Tony Lavelli
Encyclopedia
Anthony Lavelli, Jr. was an American basketball
player and musician. He averaged 6.9 points per game during his two year NBA
career (1949–1951) while also providing half-time
entertainment with his accordion
performances.
, Lavelli attended Yale University
as a music student and was a member of Skull and Bones
. He aspired to compose musical comedies
after he graduated. He wrote over a dozen songs while in college, with titles like "I Want a Helicopter" and "You're the Boppiest Bee-Bop", and he also appeared as an accordion soloist for the New Haven Symphony Orchestra
. As a senior, he applied to the Juilliard School
, the Curtis Institute of Music
, and the New England Conservatory of Music
.
However, Lavelli's musical talents were often overshadowed by his achievements on the basketball court. Lavelli claimed that he had only learned basketball as a teenager to impress his friends, who were mostly apathetic to his music. Nevertheless, he would become one of Yale's all-time greatest players. A 6'3" forward with an accurate one-handed hook shot
, he scored 1,964 points in four years and graduated as the fourth highest-scorer in college basketball history. He also earned four All-America
n team selections and one Player of the Year award during his college career. Upon graduating, he was selected as the first overall pick of the Boston Celtics
in the 1949 BAA Draft
.
and certain visitors' arenas. The Celtics conceded to his demands.
Lavelli made his Celtics debut on November 24, 1949 in a game against the Fort Wayne Pistons
. He tallied 20 points in his first game, and would average 8.8 points per game over the course of the 1949-50 NBA season
. However, he received much more attention for his half-time accordion performances; indeed, some basketball historians have credited Lavelli's mini-concerts for saving the early Celtics franchise, which was in danger of folding due to lack of fans and money. In a typical performance, Lavelli would greet the fans and play “Granada
,” “Lady of Spain
,” and other musical pieces before dashing off to the Celtics' locker room. He usually played in his basketball jersey, as he had little time to change his clothes. The Celtics unfortunately finished last in their division that season, but one newspaper joked that the team "doubtless [found] his music soothing".
Lavelli signed with the rival New York Knicks
prior to the start of the 1950-51 NBA season
. He averaged 3.3 points per game with the Knicks and participated in their playoff run, which ended in the 1951 NBA Finals
at the hands of the Rochester Royals
. However, Lavelli had joined the Knicks specifically so that he would be close to Juilliard, and he finally began taking courses there during his tenure with the team.
During the mid-1950s, Lavelli played with the College All-Stars, who primarily served as opponents to the Harlem Globetrotters
, and his accordion performances became a fixture of the Globetrotters’ halftime shows.
at his home in Laconia, New Hampshire
and died shortly afterwards.
.
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 and musician. He averaged 6.9 points per game during his two year 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...
career (1949–1951) while also providing half-time
Half-time
In some team sports such as association football and rugby, matches are played in two halves. Half-time is the name given to the interval between the two halves of the match...
entertainment with his accordion
Accordion
The accordion is a box-shaped musical instrument of the bellows-driven free-reed aerophone family, sometimes referred to as a squeezebox. A person who plays the accordion is called an accordionist....
performances.
College
A native of Somerville, MassachusettsSomerville, Massachusetts
Somerville is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States, located just north of Boston. As of the 2010 census, the city had a total population of 75,754 and was the most densely populated municipality in New England. It is also the 17th most densely populated incorporated place in...
, Lavelli attended Yale University
Yale University
Yale University is a private, Ivy League university located in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701 in the Colony of Connecticut, the university is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States...
as a music student and was a member of Skull and Bones
Skull and Bones
Skull and Bones is an undergraduate senior or secret society at Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut. It is a traditional peer society to Scroll and Key and Wolf's Head, as the three senior class 'landed societies' at Yale....
