Bill Tosheff

William Mark Tosheff (June 2, 1926 – October 1, 2011) was an American professional basketball player.

A 6'1" guard, Tosheff played at Indiana University from 1947 to 1951 after a stint with the U.S. Army Air Corps.[1] From 1951 to 1954, he played in the NBA as a member of the Indianapolis Olympians and Milwaukee Hawks, averaging 9.2 points in 203 games.[2] Some sources list him as the 1952 NBA Co-Rookie of the Year (with Mel Hutchins);[1] however, official NBA guides generally have not included pre-1953 winners.[3]

In 1988, Tosheff founded the Pre-1965 NBA Players Association in order to secure fair pension plans for NBA players who were active before 1965.[4] Tosheff lobbied to close a loophole in the NBA pension that granted benefits to post-1965 players with a minimum of three years of service, but required pre-1965 players have five years of service.[5]

A San Diego resident, Tosheff died in Hawaii from cancer aged 85 on October 1, 2011.[6]

References
  1. Michael Schumacher. Mr. Basketball: George Mikan, the Minneapolis Lakers, and the Birth of the NBA. Bloomsbury, 2007. page 274.
  2. Bill Tosheff. basketball-reference.com. Retrieved on August 23, 2011.
  3. Bill Tosheff: NBA Co-Rookie of the Year and Tireless Advocate for the "Pre-1965ers" (Part II). 20 Second Timeout. March 2, 2009. Retrieved on August 23, 2011.
  4. Ron Kroichik. "Pensions in pro sports: An age old issue for all the big leagues". San Francisco Chronicle. March 18, 2007. Retrieved on August 23, 2011.
  5. Burstein, Rachel (January 1998). "Bill "Tosh" Tosheff". Mother Jones. 23 (1): 16. Retrieved September 1, 2011.
  6. Al Hamnik. "NBA pension fighter, Gary native Tosheff, dead at 85". nwitimes. October 3, 2011. Retrieved on October 3, 2011.
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