Sports
Walt Bellamy
1939–2013 · basketball player, center
Hall of Fame center and 1961 Rookie of the Year who spent parts of two seasons with the Pistons after a blockbuster trade for Dave DeBusschere.
- Born
New Bern, North Carolina- Died
College Park, Georgia
aged 74- Birth name
- Walter Jones Bellamy
- Also known as
- The Big Bell
- Detroit years
- 1968–1970
- Field
- Sports
01 / The Detroit story
The Detroit story
The Knicks traded Bellamy and Howard Komives to Detroit in December 1968 in exchange for future Hall of Famer Dave DeBusschere, a deal that reshaped both franchises. Already an established star, Bellamy gave the Pistons a genuine low-post scorer, averaging 18.8 points and 13.5 rebounds in his first partial season in Detroit and playing all of 1969–70 at center. The Pistons dealt him to the Atlanta Hawks in February 1970. Bellamy had already been an Olympic gold medalist with the celebrated 1960 U.S. basketball team and the 1961 NBA Rookie of the Year, and he was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame twice, individually in 1993 and with his Olympic team in 2010.
Highlights
- Acquired by Detroit in the December 1968 trade for Dave DeBusschere
- Averaged 18.8 points and 13.5 rebounds in his first Pistons stint
- Played parts of two seasons for Detroit, 1968–1970
- Double Hall of Famer: individually (1993) and with the 1960 Olympic team (2010)
02 / Their Detroit places
Their Detroit places 1
Where they lived, worked, performed and liked to hang out. Closed and demolished places stay here too, because they are part of the city's history.
Played here · 1968–1970
Cobo Arena
Closed · 1960–2019
The Pistons' downtown arena during his Detroit seasons; the building survives as part of the Huntington Place / TCF Center convention complex.