. He aspired to compose musical comedies
Musical theatre
Musical theatre is a form of theatre combining songs, spoken dialogue, acting, and dance. The emotional content of the piece – humor, pathos, love, anger – as well as the story itself, is communicated through the words, music, movement and technical aspects of the entertainment as an...
after he graduated. He wrote over a dozen songs while in college, with titles like "I Want a Helicopter" and "You're the Boppiest Bee-Bop", and he also appeared as an accordion soloist for the New Haven Symphony Orchestra
New Haven Symphony Orchestra
The New Haven Symphony Orchestra is an American symphony orchestra based in New Haven, Connecticut. The New Haven Symphony Orchestra gave its first concert in 1895 and is the fourth oldest orchestra in the United States.- History :...
. As a senior, he applied to the Juilliard School
Juilliard School
The Juilliard School, located at the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts in New York City, United States, is a performing arts conservatory which was established in 1905...
, the Curtis Institute of Music
Curtis Institute of Music
The Curtis Institute of Music is a conservatory in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, that offers courses of study leading to a performance Diploma, Bachelor of Music, Master of Music in Opera, and Professional Studies Certificate in Opera. According to statistics compiled by U.S...
, and the New England Conservatory of Music
New England Conservatory of Music
The New England Conservatory of Music in Boston, Massachusetts, is the oldest independent school of music in the United States.The conservatory is home each year to 750 students pursuing undergraduate and graduate studies along with 1400 more in its Preparatory School as well as the School of...
.
However, Lavelli's musical talents were often overshadowed by his achievements on the basketball court. Lavelli claimed that he had only learned basketball as a teenager to impress his friends, who were mostly apathetic to his music. Nevertheless, he would become one of Yale's all-time greatest players. A 6'3" forward with an accurate one-handed hook shot
Hook shot
A hook shot, in basketball, is a play in which the offensive player, usually turned perpendicular to the basket, gently throws the ball with a sweeping motion of his arm in an upward arc with a follow-through which ends over his head. Unlike the jump shot, it is shot with only one hand; the other...
, he scored 1,964 points in four years and graduated as the fourth highest-scorer in college basketball history. He also earned four All-America
All-America
An All-America team is an honorary sports team composed of outstanding amateur players—those considered the best players of a specific season for each team position—who in turn are given the honorific "All-America" and typically referred to as "All-American athletes", or simply...
n team selections and one Player of the Year award during his college career. Upon graduating, he was selected as the first overall pick of the Boston Celtics
Boston Celtics
The Boston Celtics are a National Basketball Association team based in Boston, Massachusetts. They play in the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference. Founded in 1946, the team is currently owned by Boston Basketball Partners LLC. The Celtics play their home games at the TD Garden, which...
in the 1949 BAA Draft
1949 BAA Draft
The 1949 BAA Draft was the third annual draft of the Basketball Association of America , which later became the National Basketball Association . The draft was held on March 21, 1949 before the 1949–50 season. In this draft, eleven remaining BAA teams along with the Indianapolis Olympians who...
.
Professional basketball
Despite his athletic accomplishments, Lavelli’s first love was music, and he initially refused to sign with the Celtics so that he could enroll at Juilliard. Eventually, however, he proposed to join the team on the condition that they would pay him an extra $125 per game to play his accordion during half-time breaks at Boston GardenBoston Garden
The Boston Garden was an arena in Boston, Massachusetts, USA. Designed by boxing promoter Tex Rickard, who also built the third iteration of New York's Madison Square Garden, it opened on November 17, 1928 as "Boston Madison Square Garden" and outlived its original namesake by some 30 years...
and certain visitors' arenas. The Celtics conceded to his demands.
Lavelli made his Celtics debut on November 24, 1949 in a game against the Fort Wayne Pistons
Detroit Pistons
The Detroit Pistons are a franchise of the National Basketball Association based in Auburn Hills, Michigan. The team's home arena is The Palace of Auburn Hills. It was originally founded in Fort Wayne, Indiana as the Fort Wayne Pistons as a member of the National Basketball League in 1941, where...
. He tallied 20 points in his first game, and would average 8.8 points per game over the course of the 1949-50 NBA season
1949-50 NBA season
The 1949–50 NBA season was officially the 4th season of the National Basketball Association. However, it is the first season that the league is officially called the National Basketball Association...
