View source for Ralph Beard

{{Short description|American basketball player (1927–2007)}}
{{for|the baseball player|Ralph Beard (baseball)}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=January 2019}}
{{Infobox basketball biography
| name         = Ralph Beard
| image        = Ralph Beard.jpg
| width        =
| caption      =
| height_ft    = 5
| height_in    = 10
| weight_lb    = 175
| birth_date   = {{birth date|1927|12|02}}
| birth_place  = [[Hardinsburg, Kentucky]], U.S.
| death_date   = {{death date and age|2007|11|29|1927|12|02}}
| death_place  = [[Louisville, Kentucky]], U.S.
| high_school  = [[Louisville Male High School|Louisville Male]]<br>(Louisville, Kentucky)
| college      = [[Kentucky Wildcats men's basketball|Kentucky]] (1945–1949)
| draft_year   = 1949
| draft_league = BAA
| draft_round  = 2
| draft_pick   = 22
| draft_team   = [[Chicago Stags]]
| career_number = 12
| career_position = [[Guard (basketball)|Guard]]
| career_start = 1949
| career_end   = 1951
| years1          = {{nbay|1949|start}}–{{nbay|1950|end}}
| team1           = [[Indianapolis Olympians]]
| highlights   = 
*[[List of NBA All-Stars|NBA All-Star]] (1951)
* [[All-NBA Team|All-NBA First-Team]] (1951)
*2× [[List of NCAA Division I men's basketball champions|NCAA champion]] ([[1948 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament|1948]], [[1949 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament|1949]])
*3× Consensus first-team [[NCAA Men's Basketball All-Americans|All-American]] ([[1947 NCAA Men's Basketball All-Americans|1947]]–[[1949 NCAA Men's Basketball All-Americans|1949]])
* First-team [[List of All-SEC men's basketball teams|All-SEC]] (1949)
| stat1label      = [[Point (basketball)|Points]]
| stat1value      = 2,006 (15.9 ppg)
| stat2label      = [[Rebound (basketball)|Rebounds]]
| stat2value      = 251 (3.8 rpg)
| stat3label      = [[Assist (basketball)|Assists]]
| stat3value      = 551 (4.4 apg)
| medaltemplates = 
{{MedalSport|Men's [[basketball]]}}
{{MedalCountry | the {{USA}} }}
{{MedalGold|[[1948 Summer Olympics|1948 London]] | [[Basketball at the 1948 Summer Olympics|Team competition]]}}
}} 
'''Ralph Milton Beard Jr.''' (December 2, 1927 – November 29, 2007) was an American collegiate and professional [[basketball]] player.<ref>[https://www.basketball-reference.com/players/b/beardra01.html Ralph Beard Statistics]</ref><ref>{{Cite news|last=Goldstein|first=Richard|date=2007-12-03|title=Ralph Beard, a Star Tarnished by Point Shaving, Is Dead at 79 (Published 2007)|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2007/12/03/sports/ncaabasketball/03beard.html|access-date=2020-11-01|issn=0362-4331}}</ref>
He won two NCAA national [[basketball]] championships at the [[University of Kentucky]] and played two years in the [[National Basketball Association]] prior to being barred for life for his participation in the [[CCNY point shaving scandal|1951 point shaving scandal]].<ref>{{Cite web|title=Ralph Beard Stats|url=https://www.basketball-reference.com/players/b/beardra01.html|access-date=2020-11-01|website=Basketball-Reference.com|language=en}}</ref>

==Early life==
Beard was born in [[Hardinsburg, Kentucky]]. Beard grew up in [[Louisville, Kentucky|Louisville]] and attended [[Louisville Male High School]]. He later cited the family's finances as a reason he took money from gamblers. His mother worked as a cleaning lady after his father left the family.<ref name=NYTimesObit>{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2007/11/30/obituaries/30beard.html |title=Ralph Beard, Kentucky Star Involved in Point-Shaving Scandal, Is Dead at 79 |work=New York Times |date=November 30, 2007}}</ref>

