PHILADELPHIA (12/04/12) – Hal Lear, arguably one of the greatest players ever to don the Cherry and White, will have his uniform number (#6) retired in a ceremony at halftime of Temple’s game versus Richmond on Wednesday, January 30 at the Liacouras Center. Lear joins his backcourt mate, Guy Rodgers, Mark Macon and Bill Mlkvy as the only players in the 115-year history of the men’s basketball program to be so honored.
It marks the first Temple University men’s basketball number to be retired since November 21, 1999 when Macon’s #12 was retired in a ceremony at the Owls’ season-opening game against Miami (OH) University.
“I am grateful for this honor, but more importantly I feel so privileged to have gone to Temple,” said Lear. “Education is so important and I was well educated at Temple. The most important award I received when I left Temple was being named the team’s Outstanding Scholar Athlete. That means the most to me. When I look back on my time there I remember the many people who I met and who have gone on to achieve in life in so many ways.”
“Temple has had many great players over the years help the program become the sixth winningest all-time, but Hal Lear clearly is at an elite level,” said Temple University Director of Athletics Bill Bradshaw. “He not only teamed with Guy Rodgers to make the best backcourt in Philadelphia Basketball history, but was the leading scorer on Temple’s first Final Four team, earning MVP honors for his incredible performance in the tournament.”
Lear, who played his prep ball at Philadelphia’s Overbrook High School, is one of only three Temple players to have averaged 20 or more points in two different seasons (Macon and Rodgers are the other two). After averaging 9.6 points per game (4th on the team) in 1953-54, his first season as an Owl, he became just the second TU player to average 20 or more points for a season in 1954-55 when he turned in a 22.2 points per game campaign.
As a senior, teamed with Rodgers, he set the still-standing school record of 745 points in a season and his 24.0 season scoring average ranks fourth in the Temple annals. A first team all-District honoree that season, he helped lead the Owls to a 27-4 record and the program’s first trip to the NCAA Final Four. Nationally-ranked for the first time in program history, Temple ended the season ranked 13th by the Associated Press.
On the game’s biggest stage, Lear shined, scoring 32 points in an 83-76 loss to Iowa in the national semifinals. He followed that with a then NCAA record 48 points to lead Temple to a 90-81win over SMU in the third place game. So it was no surprise when he was named the 1956 Final Four’s Most Valuable Player, one of only five players to earn the honor without competing in the title game. The others are Wilt Chamberlain (Kansas, 1957), Art Heyman (Duke, 1963), Bill Bradley (Princeton, 1965) and Jerry Chambers (Utah, 1966).
“Hal Lear is not only one of the greatest players, but one of the greatest people in Temple basketball history, and so deserving of this honor,” said Temple men’s basketball coach Fran Dunphy. “To score 80 points in the Final Four is an amazing accomplishment, especially in an era without the three-point shot.”
Lear, who served as co-captain of the 1955-56 team along with Hal Reinfeld, was also part of arguably the biggest win in Temple’s history, a 73-61 victory at #2 Kentucky on December 10, 1955. Lear had 19 points in the game, the Owls’ third of the season, to help spoil Kentucky’s home opener and hand the juggernaut Wildcats just their second home loss in a dozen years. Temple would make its first appearance in the Associated Press Top 20 poll the following week, entering at #11.
For his career, Lear scored 1,472 points over 79 games for a 19.0 scoring average. His point total was second at the time of his graduation and currently ranks 17th in Temple history. The left-handed guard was a two-time NABC First Team all-District honoree and was selected by the Philadelphia Warriors in the 1956 NBA Draft. After a brief stint with the Warriors, Lear went on to a nine-year career in the Eastern League, and was named to the league’s All-Time team during its 50th Anniversary season.
Retired now after a 30-year career at Albert Einstein School of Medicine as an Executive Administrator of the Department of Psychiatry, Lear lives in Phoenix with his wife, Maggie O’Keefe Lear. The couple has nine children, 21 grandchildren and one great grandchild.
I keep on thinking I know Hal Lear, but I think I am confusing him with Hal Greer, who had a lengthy career with the Warriors. Too bad I didn’t know Lear. He sounds like the kind of player I would have very much admired. His years were when even I was a bit young, so I was not aware of Temple’s accomplishments at that time. Quite impressive; both Lear and TU!
Pete – I made the same connection as you with Hal Greer. Easy to do considering the Philly connection. I would love to catch some footage of that ’56 team.