Players

Joe Graboski

Year Inducted: 1975

Category: Players

Schools / Organizations: (Chicago)Tuley High School
BAA:  Chicago Stags 
NBA:  Philadelphia Warriors; St. Louis Hawks

Biography: Joe Graboski was a graduate of Chicago’s Tuley HS (Now called Clemente).  Joe was signed by the Chicago Stags of the Basketball Association of America (BAA) right from high school.  In 1948, at the age of 18, he became:  1) the youngest player ever to sign a pro contract, 2) the only player to move from high school basketball to the pro game until Moses Malone did it in 1974.  Graboski at 6’8” played in 45 games for the Stags in 1948, scoring 125 points for a 2.8 average.  He played pro ball for 13 years in both the BAA and its successor, the NBA.  Over the course of his career he scored more than 9,000 points.  Joe Graboski passed away on July 2, 1998.