Feb. 6, 2007
By Talia Bargil - National Basketball Retired Players Association
Long before household names like `got milk?' and T-Mobile had their monikers preceding the coveted "NBA Rookie of the Year" Award, the league's rookie class leaders of yesteryear were grateful for a pat on the back and perhaps a one-liner in the local newspaper to announce their achievement.
Don Meineke, five-year NBA veteran, holds the title as the very first "NBA Rookie of the Year." He picked up the honor as a Fort Wayne Piston during the 1952-1953 season.
"It was a funny thing back then - I didn't even know I had won until I read it in the newspaper," said Meineke, a Dayton, Ohio native. "There was no trophy, no big presentation...if anything, the award maybe gave me an edge in negotiating my contract for the following year. But it certainly was not a big deal."
For Meineke - now 77 years old - and his fellow pro ballers of the 1950s, this was only one of the many modifications that would ensue during the NBA's formative years and beyond.
"The NBA was a different world back then," he said. "We only had eight teams in the league and the budgets were very small. Some teams only had eight guys on their roster."
Small budgets meant even smaller paychecks, and Meineke says he earned the league's average salary at the time, which was about $6,500 for the year. As a result, players could not afford to rely on basketball alone.
"Most of us had to take on summer jobs. I used to work in heating and air-conditioning sales during the off-season," he said. "Although the league minimum was technically $5,000, there were guys out there who were playing for $3,000."
The NBA was also competing with the amateur AAU League, a more wealthy option for players. During that era, AAU rosters were filled with former college standouts, a number of which had been drafted by the NBA. The amateur teams typically offered more lucrative salaries than the pro teams, as well as the security of full-time employment.
"AAU was thought of as the elite. A guy could play for the AAU Phillips Oilers, which was a gas company, and then go on to work for them as long as they chose."
The AAU players weren't the only superstars around. Fans flocked to see the Harlem Globetrotters, who were also regarded as superior to the NBA.
"I can remember that our NBA games would go on first, as part of pre-game for the Harlem Globetrotters," he said. "But, the exposure was great for the NBA at that point."
During his three seasons with the Fort Wayne Pistons, Meineke says he and his teammates received some of the best treatment that NBA players were getting at that point.
"Everybody wanted to play for the Pistons," he said. "We were a more financially sound team, so the salaries were higher. Our owner, Fred Zollner, was a millionaire and helped the league survive."
Contradictory to popular belief that the Los Angeles Dodgers were the first professional sports entity to have its own private plane, the University of Dayton graduate disagrees.
"It was the Pistons - we had the very first private team plane. It was a DC3...it wasn't so fancy, but it was comfortable, especially while the other seven teams were traveling by railroad."
Zollner, the longest-tenured owner of an original NBA team, was also a strong advocate for rule changes that helped improve the game, including the adoption of the 24-second clock, which came during Meineke's tenure.
"The 24-second clock changed the game. It made the play much more exciting - the scoring went up and so did the attendance."
After completing two additional seasons with the Rochester Royals and the Cincinnati Royals, Meineke transitioned into retirement. He spent 30 years in the broadcasting sales business, currently works in the industry of home security, and says he has no plans of retiring altogether until he is over 80 years old.
Meineke, also known as "Monk" (the shortened version of his original nickname "Monkey") continues to follow the evolution of pro basketball.
"The game has changed...the quality of players are better, as is the exposure," he said. "I appreciate the mentality of coaches - like Phil Jackson and Don Nelson - who emphasize defense, team play, the basic fundamentals."
And while basketball enthusiasts more commonly associate names like Chris Paul, Emeka Okafor and LeBron James to the "NBA Rookie of the Year" Award, it was Meineke that got the whole thing started...and Trivial Pursuit can prove it.
Link to NBRPA.com
