View source for Byron Beck

{{Short description|American basketball player (born 1945)}}
{{for|the journalist and blogger|Byron Beck (blogger)}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=July 2024}}
{{BLP sources|date=October 2023}}
{{Infobox NBA biography
| name         = Byron Beck
| image        = Byron Beck.jpg
| width        =
| caption      =
| position     = [[Forward (basketball)|Forward]] / [[Center (basketball)|center]]
| height_ft    = 6
| height_in    = 9
| weight_lb    = 225
| number       = 40
| birth_date   = {{birth date and age|1945|01|25}}
| birth_place  = [[Ellensburg, Washington]], U.S.
| high_school  = Kittitas ([[Kittitas, Washington]])
| college      = 
*[[Columbia Basin College|Columbia Basin]] (1963–1965)
*[[Denver Pioneers men's basketball|Denver]] (1965–1967)
| draft_round  = 2
| draft_pick   = 15
| draft_year   = 1967
| draft_team   = [[Chicago Bulls]]
| career_start = 1967
| career_end   = 1977
| years1          = [[1967–68 ABA season|1967]]–{{nbay|1976|end}}
| team1           = [[Denver Nuggets|Denver Rockets / Nuggets]]
| highlights   = 
* 2× ABA All-Star ([[1969 ABA All-Star Game|1969]], [[1976 ABA All-Star Game|1976]])
* No. 40 [[Denver Nuggets#Retired numbers|retired by Denver Nuggets]]
| stats_league = ABA and NBA
| stat1label    = [[Point (basketball)|Points]]
| stat1value    = 8,603 (11.5 ppg)
| stat2label    = [[Rebound (basketball)|Rebounds]]
| stat2value    = 5,261 (7.0 rpg)
| stat3label    = [[Assist (basketball)|Assists]]
| stat3value    = 978 (1.3 apg)
| bbr           = beckby01
}}

'''Byron Beck''' (born January 25, 1945) is an American former professional [[basketball]] player.

A 6 foot 9 inch [[forward (basketball)|forward]]/[[center (basketball)|center]] from the [[University of Denver]], Beck was one of six players (along with [[Louie Dampier]], [[Gerald Govan]], [[Bob Netolicky]], [[Stew Johnson]], and [[Freddie Lewis]]) who participated in all nine seasons (1967&ndash;1976) of the original [[American Basketball Association]] (ABA). Beck and Dampier would also be the only two players who would stay with the franchise that originally drafted them throughout the entire existence of the ABA before the [[ABA–NBA merger]] occurred, with Beck being the only player to stay with the team in question following the completed merger into the NBA. He played for the [[Denver Rockets]], who later became the [[Denver Nuggets]]. Beck was not blessed with superior athleticism, but he was a hard worker known for his tenacious [[rebound (basketball)|rebounding]] and efficient [[hook shot]].{{or|date=November 2022}} He represented Denver in two ABA [[All-Star]] Games (1969 and 1976, the latter year having the Denver Nuggets franchise going up against the rest of the ABA's All-Stars that year).

Beck also played one season in the [[National Basketball Association]] (NBA) after the Nuggets joined the NBA through the [[ABA–NBA merger]] in 1976, and he retired in 1977 with 8,603 career ABA/NBA points and 5,261 career rebounds. On December 16, 1977, he became the first player in the Denver franchise to have his [[jersey (clothing)|jersey]] [[Retired number|number (#40) retired]]. In 1981, Beck was inducted into the [[Colorado Sports Hall of Fame]].<ref name="colhof">{{cite news |title=Ex-Rocket, Nugget; Byron Beck to be inducted to Hall |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/535932706/?terms=%22Byron%20Beck%22&match=1 |access-date=12 November 2022 |work=The Daily Sentinel |date=15 February 1981 |location=Grand Junction, Colorado |page=30}}</ref>

After retiring from professional basketball, Beck moved to [[Kennewick, Washington]] where he worked as an engineer.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Blanchette |first1=John |title='B' Tourney Past Beckons |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/572536421/?terms=%22Byron%20Beck%22&match=1 |access-date=12 November 2022 |work=The Spokesman-Review |date=1 March 1987 |location=Spokane, Washington |page=15}}</ref>

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
*[http://www.remembertheaba.com/TributeMaterial/Beck.html Profile] at [https://web.archive.org/web/20081107214515/http://www.remembertheaba.com/ Remember the ABA]
*{{basketballstats|bbr=b/beckby01|name=Byron Beck}}

{{1967 AAU Men's Basketball All-Americans}}
{{1967 NBA draft}}
{{Denver Nuggets}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Beck, Byron}}
[[Category:1945 births]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:ABA All-Stars]]
[[Category:Amateur Athletic Union men's basketball players]]
[[Category:American men's basketball players]]
[[Category:Basketball players from Washington (state)]]
[[Category:Centers (basketball)]]
[[Category:Chicago Bulls draft picks]]
[[Category:Columbia Basin College alumni]]
[[Category:Denver Nuggets players]]
[[Category:Denver Pioneers men's basketball players]]
[[Category:Denver Rockets draft picks]]
[[Category:Denver Rockets players]]
[[Category:Engineers from Washington (state)]]
[[Category:Junior college men's basketball players in the United States]]
[[Category:NBA players with retired numbers]]
[[Category:Sportspeople from Ellensburg, Washington]]
[[Category:Power forwards]]

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