Courtesy of GoBonnies.com
St. Bonaventure basketball legend Sam Stith ’60 was among the nine new members inducted into the New York City Basketball Hall of Fame on Sept. 14.
Stith joined the Hall along with fellow players Steve Burtt, Olden Polynice, Jayson Williams and Willie Worsley. Gus Alfieri was the coach inductee while Jim Couch and Jerry Reinsdorf were inducted in the contributor category and Howard Garfinkel was a trustee inductee.
The 27th induction ceremony of the Hall was held at the famed New York Athletic Club.
Stith embodied the brand of basketball played on the streets of Harlem, where he lived since he was two years old. He attended St. Francis High School in Queens.
Recruited to St. Bonaventure by head coach Eddie Donovan, Stith became the point man for a defensive system that led to the development of the zone press. He also was a savvy all-around point guard. Over his college career, which spanned three varsity seasons, Stith scored 1,112 points and grabbed 620 rebounds.
Sam will be forever linked with his late brother, Tom, who was a year younger and also starred for the Bonnies. The brothers helped lift St. Bonaventure to three straight NIT appearances from 1958-60. As a senior in 1959-60, Sam helped lead the Brown and White to a 21-5 record, including 18 straight wins, and a fourth-place finish in the NIT. He averaged 20.5 points per game.
Following graduation, Sam was selected by the Cincinnati Royals in the 1960 NBA Draft. He played for the Royals and then his hometown New York Knicks.
In 1969, Sam was inducted into St. Bonaventure’s Athletics Hall of Fame as part of its inaugural class. His number 22 is retired at St. Bonaventure.
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