Mel Riebe

Birthdate: July 12, 1916
Birthplace: Cleveland, Ohio
High School: Euclid Shore (1934)
College: The College of Wooster (1954)

Growing up during The Great Depression, Mel Riebe was a sensational 5-foot-4, 100-pound guard at Euclid Shore High School who dazzled audiences with long two-handed set shots and an assortment of trick shots off the backboard. He graduated in 1934 and played minor league baseball before switching to the hardwood.

Having grown to 5-11, he played amateur basketball for teams in northern Ohio. Facing the great New York Rens professional team in an exhibition game, he scored an astonishing 36 points. He turned pro in 1943 at age 27, played for the Cleveland Chase Brass and Allmen Transfers squads and led the National Basketball Association in scoring in 1943-44 and '44-45.

After a short military stint, he played for the Cleveland Rebels of  the Basketball Association of America in 1946-47. Riebe then spent two seasons with the Boston Celtics. He enrolled in the College of Wooster at the age of 34, graduated and spent the rest of his life as a coach and teacher at Waynedale High School in Apple Creek, Ohio.

Mel Riebe died on July 25, 1977.