Personal information | |
---|---|
Born | Bradenton, Florida, U.S. |
Listed height | 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) |
Listed weight | 195 lb (88 kg) |
Career information | |
High school | Lincoln ( Palmetto, Florida) |
College | Florida A&M (1959–1963) |
NBA draft | 1963: 4th round, 33rd overall pick |
Selected by the St. Louis Hawks | |
Playing career | 1963–1971 |
Position | Guard |
Career history | |
1963–1971 | Wilmington / Delaware Blue Bombers |
Career highlights and awards | |
| |
Stats at Basketball-Reference.com | |
Waite Bellamy is an American former professional basketball player and coach. He played college basketball for the Florida A&M Rattlers and was selected in the 1963 NBA draft by the St. Louis Hawks. Bellamy spent his entire professional career with the Wilmington / Delaware Blue Bombers of the Eastern Professional Basketball League where he won two championships. He was named as the league's Most Valuable Player in 1970. Bellamy worked as a teacher and basketball coach at high schools in Florida after his playing retirement.
Bellamy attended Lincoln High School in Palmetto, Florida. [1] He averaged 25 points as a senior while his team finished the season with a 30–5 record and advanced to the state tournament. [1] Bellamy also served as captain of the football team and president of the school's student body. [1] He graduated in 1959. [1]
Bellamy did not receive any scholarships from major Southern colleges as they did not offer them to black players at the time. [1] He went to Florida A&M University where the coaches gave him an offer of playing for the Rattlers in either football or basketball: he chose the latter. [2] Bellamy tallied 1,600 points and was a three-time All- SIAC selection from 1961 to 1963. [3] He set the Rattlers' single-game scoring record when he totalled 53 points against the Bethune–Cookman Wildcats. [3]
Bellamy was inducted into the Florida A&M Athletics Hall of Fame in 1987. [4] His number 25 jersey was retired by the Rattlers and hangs in the Al Lawson Center. [3]
Bellamy was selected by the St. Louis Hawks in the 4th round of the 1963 NBA draft but did not make the team. [1] He instead joined the Wilmington Blue Bombers of the Eastern Professional Basketball League (EPBL) where he played for eight years. [1] Bellamy was awarded as the EPBL Most Valuable Player in 1970 and earned three selections to the All-EPBL team. [5] He won two championships with the Blue Bombers in 1966 and 1967. [2] He led the league in scoring during the 1969–70 season with 838 points per game. [6] Bellamy earned invitations to NBA training camps with the Philadelphia 76ers, Baltimore Bullets and New York Knicks during his EPBL career. [1]
Bellamy worked as a teacher and basketball coach in the Sarasota County school system for three decades. [2] [3]
Bellamy was inducted in the National Negro High School Basketball Hall of Fame in 2008 and the Florida Association of Basketball Coaches Court of Legends in 2016. [2] [1]
On March 24, 2023, Bellamy and his surviving Blue Bombers teammates were honored by Delaware Blue Coats during the halftime of an NBA G League game. [7] Bellamy was presented with his 1970 EBL MVP trophy for the first time while he received chants of "MVP" from the crowd. [8]
On February 9, 2024, the Delaware Blue Coats announced that they would retire Bellamy's number 9 jersey and hang it in the rafters of Chase Fieldhouse. [9] Bellamy said that it was "one of the greatest honors any athlete can experience." [9]
Bellamy has two sons who played basketball at Sarasota High School. [8]