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Frank Vernon Ramsey, Jr. (born July 13, 1931 in Corydon, Kentucky) is a former professional basketball player and coach. more...

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A 6-3 guard, he played his entire nine-year (1954-1964) NBA career with the Boston Celtics and played a major role in the early part of their dynasty, winning seven championship rings. Ramsey was also a head coach for the Kentucky Colonels of the ABA during the 1970-1971 season.

University of Kentucky

Ramsey played college basketball at the University of Kentucky under legendary coach Adolph Rupp. As a sophomore in 1951 he helped Kentucky win the NCAA Championship with a 68-58 victory over Kansas State.

In the fall of 1952, a point shaving scandal involving three Kentucky players (one of whom was a teammate of Ramsey on Kentucky’s 1951 NCAA champions) over a four-year period forced Kentucky to forfeit its upcoming season, Ramsey’s senior year. The suspension of the season made Kentucky's basketball team, in effect, the first college sports team to get the "death penalty." Had the NCAA allowed Kentucky to play, the Wildcats, led by Ramsey and another future NBA star, Cliff Hagan, would likely have won their fourth NCAA title in six seasons.

Ramsey graduated from Kentucky in 1953 and, as a result, became eligible for the NBA Draft. After being selected by the Boston Celtics in the first round, Ramsey stayed at Kentucky for one more season and led the Wildcats to a perfect 25-0 record in 1954. Had the Wildcats not declined an NCAA bid, that team, once again led by Ramsey and Hagan, probably would also have won a championship; they finished the regular season ranked #1 by the Associated Press.

Upon completion of his college career, Ramsey scored 1344 points, which at the time ranked him fourth in the school's history, and grabbed 1038 rebounds, a school record later surpassed by one of his future Kentucky Colonel players, Dan Issel.

Boston Celtics

After playing his rookie season with the Celtics (1954-1955), Ramsey spent one year in the military before rejoining the team. In the eight seasons he played after military service, he was a member of seven championship teams (1957, 1959-1964). He was a major contributor of the Celtics dynasty, playing behind the future Hall-of-Fame duo of Bob Cousy and Bill Sharman and playing with five other future Hall-of-Famers—Bill Russell, Sam Jones, K. C. Jones, Tom Heinsohn and John Havlicek. In his 623 NBA games Ramsey scored 8378 points for an average of 13.4 points per game. He was inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame in 1981. His #23 is retired by the Celtics.

Ramsey's best statistical season was 1958; he averaged 16.5 points and 7.3 rebounds per game. Ironically, it was also his only post-military season in which the Celtics did not win the NBA championship; the Bob Pettit-led St. Louis Hawks defeated them in the NBA Finals. Cliff Hagan, Ramsey's ex-Kentucky teammate, also starred for the Hawks.

Read more at Wikipedia.org