Foul King to Forgotten MVP — How Don Otten did it
The year was 1949 — probably the most significant year in the history of basketball when the Basketball Association of America(BAA) and National Basketball League(NBL) completed its merger to form the National Basketball Association, or the NBA as we know now. Also, it was an era that’s much debated about due to the difference in rules followed back then. Dunking was illegal and goaltending was legal — two rules that could decide the fate of championship teams in the modern game.
The one name that stands out from that era is certainly Geroge Mikan, aka Mr. Basketball. He defined the role of big men to such an extent that Mikan Drill, named in his honor, is still in practice. But, around the same time in NBL, there was another 6'10" big man whose career can be summarized to a single season — Don Otten. Going by the nickname “goalie” in high school when goaltending was still unheard of, he was one of the first-ever human beings to dunk the basketball. He just played 417 games in his career averaging 11.9 points per game.
The forgotten hero of the Tri-cities Blackhawks, the predecessor of the Atlanta Hawks, however, had one standout season — the 1948–49 season in which he was crowned the league MVP, scoring champion, and had an all-NBL first-team selection. Considering the fact that games were low scoring back then, all this was done by averaging 14 points for the season–which is probably not enough for a Rookie of the Year nomination today.
The unrivalled feat
On November 24th, 1949, Tri-cities Blackhawks played the Sheboygan Red Skins with just 5 players totally. Otten had just committed foul number six but didn’t get ejected since NBA Rule 3 allowed a player to stay in the game even after fouling out if there was nobody on the bench to replace him. Blackhawks went onto lose the game 113–120 and Otten ended the game with 12 points and a foul tally of 8 — a record still unmatched in the NBA. The “Foul King”, as we know him today, passed away in September 1985 and was inducted into the Ohio Basketball Hall of Fame in 2011.