== College career ==
He was a member of [[Adolph Rupp]]'s "[[Fabulous Five (Kentucky Wildcats)|Fabulous Five]]" [[University of Kentucky]] basketball team, with [[Alex Groza]], [[Wallace Jones]], [[Cliff Barker]], and [[Kenny Rollins]].<ref name=SI/> Beard won a gold medal in the [[1948 Summer Olympics]] with the Fabulous Five and the [[Phillips 66ers]].<ref name="SportsRef">{{cite Sports-Reference |url=https://www.sports-reference.com/olympics/athletes/be/ralph-beard-1.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200418120705/https://www.sports-reference.com/olympics/athletes/be/ralph-beard-1.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=April 18, 2020 |title=Ralph Beard Olympic Results |access-date=June 14, 2018}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|date=2016-06-16|title=Ralph BEARD – Olympic Basketball {{!}} United States of America|url=https://www.olympic.org/ralph-beard|access-date=2020-11-01|website=International Olympic Committee|language=en}}</ref>

== Professional career ==

=== Indianapolis Olympians (1949–1951) ===
[[File:Ralph-Beard-jersey.jpg|thumb|left|upright|A jersey honoring Beard hangs in [[Rupp Arena]].]]
Taken in the second round of the 1949 [[National Basketball Association|NBA]] draft, Beard played two seasons with the [[Indianapolis Olympians]] and averaged 15.9 points and 4.4 assists per game.<ref>{{cite web|url= http://www.straitpinkie.com/kentucky-2/all-time-kentucky-team-starting-pg-12-ralph-beard/|title= All-Time Kentucky Team (Starting PG): #12 Ralph Beard|publisher= straitpinkie.com|access-date= May 27, 2013|url-status= dead|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20131005231849/http://www.straitpinkie.com/kentucky-2/all-time-kentucky-team-starting-pg-12-ralph-beard/|archive-date= October 5, 2013}}</ref>

=== CCNY point shaving scandal ===
In October 1951, authorities charged him along with his former teammates [[Alex Groza]] and [[Dale Barnstable]] with taking bribes as part of the [[CCNY point shaving scandal|1951 NCAA point shaving scandal]]. They pleaded guilty and received suspended sentences but the NBA Commissioner [[Maurice Podoloff]] banned all three for life from the NBA. Beard admitted that he took $700 but denied that he had ever shaved points in a game.<ref name=NYTimesObit/> He claimed that [[Frank Hogan]], the New York district attorney, conspired with Podoloff of the NBA and Cardinal [[Francis Spellman]], the [[Roman Catholic Archdiocese of New York|Archbishop of New York]] to go after Midwestern players in an effort to protect players at Catholic colleges.<ref name=SI>{{cite news |url=https://www.si.com/college-basketball/2007/11/30/beard |title=The story of Ralph Beard |publisher=Sports Illustrated |date=November 30, 2007}}</ref>

==== Aftermath ====
He worked in the pharmaceutical industry afterward. His only involvement in the sport after his ban was some scouting work with the [[Kentucky Colonels]] of the [[American Basketball Association]].<ref name=NYTimesObit/> He tried playing professional baseball but his ban for gambling prevented him from that sport as well.<ref name=WaPo>{{cite news |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/11/30/AR2007113002411.html |title=Ralph Beard; Scheme Clouded Hoops Career |work=Washington Post |date=December 1, 2007}}</ref>

== NBA career statistics ==
{{NBA player statistics legend}}

=== Regular season ===
{| class="wikitable sortable" style="font-size:95%; text-align:right;"
!Year
!Team
!GP
!MPG
!FG%
!FT%
!RPG
!APG
!PPG
|-
| style="text-align:left;" |[[1949–50 NBA season|1949–50]]
| style="text-align:left;" |[[1949–50 Indianapolis Olympians season|Indianapolis]]
|60
|–
|.363
|.762
|–
|3.9
|14.9
|-
| style="text-align:left;" |[[1950–51 NBA season|1950–51]]
| style="text-align:left;" |[[1950–51 Indianapolis Olympians season|Indianapolis]]
|'''66'''
|–
|'''.368'''
|'''.775'''
|'''3.8'''
|'''4.8'''
|'''16.8'''
|- class="sortbottom"
| colspan="2" style="text-align:center;" |Career
|126
|–
|.366
|.770
|3.8
|4.4
|15.9
|- class="sortbottom"
| colspan="2" style="text-align:center;" |All-Star
|1
|–
|.375
|.000
|3.0
|2.0
|6.0
|}

