Ray Felix

American basketball player (1930–1991)

Ray FelixPersonal information

Born| (1930-12-10)December 10, 1930
New York City, U.S.
Died| July 28, 1991(1991-07-28) (aged 60)
New York City, U.S.
Listed height| 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m)
Listed weight| 220 lb (100 kg)
Career information
High school| Metropolitan
(New York City, New York)
College| LIU Brooklyn (1949–1951)
NBA draft| 1953: 1st round, 1st overall pick
Selected by the Baltimore Bullets
Playing career| 1952–1962
Position| Center
Number| 25, 19, 14
Career history
1952–1953| Manchester British-Americans
1953–1954| Baltimore Bullets
1954–1960| New York Knicks
1960–1962| Minneapolis/Los Angeles Lakers
Career highlights and awards

* NBA All-Star (1954)
* NBA Rookie of the Year (1954)

Career NBA statistics
Points| 6,974 (10.9 ppg)
Rebounds| 5,652 (8.9 rpg)
Assists| 458 (0.7 apg)
Stats at NBA.com
Stats at Basketball-Reference.com

Raymond Darlington Felix Sr. (December 10, 1930 – July 28, 1991) was an American professional basketball player. He was born in New York City. He played high school basketball at Metropolitan High School in New York and college basketball at Long Island University. Felix was the No. 1 overall pick of the 1953 NBA draft.

## Basketball career

[edit]

A 6' 11" center from Metropolitan High School and Long Island University, Felix was selected by the Baltimore Bullets with the first pick in the 1953 NBA draft.

Felix won the NBA Rookie of the Year Award in 1954 after averaging 17.6 points and 13.3 rebounds. Felix was also the second African-American, following Don Barksdale, to be named an All-Star. His 13.3 rebounds is on the List of National Basketball Association rookie single-season rebounding leaders.

After his rookie season, Felix was traded on September 17, 1954. The soon to be folded Baltimore Bullets traded Felix and Chuck Grigsby to the New York Knicks for Alfred McGuire and Connie Simmons.[1]

In six seasons with the Knicks, Felix averaged 12.0 points and 9.1 rebounds.[1]

On January 24, 1960 Felix was traded by the Knicks, with a 1960 4th round draft pick (Ben Warley was later selected), to the Minneapolis Lakers for Dick Garmaker and a 1960 2nd round draft pick (Dave Budd was later selected).[1]

In his Lakers tenure, the team moved from Minneapolis to Los Angeles and his role turned to a reserve one. He averaged 6.4 points and 6.7 rebounds in three seasons.[1]

The Lakers lost to the Celtics in the 1962 NBA Finals, in seven games. Felix averaged 4.0 points and 4.0 rebounds in the series, which marked the end of his NBA career.[2]

Overall, Felix spent nine seasons in the league, and played for the Bullets, New York Knicks and the Minneapolis/Los Angeles Lakers. Felix averaged 10.9 points and 8.9 rebounds per game, with career totals of 6,974 points and 5,652 rebounds. He retired in 1962.[1]

## Russell rivalry

[edit]

Felix had an incident with future Hall of Famer Bill Russell in Russell's rookie season, when, after Russell felt that Felix had been trying to intimidate him, he knocked Felix unconscious with a punch to the head.[3]

Toward the end of his career, after having several of his shots blocked by Russell, Felix took the ball and flung it off the side of the backboard, saying to Russell, smiling, "You didn't get that one!"[4]

Felix and the Lakers lost to Russell and the Celtics in the 1962 NBA Finals, in seven games.[2]

## After basketball

[edit]

Following his retirement, Felix worked for the New York City Department of Parks and Recreation[5] where he sponsored a basketball tournament in Elmhurst, Queens[6] and later worked as a supervisor at Harlem men's shelter.[7]

Felix died of a heart attack on July 28, 1991.

