Milton W. Schoon is a retired American

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 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.

A 6-foot-7, 230-pound center

Center (basketball)

The center, colloquially known as the five or the post, is one of the standard positions in a regulation basketball game. The center is normally the tallest player on the team, and often has a great deal of strength and body mass as well...

, Schoon played for Valparaiso University

Valparaiso University

Valparaiso University, known colloquially as Valpo, is a regionally accredited private university located in the city of Valparaiso in the U.S. state of Indiana. Founded in 1859, it consists of five undergraduate colleges, a graduate school, a nursing school and a law school...

 during the 1940s, gaining fame for his ability to defend top-ranked player George Mikan

George Mikan

George Lawrence Mikan, Jr. , nicknamed Mr. Basketball, was an American professional basketball player for the Chicago American Gears of the National Basketball League and the Minneapolis Lakers of the NBL, the Basketball Association of America and the National Basketball Association...

 of DePaul University

DePaul University

DePaul University is a private institution of higher education and research in Chicago, Illinois. Founded by the Vincentians in 1898, the university takes its name from the 17th century French priest Saint Vincent de Paul...

. Schoon then played professionally in the BAA

Basketball Association of America

The Basketball Association of America was a professional basketball league in North America, founded in 1946. The league merged with the National Basketball League in 1949, forming the National Basketball Association ...

, NBL

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...

, NBA

National Basketball Association

The National Basketball Association is the pre-eminent men's professional basketball league in North America. It consists of thirty franchised member clubs, of which twenty-nine are located in the United States and one in Canada...

, and NPBL

National Professional Basketball League

National Professional Basketball League was a pro basketball league in the USA in . The league played just one season, with no championship finals ever being staged. Grand Rapids, Kansas City, Louisville and Saint Paul all disbanded during the season; Denver moved to Evansville...

 as a member of the Anderson Packers

Anderson Packers

The Anderson Packers also known as the Anderson Duffy Packers was a professional basketball team based in Anderson, Indiana, in the 1940s and 1950s....

, Detroit Falcons

Detroit Falcons (basketball)

The Detroit Falcons were a professional basketball team based in Detroit, Michigan. It played in the 1946–47 season in Basketball Association of America, a predecessor organization to the National Basketball Association...

, Flint Dow Chemicals, Sheboygan Redskins

Sheboygan Redskins

The Sheboygan Red Skins were a National Basketball League, National Basketball Association, National Professional Basketball League and professional independent team based in Sheboygan, Wisconsin, USA.- Barnstorming roots :...

 and Denver Frontier-Refiners.

Schoon is the last full-time player surviving from the Sheboygan Red Skins' 1949-50 NBA team. He platooned with Noble Jorgensen at center and played in all 62 games for the Red Skins that season, averaging eight points and shooting a team-best 41 percent from the field. Sheboygan's greatest conquests that season were victories over the New York Knicks, Rochester Royals, Syracuse Nationals and Minneapolis Lakers at the Sheboygan Auditorium and Armory. The Red Skins advanced to the NBA playoffs where they nearly eliminated the Western Division champion Indianapolis Olympians in a best-of-three series.

With the NPBL's Denver Frontier-Refiners in 1951, Schoon scored 363 points in 31 games, an 11.7 point average. He set a professional basketball scoring record with 64 points in a 99-72 victory over the Kansas City Hi-Spots on Jan. 21, 1951, at the Denver Auditorium. That record is currently held by Wilt Chamberlain

Wilt Chamberlain

Wilton Norman "Wilt" Chamberlain was an American professional NBA basketball player for the Philadelphia/San Francisco Warriors, the Philadelphia 76ers and the Los Angeles Lakers; he also played for the Harlem Globetrotters prior to playing in the NBA...

, who scored 100 points

Wilt Chamberlain's 100-point game

Wilt Chamberlain's 100-point game, named by the National Basketball Association as one of its greatest games, was a regular-season game between the Philadelphia Warriors and the New York Knicks held on March 2, 1962, at Hersheypark Arena in Hershey, Pennsylvania.The Warriors won the game 169-147,...

in a 1962 NBA game.

The Frontier-Refiners compiled an 18-16 record, but the team moved to Evansville late in the season and Schoon's professional career ended.

Schoon was elected to the Valparaiso Athletic Hall of Fame in 2000.

External links

• Milt Schoon at Valparaiso Hall of Fame