Professional basketball player and the NBA's first superstar. His height (6 ft 10 in) and domineering play underneath the basket resulted in many rule changes designed to limit the unfair advantage of big players. Playing the center position for DePaul University, George Mikan simply swat away any shot above the rim, which led the NCAA to institute the goal-tending rule. This made it illegal for any player to touch a shot on its downward arc toward the basket. The NBA doubled the width of the free throw lane and countered slowdown tactics used against him. In 1950, the Lakers lost a game 19 to 18 in the lowest-scoring game in NBA history; this led to a rule change implementing the 24-second shot clock. Because of his popularity, Mikan is credited with taking the fledgling professional basketball game from playing in front of hundreds of spectators to playing in front of thousands at packed houses in cities across America. He was born George Lawrence Mikan Jr to second-generation Croatian parents George and Minnie Mikan. The family ran a bar and restaurant in the prison and steel town of Joliet, Illinois. The restaurant was owned by his Croatian immigrant grandparents George and "Blondie" Mikan. He had a brother Joe (older) and Ed (younger) and a sister, Marie (the baby). The family residence was on the second floor of the tavern. George was well over 6 feet tall by the time he was eleven. His only early sports achievement was winning the Will County marble-shooting championship at age ten where the prize was free attendance to a game at Comiskey Park between the White Sox and New York Yankees. The high point was a meeting with Babe Ruth. George attended St Mary's Croatian Elementary School and was on the basketball team. He then went to Joliet Catholic High School, but the coach found him to be nearsighted and unable to see without thick glasses and cut him from the team. This caused him to enroll at Quigley Preparatory Seminary in Chicago. His grandmother wanted him to become a priest. After graduation, DePaul University basketball coach Ray Meyer gave him an athletic scholarship. With George in the lineup, DePaul won the 1945 National Invitational Tournament. He was named all-American three times and college Player of the Year twice. He was rejected for military service during World War II because of his extreme height and poor eyesight. His professional career started with the Chicago American Gears. He then became a mainstay with the Minneapolis Lakers, where he led them to five championships. He announced his retirement due to injury after just ten years in the game. During his career, he suffered from broken legs, feet, wrists, fingers, nose, and kneecap. In his post-basketball life, he coached the Lakers during the disastrous 1957-58 season. When the now-defunct American Basketball Association was organized, he was appointed commissioner and introduced the distinctive, conspicuous, red, white, and blue-striped ball. Mikan subsequently became a lawyer in Minneapolis and ran a very successful travel agency. Along with Minnesota Governor Rudy Perpich, he lobbied for an NBA franchise for the Twin Cities, which would replace the long-departed Lakers. The idea proved successful when the Minnesota Timberwolves were awarded the franchise. Mikan also ventured into the field of roller hockey with ownership of the Chicago Cheetahs, but the franchise folded after only two seasons. He ran for the 3rd U.S. congressional seat of Minnesota as a Republican in 1956 but lost by a scant few thousand votes. As the shadows of old age fell over George and with health problems, he left the cold of Minnesota and moved to Arizona. Diabetes and kidney problems plagued him. George was admitted to a Scottsdale hospital, where he spent six weeks receiving treatment. He then transferred to a Scottsdale Arizona rehabilitation center and passed away on June 1, 2005, 18 days shy of his 81st birthday. A small private memorial service was held at Messinger Pinnacle Peak Mortuary in North Scottsdale, with his wife of 58 years, Patricia, his children, grandchildren, and close friends in attendance. During a game in the 2005 NBA playoffs, there was a moment of silence to honor the man who gave professional basketball exciting play, sport recognition, and acceptance when it held the "Orphan Annie" niche of sports. He was elected a charter member of the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 1959. in 1996, George was named one of the NBA's 50 Greatest Players. In 1950, the Associated Press voted him the greatest basketball player of the first half of the century. A statue of Mikan taking his trademark hook shot was dedicated at the Target Center in Minneapolis during a Timberwolves vs. Lakers game. In a bit of trivia, he was the first basketball player to appear on the Wheaties "Breakfast of Champions" cereal box. Mikan and ghostwriter Joseph Oberle penned his biography entitled "Unstoppable-The Story of George Mikan", which was published in 1997.