## Personal life

[edit]

Felix had a son, Ray Jr., with his wife Gloria.[8]

## NBA career statistics

[edit]

Legend  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

### Regular season

[edit]

Year  | Team  | GP  | MPG  | FG%  | FT%  | RPG  | APG  | PPG

|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|

1953–54 | Baltimore | 72  | 37.1 | .417  | .638  | 13.3 | 1.1 | 17.6
1954–55 | New York | 72  | 28.1  | .438  | .622  | 11.4  | 0.9  | 14.4
1955–56 | New York | 72  | 23.6  | .415  | .706  | 8.7  | 0.7  | 12.3
1956–57 | New York | 72  | 22.5  | .416  | .747 | 8.2  | 0.5  | 12.0
1957–58 | New York | 72  | 23.7  | .442 | .697  | 10.4  | 0.7  | 12.2
1958–59 | New York | 72  | 22.1  | .371  | .713  | 7.9  | 0.7  | 10.4
1959–60 | New York | 16  | 11.6  | .330  | .576  | 5.1  | 0.1  | 5.1
1959–60 | Minneapolis | 31  | 22.5  | .402  | .646  | 8.3  | 0.9  | 8.4
1960–61 | L.A. Lakers | 78  | 19.4  | .372  | .699  | 6.9  | 0.5  | 6.6
1961–62 | L.A. Lakers | 80 | 18.5  | .430  | .692  | 5.9  | 0.7  | 5.4
Career  | 637  | 23.8  | .412  | .678  | 8.9  | 0.7  | 10.9
All-Star  | 1  | 32.0  | .500  | 1.000  | 11.0  | 1.0  | 13.0

### Playoffs

[edit]

Year  | Team  | GP  | MPG  | FG%  | FT%  | RPG  | APG  | PPG

|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|

1955 | New York | 3  | 21.0  | .125  | .619  | 4.0  | 0.3  | 5.7
1959 | New York | 2  | 22.5  | .429  | .500  | 11.5 | 1.0  | 13.0
1960 | Minneapolis | 8  | 18.4  | .415  | .720  | 6.6  | 1.1 | 6.5
1961 | L.A. Lakers | 12  | 28.3 | .422  | .769 | 10.4  | 0.8  | 10.2
1962 | L.A. Lakers | 13 | 18.6  | .492 | .684  | 5.9  | 0.5  | 6.5
Career  | 38  | 22.0  | .419  | .701  | 7.6  | 0.8  | 7.9

## References

[edit]

1. ^ a b c d e "Ray Felix Stats". Basketball-Reference.com.
2. ^ a b "1962 NBA Finals - Los Angeles Lakers vs. Boston Celtics". Basketball-Reference.com.
3. ^ Taylor, John (2006). The Rivalry: Bill Russell, Wilt Chamberlain, and the Golden Age of Basketball. Random House. p. 77. "ray felix."
4. ^ Hundley, Rod; McEachin, Tom (1998). Hot Rod Hundley: "You Gotta Love It, Baby". Sports Publishing LLC. p. 31\. ISBN 9781571672438.
5. ^ Ray Felix, 60, Is Dead; Knicks Center in 50's. New York Times obituaries, July 31, 1991. Retrieved June 3, 2017.
6. ^ Mallozzi, Vincent (June 17, 2003). Asphalt Gods: An Oral History of the Rucker Tournament. Knopf Doubleday. ISBN 9780385506762.
7. ^ Berkow, Ira (August 1, 1991) Sports of The Times; Ray Felix Is Not Forgotten. New York Times. Retrieved June 3, 2017.
8. ^ "Ray Felix, 60, Is Dead; Knicks Center in 50's". July 31, 1991 - via NYTimes.com.

## External links

[edit]

* Ray Felix Career Stats

* v
* t
* e

1953 NBA draft

Territorial pick|

* Ernie Beck
* Walter Dukes
* Larry Hennessy

First round|

* Ray Felix
* Bob Houbregs
* Jack Molinas
* Richie Regan
* Frank Ramsey
* Jim Neal
* Jim Fritsche

Second round|

* Don Ackerman
* Bobby Speight
* George Glasgow
* Norm Swanson
* Chet Noe
* Dick Knostman
* Nield Gordon
* Ron Feiereisel