=== Playoffs ===
{| class="wikitable sortable" style="font-size:95%; text-align:right;"
!Year
!Team
!GP
!MPG
!FG%
!FT%
!RPG
!APG
!PPG
|-
| style="text-align:left;" |[[1950 NBA Playoffs|1950]]
| style="text-align:left;" |[[1949–50 Indianapolis Olympians season|Indianapolis]]
|'''5'''
|–
|.314
|'''.786'''
|–
|'''4.4'''
|13.2
|-
| style="text-align:left;" |[[1951 NBA Playoffs|1951]]
| style="text-align:left;" |[[1950–51 Indianapolis Olympians season|Indianapolis]]
|3
|–
|'''.443'''
|.706
|'''4.0'''
|4.3
|'''22.0'''
|- class="sortbottom"
| colspan="2" style="text-align:center;" |Career
|8
|–
|.374
|.756
|4.0
|4.4
|16.5
|}

== Personal life ==
Later in life, the University of Kentucky welcomed Beard back. The school retired his jersey {{citation needed span|text=in 1995|date=November 2019}} and invited him to speak to players about point shaving.<ref name="SI" />

In 1985, he was inducted into the [[Kentucky Athletic Hall of Fame]].<ref name="SI" />

Beard died on November 29, 2007, at his [[Louisville, Kentucky]] home.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20071214004412/http://sports.yahoo.com/ncaab/news?slug=ap-obit-ralphbeard&prov=ap&type=lgns Former UK star Ralph Beard, part of a college basketball point-shaving scandal, dies at 79] Yahoo! Sports. November 29, 2007.</ref><ref name="NYTimesObit" />

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
{{Commons category}} <!-- for current and future use if material is uploaded -->
{{Portal|Biography}}
*[http://www.bigbluehistory.net/bb/Statistics/Players/Beard_Ralph.html Ralph Beard profile]
*[http://www.nba.com/historical/playerfile/index.html?player=ralph_beard Ralph Beard Info Page] at [[NBA.com]]
*{{Basketballstats|bbr=b/beardra01}}
*{{baseballstats|brm=beard-002ral}}

{{navboxes
|list=
{{Footer 1948 Olympic Champions Basketball Men}}
{{1948 Kentucky Wildcats men's basketball navbox}}
{{1949 Kentucky Wildcats men's basketball navbox}}
{{1947 NCAA Men's Basketball Consensus All-Americans}}
{{1948 NCAA Men's Basketball Consensus All-Americans}}
{{1949 NCAA Men's Basketball Consensus All-Americans}}
{{1949 BAA Draft}}
}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Beard, Ralph}}
[[Category:1927 births]]
[[Category:2007 deaths]]
[[Category:All-American college men's basketball players]]
[[Category:American men's basketball players]]
[[Category:Banned NBA players]]
[[Category:Basketball players at the 1948 Summer Olympics]]
[[Category:Basketball players from Louisville, Kentucky]]
[[Category:College basketball controversies in the United States]]
[[Category:Chicago Stags draft picks]]
[[Category:Guards (basketball)]]
[[Category:Indianapolis Olympians players]]
[[Category:Kentucky Wildcats men's basketball players]]
[[Category:Louisville Male High School alumni]]
[[Category:Medalists at the 1948 Summer Olympics]]
[[Category:NBA All-Stars]]
[[Category:Olympic gold medalists for the United States in basketball]]
[[Category:People from Hardinsburg, Kentucky]]
[[Category:United States men's national basketball team players]]
[[Category:Bluefield Blue-Grays players]]
[[Category:Pawtucket Slaters players]]
[[Category:Evansville Braves players]]
[[Category:20th-century American sportsmen]]