Cornelius Leo "Connie" Simmons (March 15, 1925 – April 15, 1989) was an American professional basketball player. He was born in Newark, New Jersey.
 Simmons, circa 1953 | |
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Born | March 15, 1925 Newark, New Jersey |
| Died | April 15, 1989 (aged 64) |
| Nationality | American |
| Listed height | 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) |
| Listed weight | 222 lb (101 kg) |
| Career information | |
| High school | Flushing (Flushing, New York) |
| Playing career | 1946–1956 |
| Position | Center / forward |
| Number | 10, 33, 11, 6, 18, 4 |
| Career history | |
| 1946–1948 | Boston Celtics |
| 1948–1949 | Baltimore Bullets |
| 1949–1954 | New York Knicks |
| 1954–1955 | Syracuse Nationals |
| 1954 | Baltimore Bullets |
| 1955–1956 | Rochester Royals |
| Career highlights and awards | |
| Career BAA/NBA statistics | |
| Points | 5,859 |
| Rebounds | 2,294 |
| Assists | 940 |
| Stats at NBA.com | |
| Stats at Basketball-Reference.com | |
A 6'8" forward/center from Flushing High School in New York City, Simmons played ten seasons (1946–56) in the National Basketball Association as a member of the Boston Celtics, Baltimore Bullets, New York Knicks, Syracuse Nationals and Rochester Royals. He averaged 9.8 points per game and 6.2 rebounds per game in his career and was a member of two league championship teams: the 1948 Bullets and the 1955 Nationals. He was the second player to enter the NBA without having played in college, after Tony Kappen.[1]
Connie was the brother of professional basketball and baseball player Johnny Simmons.[2]
BAA/NBA career statistics
| GP | Games played | GS | Games started | MPG | Minutes per game |
| FG% | Field goal percentage | 3P% | 3-point field goal percentage | FT% | Free throw percentage |
| RPG | Rebounds per game | APG | Assists per game | SPG | Steals per game |
| BPG | Blocks per game | PPG | Points per game | Bold | Career high |
| † | Won an NBA championship |
Regular season
| Year | Team | GP | MPG | FG% | FT% | RPG | APG | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1946–47 | Boston | 60 | – | .320 | .677 | – | 1.0 | 10.3 |
| 1947–48 | Boston | 32 | – | .295 | .593 | – | .5 | 7.8 |
| 1947–48† | Baltimore | 13 | – | .302 | .556 | – | .5 | 10.6 |
| 1948–49 | Baltimore | 60 | – | .377 | .683 | – | 1.9 | 13.0 |
| 1949–50 | New York | 60 | – | .331 | .662 | – | 1.7 | 11.3 |
| 1950–51 | New York | 66 | – | .374 | .702 | 6.5 | 1.8 | 9.2 |
| 1951–52 | New York | 66 | 23.6 | .378 | .689 | 7.1 | 1.8 | 9.5 |
| 1952–53 | New York | 65 | 26.3 | .377 | .732 | 7.0 | 2.0 | 11.2 |
| 1953–54 | New York | 72 | 27.9 | .358 | .689 | 6.7 | 1.8 | 10.0 |
| 1954–55 | Baltimore / Syracuse | 36 | 23.9 | .357 | .632 | 6.1 | 1.7 | 9.6 |
| 1955–56 | Rochester | 68 | 13.3 | .336 | .605 | 3.5 | 1.2 | 5.4 |
| Career | 598 | 22.9 | .351 | .678 | 6.2 | 1.6 | 9.8 | |
Playoffs
| Year | Team | GP | MPG | FG% | FT% | RPG | APG | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1948† | Baltimore | 11 | – | .371 | .744 | – | 1.0 | 17.1 |
| 1949 | Baltimore | 3 | – | .351 | .759 | – | 2.3 | 16.0 |
| 1950 | New York | 5 | – | .275 | .952 | – | 1.4 | 8.4 |
| 1951 | New York | 14 | – | .364 | .618 | 6.7 | 1.7 | 10.9 |
| 1952 | New York | 14 | 30.5 | .464 | .764 | 7.7 | .9 | 15.9 |
| 1953 | New York | 11 | 31.0 | .367 | .729 | 7.5 | 2.3 | 13.2 |
| 1954 | New York | 4 | 27.8 | .323 | .694 | 8.3 | 2.5 | 11.3 |
| Career | 62 | 30.3 | .382 | .731 | 7.4 | 1.5 | 13.6 | |
References
External links
- Career statistics and player information from NBA.com and Basketball-Reference.com