* v
* t
* e

NBA Rookie of the Year Award

* 1953: Meineke
* 1954: Felix
* 1955: Pettit
* 1956: Stokes
* 1957: Heinsohn
* 1958: Sauldsberry
* 1959: Baylor
* 1960: Chamberlain
* 1961: Robertson
* 1962: Bellamy
* 1963: Dischinger
* 1964: Lucas
* 1965: Reed
* 1966: Barry
* 1967: Bing
* 1968: Monroe
* 1969: Unseld
* 1970: Alcindor
* 1971: Cowens & Petrie
* 1972: Wicks
* 1973: McAdoo
* 1974: DiGregorio
* 1975: Wilkes
* 1976: Adams
* 1977: Dantley
* 1978: Davis
* 1979: Ford
* 1980: Bird
* 1981: Griffith
* 1982: Williams
* 1983: Cummings
* 1984: Sampson
* 1985: Jordan
* 1986: Ewing
* 1987: Person
* 1988: Jackson
* 1989: Richmond
* 1990: Robinson
* 1991: Coleman
* 1992: Johnson
* 1993: O'Neal
* 1994: Webber
* 1995: Hill & Kidd
* 1996: Stoudamire
* 1997: Iverson
* 1998: Duncan
* 1999: Carter
* 2000: Brand & Francis
* 2001: Miller
* 2002: Gasol
* 2003: Stoudemire
* 2004: James
* 2005: Okafor
* 2006: Paul
* 2007: Roy
* 2008: Durant
* 2009: Rose
* 2010: Evans
* 2011: Griffin
* 2012: Irving
* 2013: Lillard
* 2014: Carter-Williams
* 2015: Wiggins
* 2016: Towns
* 2017: Brogdon
* 2018: Simmons
* 2019: Dončić
* 2020: Morant
* 2021: Ball
* 2022: Barnes
* 2023: Banchero
* 2024: Wembanyama

* v
* t
* e

NBA first overall draft picks

* 1947: McNeely
* 1948: Tonkovich
* 1949: Shannon
* 1950: Share
* 1951: Melchiorre
* 1952: Workman
* 1953: Felix
* 1954: Selvy
* 1955: Ricketts
* 1956: Green
* 1957: Hundley
* 1958: Baylor
* 1959: Boozer
* 1960: Robertson
* 1961: Bellamy
* 1962: McGill
* 1963: Heyman
* 1964: Barnes
* 1965: Hetzel
* 1966: Russell
* 1967: Walker
* 1968: Hayes
* 1969: Alcindor
* 1970: Lanier
* 1971: Carr
* 1972: L. Martin
* 1973: Collins
* 1974: Walton
* 1975: D. Thompson
* 1976: Lucas
* 1977: Benson
* 1978: M. Thompson
* 1979: E. Johnson
* 1980: Carroll
* 1981: Aguirre
* 1982: Worthy
* 1983: Sampson
* 1984: Olajuwon
* 1985: Ewing
* 1986: Daugherty
* 1987: D. Robinson
* 1988: Manning
* 1989: Ellison
* 1990: Coleman
* 1991: L. Johnson
* 1992: O'Neal
* 1993: Webber
* 1994: G. Robinson
* 1995: Smith
* 1996: Iverson
* 1997: Duncan
* 1998: Olowokandi
* 1999: Brand
* 2000: K. Martin
* 2001: Brown
* 2002: Yao
* 2003: James
* 2004: Howard
* 2005: Bogut
* 2006: Bargnani
* 2007: Oden
* 2008: Rose
* 2009: Griffin
* 2010: Wall
* 2011: Irving
* 2012: Davis
* 2013: Bennett
* 2014: Wiggins
* 2015: Towns
* 2016: Simmons
* 2017: Fultz
* 2018: Ayton
* 2019: Williamson
* 2020: Edwards
* 2021: Cunningham
* 2022: Banchero
* 2023: Wembanyama
* 2024: Risacher

* v
* t
* e

American Basketball League (1925–1955) season scoring leaders

* 1926: Saunders
* 1927: Saunders
* 1928: Topel
* 1929: Borgmann
* 1930: Borgmann
* 1931: Borgmann
* 1934: Spahn
* 1935: Johnson
* 1936: McDermott
* 1937: Rabin
* 1938: Rabin
* 1939: Rabin
* 1940: McDermott
* 1941: Rosenberg
* 1942: Frankel
* 1943: Juenger
* 1944: Bloom
* 1945: Bloom
* 1946: Hillhouse
* 1947: Resnick
* 1948: Ostrowski
* 1949: Holub
* 1950: Morgenthaler
* 1951: Ezersky
* 1952: Colone
* 1953: Felix

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