. However, he received much more attention for his half-time accordion performances; indeed, some basketball historians have credited Lavelli's mini-concerts for saving the early Celtics franchise, which was in danger of folding due to lack of fans and money. In a typical performance, Lavelli would greet the fans and play “Granada
Granada (song)
"Granada" is a Mexican song written in 1932 by Agustín Lara. The song is about the Spanish city of Granada and has become a "standard" in music repertoire....
,” “Lady of Spain
Lady of Spain (song)
"Lady Of Spain" is a popular song, written in 1931 by Robert Hargreaves, Tolchard Evans, Stanley J. Damerell, and Henry Tilsley.-Performance:...
,” and other musical pieces before dashing off to the Celtics' locker room. He usually played in his basketball jersey, as he had little time to change his clothes. The Celtics unfortunately finished last in their division that season, but one newspaper joked that the team "doubtless [found] his music soothing".
Lavelli signed with the rival New York Knicks
New York Knicks
The New York Knickerbockers, prominently known as the Knicks, are a professional basketball team based in New York City. They are part of the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference in the National Basketball Association...
prior to the start of the 1950-51 NBA season
1950-51 NBA season
The 1950–51 NBA season was the 5th season of the National Basketball Association. The season ended with the Rochester Royals winning the NBA Championship, beating the New York Knicks 4 games to 3 in the NBA Finals.- Notable occurrences :...
. He averaged 3.3 points per game with the Knicks and participated in their playoff run, which ended in the 1951 NBA Finals
1951 NBA Finals
-Series Summary:Royals win series 4-3This marks the only time a team has gone down 3-0 and has come back to tie the series at 3-3. So far no other team has ever gone down 3-0 and forced game 7 or won the finals...
at the hands of the Rochester Royals
Sacramento Kings
The Sacramento Kings are a professional basketball team based in Sacramento, California, United States. They are currently members of the Western Conference of the National Basketball Association...
. However, Lavelli had joined the Knicks specifically so that he would be close to Juilliard, and he finally began taking courses there during his tenure with the team.
During the mid-1950s, Lavelli played with the College All-Stars, who primarily served as opponents to the Harlem Globetrotters
Harlem Globetrotters
The Harlem Globetrotters are an exhibition basketball team that combines athleticism, theater and comedy. The executive offices for the team are currently in downtown Phoenix, Arizona; the team is owned by Shamrock Holdings, which oversees the various investments of the Roy E. Disney family.Over...
, and his accordion performances became a fixture of the Globetrotters’ halftime shows.
Post-basketball career
After retiring from basketball in the late 1950s, Lavelli embarked on a long career as a songwriter and nightclub performer. He released two records during his life: All-American Accordionist and Accordion Classics. In 1998, he suffered a heart attackMyocardial infarction
Myocardial infarction or acute myocardial infarction , commonly known as a heart attack, results from the interruption of blood supply to a part of the heart, causing heart cells to die...
at his home in Laconia, New Hampshire
Laconia, New Hampshire
As of the census of 2000, there were 16,411 people, 6,724 households, and 4,168 families residing in the city. The population density was 809.3 people per square mile . There were 8,554 housing units at an average density of 421.8 per square mile...
and died shortly afterwards.
.
Trivia
- Lavelli twice appeared on the television program Toast of the TownThe Ed Sullivan ShowThe Ed Sullivan Show is an American TV variety show that originally ran on CBS from Sunday June 20, 1948 to Sunday June 6, 1971, and was hosted by New York entertainment columnist Ed Sullivan....
, which was later renamed The Ed Sullivan Show. - Lavelli’s cousin, Dante LavelliDante LavelliDante Bert Joseph "Gluefingers" Lavelli was an American football end who played for the Cleveland Browns in the All-America Football Conference and National Football League from 1946 to 1956...
, played for the Cleveland BrownsCleveland BrownsThe Cleveland Browns are a professional football team based in Cleveland, Ohio. They are currently members of the North Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...
in the 1940s and 1950s and was later inducted into the Professional Football Hall of Fame.
External links
- Career statistics at databasebasketball.com
- Profile at IMDb
- "Tony Lavelli solos with New Haven Symphony", 1949 article from Accordion World (includes picture of Lavelli).