Thacker, Tom Porter

Born in Covington, KY, Tom P. Thacker played basketball at William Grant High School there from 1955 to 1959. The 6'2" guard/forward scored 36 points in his final game, a loss to Olive Hill during the state high school tournament. Thacker played college ball at the University of Cincinnati (UC); the team won the 1968 NCAA basketball championship against Ohio State University, Thacker scoring 21 points. The following year UC lost by two points in overtime in the championship game to Loyola of Chicago. Thacker was chosen by the Cincinnati Royals in the first round of the 1963 NBA draft. He was picked up by the Boston Celtics in 1968, the year the Celtics won the NBA Championship. At the end of the season, Thacker was traded to the Milwaukee Bucks but opted to play with the Indiana Pacers, then an ABA team, instead. Thacker retired from playing professional basketball in 1971, having played in 314 games in which he scored 1,020 points. Thacker was the first head coach of the Pittsburgh Xplosion, a Continental Basketball Association team. For more see Shadows of the past, by L. Stout; Many tried, few defeated William Grant in '50s, '60s, The Cincinnati Post, 02/23/1998, Editorial section, p. 4K; and Tom Thacker at the Basketball-Reference.com website.