Charlie Tyra

Charlie Tyra
Personal information
Born(1935-08-16)August 16, 1935
Louisville, Kentucky, U.S.
DiedDecember 29, 2006(2006-12-29) (aged 71)
Louisville, Kentucky, U.S.
Listed height6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)
Listed weight230 lb (104 kg)
Career information
High schoolAtherton (Louisville, Kentucky)
CollegeLouisville (1953–1957)
NBA draft1957: 1st round, 2nd overall pick
Selected by the Detroit Pistons
Playing career1957–1963
PositionPower forward / center
Number14
Career history
19571961New York Knicks
1961–1962Chicago Packers
1962–1963Pittsburgh Rens
Career highlights and awards
Career NBA statistics
Points3,091 (8.9 ppg)
Rebounds2,567 (7.4 rpg)
Assists315 (0.9 apg)
Stats at NBA.com Edit this at Wikidata
Stats at Basketball Reference Edit this at Wikidata

Charles E. Tyra (/ˈtr/ Tie-RAY;[1] August 16, 1935 – December 29, 2006) was an American basketball player who is best known as the first Louisville Cardinal All-American. He played five seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA) for the New York Knicks and Chicago Packers.

Basketball career

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Tyra as a senior at Louisville.

Tyna attended Atherton High School in Louisville, Kentucky and played collegiately for the Louisville Cardinals from 1953 to 1957.

Tyra was a 1957 All-American. He is still the school's leading all-time rebounder and ranks 11th on the NCAA career rebounds list with 1,617. He was the first and one of five to have their basketball jersey number retired by Louisville Cardinals.

Tyra was the No. 2 overall pick of the 1957 NBA draft by the Detroit Pistons. Prior to the April 17, 1957 draft day, on April 3, 1957, the #2 pick (Tyra) was traded by the Pistons with Mel Hutchins to the New York Knicks for Dick Atha, Nathaniel Clifton and Harry Gallatin.[2]

On May 16, 1961, Tyra was traded by the New York Knicks with Bob McNeill to the Chicago Packers for Dave Budd.[2]

Overall, Tyra played five seasons in the National Basketball Association for the New York Knicks (19571961) and Chicago Packers (1961–1962). He played one season with the Pittsburgh Rens (1962–1963) of the American Basketball League. Tyra averaged 8.9 points and 7.4 rebounds in 348 NBA games.[2]

Personal

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Tyra died, aged 71, at the Franciscan Health Care Center in Louisville, Kentucky on December 29, 2006; he had been diagnosed with congestive heart failure more than two years earlier.[3]

Tyra's son, Vince Tyra, served as athletic director at the University of Louisville from 2018 to 2021. He served as the interim athletic director after the departure of Tom Jurich and was appointed permanently to the position on March 26, 2018, before leaving on December 10, 2021.

Career statistics

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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

NBA

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Source[2]

Regular season

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Year Team GP MPG FG% FT% RPG APG PPG
1957–58 New York 68 17.4 .357 .670 7.1 .5 7.4
1958–59 New York 69 23.0 .396 .679 7.0 .5 8.8
1959–60 New York 74 27.5 .426 .704 8.1 1.1 12.8
1960–61 New York 59 23.8 .362 .694 6.7 1.4 8.8
1961–62 Chicago 78 20.6 .361 .621 7.8 1.1 6.7
Career 348 22.4 .387 .672 7.4 .9 8.9

Playoffs

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Year Team GP MPG FG% FT% RPG APG PPG
1959 New York 2 27.5 .429 .667 15.5 .5 15.0

See also

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References

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  1. ^ Vince Tyra (profile) – University of Louisville Athletics (same surname pronunciations for both father and son). Retrieved October 28, 2021
  2. ^ a b c d "Charlie Tyra NBA stats". Basketball Reference. Sports Reference, LLC. Retrieved November 26, 2023.
  3. ^ "Louisville's first All-American Tyra passes away at 71". ESPN.com. December 31, 2006.
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