Professional basketball player and the NBA's first superstar. His height (6 ft 10 in) and domineering play underneath the basket resulted in many rule changes designed to limit the unfair advantage of big players. Playing the center position for DePaul University, George Mikan simply swat away any shot above the rim, which led the NCAA to institute the goal-tending rule. This made it illegal for any player to touch a shot on its downward arc toward the basket. The NBA doubled the width of the free throw lane and countered slowdown tactics used against him. In 1950, the Lakers lost a game 19 to 18 in the lowest-scoring game in NBA history; this led to a rule change implementing the 24-second shot clock. Because of his popularity, Mikan is credited with taking the fledgling professional basketball game from playing in front of hundreds of spectators to playing in front of thousands at packed houses in cities across America. He was born George Lawrence Mikan Jr to second-generation Croatian parents George and Minnie Mikan. The family ran a bar and restaurant in the prison and steel town of Joliet, Illinois. The restaurant was owned by his Croatian immigrant grandparents George and "Blondie" Mikan. He had a brother Joe (older) and Ed (younger) and a sister, Marie (the baby). The family residence was on the second floor of the tavern. George was well over 6 feet tall by the time he was eleven. His only early sports achievement was winning the Will County marble-shooting championship at age ten where the prize was free attendance to a game at Comiskey Park between the White Sox and New York Yankees. The high point was a meeting with Babe Ruth. George attended St Mary's Croatian Elementary School and was on the basketball team. He then went to Joliet Catholic High School, but the coach found him to be nearsighted and unable to see without thick glasses and cut him from the team. This caused him to enroll at Quigley Preparatory Seminary in Chicago. His grandmother wanted him to become a priest. After graduation, DePaul University basketball coach Ray Meyer gave him an athletic scholarship. With George in the lineup, DePaul won the 1945 National Invitational Tournament. He was named all-American three times and college Player of the Year twice. He was rejected for military service during World War II because of his extreme height and poor eyesight. His professional career started with the Chicago American Gears. He then became a mainstay with the Minneapolis Lakers, where he led them to five championships. He announced his retirement due to injury after just ten years in the game. During his career, he suffered from broken legs, feet, wrists, fingers, nose, and kneecap. In his post-basketball life, he coached the Lakers during the disastrous 1957-58 season. When the now-defunct American Basketball Association was organized, he was appointed commissioner and introduced the distinctive, conspicuous, red, white, and blue-striped ball. Mikan subsequently became a lawyer in Minneapolis and ran a very successful travel agency. Along with Minnesota Governor Rudy Perpich, he lobbied for an NBA franchise for the Twin Cities, which would replace the long-departed Lakers. The idea proved successful when the Minnesota Timberwolves were awarded the franchise. Mikan also ventured into the field of roller hockey with ownership of the Chicago Cheetahs, but the franchise folded after only two seasons. He ran for the 3rd U.S. congressional seat of Minnesota as a Republican in 1956 but lost by a scant few thousand votes. As the shadows of old age fell over George and with health problems, he left the cold of Minnesota and moved to Arizona. Diabetes and kidney problems plagued him. George was admitted to a Scottsdale hospital, where he spent six weeks receiving treatment. He then transferred to a Scottsdale Arizona rehabilitation center and passed away on June 1, 2005, 18 days shy of his 81st birthday. A small private memorial service was held at Messinger Pinnacle Peak Mortuary in North Scottsdale, with his wife of 58 years, Patricia, his children, grandchildren, and close friends in attendance. During a game in the 2005 NBA playoffs, there was a moment of silence to honor the man who gave professional basketball exciting play, sport recognition, and acceptance when it held the "Orphan Annie" niche of sports. He was elected a charter member of the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 1959. in 1996, George was named one of the NBA's 50 Greatest Players. In 1950, the Associated Press voted him the greatest basketball player of the first half of the century. A statue of Mikan taking his trademark hook shot was dedicated at the Target Center in Minneapolis during a Timberwolves vs. Lakers game. In a bit of trivia, he was the first basketball player to appear on the Wheaties "Breakfast of Champions" cereal box. Mikan and ghostwriter Joseph Oberle penned his biography entitled "Unstoppable-The Story of George Mikan", which was published in 1997.
Fulfill Photo Request for George Lawrence Mikan Jr.
Photo Request Fulfilled
Thank you for fulfilling this photo request. An email has been sent to the person who requested the photo informing them that you have fulfilled their request
There is an open photo request for this memorial
Are you adding a grave photo that will fulfill this request?
Oops, some error occurred while uploading your photo(s).
Oops, something didn't work. Close this window, and upload the photo(s) again.
Make sure that the file is a photo. Photos larger than 8Mb will be reduced.
All photos uploaded successfully, click on the <b>Done button</b> to see the photos in the gallery.
General photo guidelines:
Photos larger than 8.0 MB will be optimized and reduced.
Each contributor can upload a maximum of 5 photos for a memorial.
A memorial can have a maximum of 20 photos from all contributors.
The sponsor of a memorial may add an additional 10 photos (for a total of 30 on the memorial).
Include gps location with grave photos where possible.
No animated GIFs, photos with additional graphics (borders, embellishments.)
There is no plot information for this memorial. Your photo request is more likely to be fulfilled if you contact the cemetery to get the plot information and include it with your request.
You are only allowed to leave one flower per day for any given memorial.
Memorial Photos
This is a carousel with slides. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate, or jump to a slide with the slide dots. Use Escape keyboard button or the Close button to close the carousel.
Quickly see who the memorial is for and when they lived and died and where they are buried.
Show Map
If the memorial includes GPS coordinates, simply click 'Show Map' to view the gravesite location within the cemetery. If no GPS coordinates are available, you can contribute by adding them if you know the precise location.
