Nick Lalich (basketball)

Nick Lalich
Lalich in 1944
Personal information
Born(1916-05-08)May 8, 1916
Lorain, Ohio
DiedMay 11, 2001(2001-05-11) (aged 85)
Baltimore, Maryland
NationalitySerbian American
Listed height6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)
Career information
High schoolEast Technical (Cleveland, Ohio)
CollegeOhio (1935–1938)
Playing career1938–1946
PositionGuard
Career history
1938–1942Cleveland May Co.
1945–1946Youngstown Bears

Nikola Andrew Lalich (May 8, 1916 – May 11, 2001) was a Serbian American[1] professional basketball player. He played for the Youngstown Bears in the National Basketball League (NBL) during the 1945–46 season.[2] He was a star college basketball player at Ohio University in the 1930s, where he earned a bachelor's degree in industrial arts. Later, Lalich earned a master's degree from Columbia University in New York. His younger brother, Pete Lalich, played four seasons in the NBL and one game in the BAA. Today, he's best remembered as the man who offered to evacuate General Dragoljub Mihailovich to Bari, Italy, though the general refused.

Nick Lalich also served with the Office of Strategic Services (OSS; predecessor of CIA) during World War II, helping to rescue and evacuate approximately 550 downed Allied fliers during Operation Halyard, without losing a single life or plane.[3][4] He later worked for the CIA in Greece from 1952 to 1957.[5]

Nick Lalich died on 11 May 2001, and is buried in the Arlington National Cemetery.

See also

References

  1. ^ name=peach
  2. ^ cite web| title =Nick Lalich NBL stats| work =basketball-reference.com| publisher =Sports Reference LLC| url =https://www.basketball-reference.com/nbl/players/l/lalicni01n.html%7C access-date = May 14, 2018
  3. ^ name=peach
  4. ^ cite news| last= Garland|first=Greg|title =Nick A. Lalich, 85, leader of OSS team that rescued downed aircrews in WWII| work =The Baltimore Sun| date =May 15, 2001 | url =https://www.baltimoresun.com/2001/05/15/nick-a-lalich-85-leader-of-oss-team-that-rescued-downed-air-crews-in-wwii/%7C access-date = May 14, 2018
  5. ^ name=peach
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