College career Aitch was not academically eligible to play NCAA Division I basketball so he enrolled at Moberly Junior College where he played for two seasons and grew to . He was also selected as the first ever pick by the Dallas Chaparrals, who now exist as the San Antonio Spurs, in the inaugural 1967 American Basketball Association draft (though it was later revealed by then-team manager Max Williams that Aitch wasn't intended to be their first ever draft pick due to the team's original co-owner, Roland Speth (who later became the manager of The Monkees band), mistaking Williams' draft listing that he did in alphabetical order (with last names going from A-Z) as a list for the best possible talents being taken at hand as early as they could have done so). However, he wouldn't play for either team and instead played for the Indiana Pacers of the American Basketball Association (ABA) during the 1967–68 season, averaging 5.6 points and 3.6 rebounds per game there. He served as an assistant coach and recruiter for the Michigan State Spartans.

Aitch died on April 4, 2007, at the age of 62.