Photos
For memorials with more than one photo, additional photos will appear here or on the photos tab.
Photos Tab
All photos appear on this tab and here you can update the sort order of photos on memorials you manage. To view a photo in more detail or edit captions for photos you added, click the photo to open the photo viewer.
Flowers
Flowers added to the memorial appear on the bottom of the memorial or here on the Flowers tab. To add a flower, click the Leave a Flower button.
Family Members
Family members linked to this person will appear here.
Related searches
Use the links under See more… to quickly search for other people with the same last name in the same cemetery, city, county, etc.
Sponsor This Memorial
Remove advertising from a memorial by sponsoring it for just $5. Previously sponsored memorials or famous memorials will not have this option.
Share
Share this memorial using social media sites or email.
Save to
Save to an Ancestry Tree, a virtual cemetery, your clipboard for pasting or Print.
Edit or Suggest Edit
Edit a memorial you manage or suggest changes to the memorial manager.
Have Feedback
Thanks for using Find a Grave, if you have any feedback we would love to hear from you.
You may not upload any more photos to this memorial
"Unsupported file type"
Uploading...
Waiting...
Success
Failed
This photo was not uploaded because this memorial already has photos
This photo was not uploaded because you have already uploaded photos to this memorial
This photo was not uploaded because this memorial already has photos
This photo was not uploaded because you have already uploaded photos to this memorial
Invalid File Type
Uploading 1 Photo
Uploading 2 Photos
1 Photo Uploaded
2 Photos Uploaded
Added by
GREAT NEWS! There is 1 volunteer for this cemetery.
Sorry! There are no volunteers for this cemetery. Continuing with this request will add an alert to the cemetery page and any new volunteers will have the opportunity to fulfill your request.
Enter numeric value
Enter memorial Id
Year should not be greater than current year
Invalid memorial
Duplicate entry for memorial
You have chosen this person to be their own family member.
Reported!
This relationship is not possible based on lifespan dates.
0% Complete
Saved
Sign in or Register
Sign in to Find a Grave
Sign-in to link to existing account
There is a problem with your email/password.
There is a problem with your email/password.
There is a problem with your email/password.
We encountered an unknown problem. Please wait a few minutes and try again. If the problem persists contact Find a Grave.
We’ve updated the security on the site. Please reset your password.
Your account has been locked for 30 minutes due to too many failed sign in attempts. Please contact Find a Grave at [email protected] if you need help resetting your password.
This account has been disabled. If you have questions, please contact [email protected]
This account has been disabled. If you have questions, please contact [email protected]
Email not found
Please complete the captcha to let us know you are a real person.
Sign in to your existing Find a Grave account. You’ll only have to do this once—after your accounts are connected, you can sign in using your Ancestry sign in or your Find a Grave sign in.
We found an existing Find a Grave account associated with your email address. Sign in below with your Find a Grave credentials to link your Ancestry account. After your accounts are connected you can sign in using either account.
Please enter your email to sign in.
Please enter your password to sign in.
Please enter your email and password to sign in.
There is a problem with your email/password.
A system error has occurred. Please try again later.
A password reset email has been sent to EmailID. If you don't see an email, please check your spam folder.
We encountered an unknown problem. Please wait a few minutes and try again. If the problem persists contact Find a Grave.
Password Reset
Please enter your email address and we will send you an email with a reset password code.
Registration Options
Welcome to Find a Grave
Create your free account by choosing an option below.
or
Ancestry account link
To create your account, Ancestry will share your name and email address with Find a Grave. To continue choose an option below.
or
If you already have a Find a Grave account, please sign in to link to Ancestry®.
New Member Registration
Email is mandatory
Email and Password are mandatory
This account already exists, but the email address still needs to be confirmed. Resend Activation Email
Your password is not strong enough
Invalid Email
You must agree to Terms and Conditions
Account already exists
Please check the I'm not a robot checkbox
Internal Server error occurred
If you want to be a Photo Volunteer you must enter a ZIP Code or select your location on the map
You must select an email preference
We have sent you an activation email
Your new password must contain one or more uppercase and lowercase letters, and one or more numbers or special characters.
We just emailed an activation code to
Please check your email and click on the link to activate your account.
cemeteries found in will be saved to your photo volunteer list.
cemeteries found within miles of your location will be saved to your photo volunteer list.
cemeteries found within kilometers of your location will be saved to your photo volunteer list.
Within 5 miles of your location.
Within 5 kilometers of your location.
0 cemeteries found in .
0 cemeteries found.
Add a cemetery to fulfill photo requests
You can customize the cemeteries you volunteer for by selecting or deselecting below.
Search above to list available cemeteries.
Getting location…
Loading...
Loading...
No cemeteries found
Find a Grave Video Tutorials
Default Language
Translation on Find a Grave is an ongoing project. If you notice a problem with the translation, please send a message to [email protected] and include a link to the page and details about the problem. Thanks for your help!
Preferred Language
We have set your language to based on information from your browser.