Lauren "Laddie" Gale was an American collegiate

National Collegiate Athletic Association

The National Collegiate Athletic Association is a semi-voluntary association of 1,281 institutions, conferences, organizations and individuals that organizes the athletic programs of many colleges and universities in the United States...

 and professional basketball

Basketball

Basketball is a team sport in which two teams of five players try to score points by throwing or "shooting" a ball through the top of a basketball hoop while following a set of rules...

 player.

NCAA championship

A native of Oakridge, Oregon

Oakridge, Oregon

Oakridge is a city in Lane County, Oregon, United States. The population was estimated at 3,205 in 2010. It is located east of Westfir on Oregon Route 58, about east of Eugene, and southeast of Portland...

, the 6'4" Gale played forward for the University of Oregon

University of Oregon

-Colleges and schools:The University of Oregon is organized into eight schools and colleges—six professional schools and colleges, an Arts and Sciences College and an Honors College.- School of Architecture and Allied Arts :...

 under head coach Howard Hobson

Howard Hobson

Howard Andrew "Hobby" Hobson was a college basketball coach, who authored numerous books on the subject. He also has the distinction of coaching the team who won the National Collegiate Athletic Association Championship with the Oregon Ducks in its inaugural year of 1939.-Playing career:Hobson...

. He was the second-tallest player (behind 6'8" Urgel "Slim" Wintermute

Slim Wintermute

Urgel "Slim" Wintermute was an American collegiate and professional basketball player.-Collegiate career:...

) on the team, which was dubbed "The Tall Firs."

Gale led the Ducks in scoring in 1938 and 1939, earning all-Pacific Coast Conference

Pacific Coast Conference

The Pacific Coast Conference was a college athletic conference in the United States which existed from 1915 to 1959. Though the Pacific-12 Conference claims the PCC's history as part of its own, the older league had a completely different charter and was disbanded in 1959 due to a major crisis...

 honors in each season. In 1939, Gale led the Ducks to a national championship in the first-ever Division I men's basketball tournament

1939 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament

-External links:* on Shrp Sports * , source for much of the information on this page.-See also:* 1939 NAIA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament...

.

Professional career and later years

After graduation, Gale played professionally in 1939 and 1940 for the Detroit Eagles

Detroit Eagles

The Detroit Eagles were a professional basketball team based in Detroit, Michigan. Managed by Dutch Dehnert, they played in the National Basketball League from 1939 to 1941, then became a barnstorming team...

 of the National Basketball League

National Basketball League (United States)

Founded in 1937, the National Basketball League, often abbreviated to NBL, was a professional men's basketball league in the United States. The league would later merge with the Basketball Association of America  to form the National Basketball Association  in 1949.- League history :The...

. He left the Eagles in to serve in World War II

World War II

World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

, reportedly after being the first Oregon draftee

Conscription

Conscription is the compulsory enlistment of people in some sort of national service, most often military service. Conscription dates back to antiquity and continues in some countries to the present day under various names...

 selected by lottery. After the war, he played on several semi-pro teams and retired from basketball in 1949.

He died in Gold Beach, Oregon

Gold Beach, Oregon

Gold Beach is a city in and the county seat of Curry County, Oregon, United States, on the Oregon Coast. The population was 1,897 at the 2000 census.-History:...

 on July 29, 1996.

Halls of Fame

For his stellar collegiate play, for being the first college player regularly to employ a one-handed shot, and for helping to popularize the sport of basketball in the American West, Gale was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 1977 and was an inaugural inductee of the Oregon Sports Hall of Fame

Oregon Sports Hall of Fame

The Oregon Sports Hall of Fame honors Oregon athletes, teams, coaches, and others who have made a significant contribution to sports in Oregon. The first class was inducted in 1980, with new inductees added in the fall...

in 1980. He is also a member of the University of Oregon Hall of Fame.