John Graham Kerr (July 17, 1932 – February 26, 2009), also known as Red Kerr, was an American basketball player, coach, executive and broadcaster who devoted six decades to the sport at all levels. In 2009, he was honored with the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame's John W. Bunn Lifetime Achievement Award for his contributions to basketball.
The affable 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m), 230-pound (104.3 kg) center starred for the University of Illinois (1951–1954) before he became a three-time All-Star and one-time league champion in the NBA (1954–66), primarily as a member of the Syracuse Nationals.
Kerr was the first of the NBA iron men in the early years of the league. From 1954 to 1965, he played in 917 consecutive games, including 844 in the regular season, a record that stood for 17 years. He averaged 13.8 points, 11.2 rebounds and 2.2 assists in 905 games over 12 seasons, all except one with the Nationals (later the Philadelphia 76ers). More workmanlike than spectacular, Kerr averaged in double figures in points and rebounds in seven consecutive seasons (1956–64), when he earned the reputation as one of the best all-around big men in the league.
After retirement as a player, Kerr held several coaching and administrative positions, most notably coach of the Chicago Bulls and Phoenix Suns in their first-ever seasons. In his debut on the bench, the 1966–67 Bulls defied long odds to earn a postseason berth, the first expansion team in major professional team sports to do so.
The Chicago native concluded his career as a Bulls television analyst for thirty-three years, during which he was one of the most recognizable personalities of the Bulls dynasty in the 1990s decade.
Kerr was born on July 17, 1932, in Chicago. His father was born in Scotland, and was a top soccer player. He came to the United States and worked as a meat packer in Chicago, dying of pneumonia at age 32, when Kerr was three years old. Kerr was raised in the 67th and Racine neighborhood on the South Side of Chicago. Kerr was a frequent 16-inch softball player, his personal favorite sport, at Ogden Park. He had aspirations of a career working in a foundry, in which he became proficient as a Tilden Technical High School student. Kerr said "'People from Tilden didn't go to college.... They went to work. My courses were shop, woodworking, auto mechanics and foundry.'"
Although Kerr's first passion was soccer, an eight-inch growth spurt during his senior year at Tilden Tech coupled with some friendly persuasion from its head basketball coach Bill Postl and school principal Robert Lakemacher turned his attention to basketball. Kerr had entered high school at 6 ft (1.83 m) tall and was 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) by his senior year. The pivotman (center) led the Blue Devils to the 1950 Chicago Public League championship in his only season with the team. After that, Kerr received college basketball scholarship offers.
Upon graduation from high school in mid-year (January 1950), Kerr was set to attend Bradley in the fall. However, after a visit from Illini freshman Irv Bemoras touting the benefits of playing for head coach Harry Combes and the Fighting Illini, he made a visit to Champaign and quickly changed his mind. Always quick with a quip, Kerr became known for his self-deprecating humor. When asked about his introduction to Chaucer in college, Kerr said the two hadn't met yet, but he assumed they would at a fraternity party.
After committing to Illinois in the fall of 1950, Kerr made his varsity debut as a sophomore center-forward in the 1951–52 season. Despite the loss of the 1950-51 team’s leading scorers, captain and Most Valuable Player Don Sunderlage and Ted Beach, from the No. 5 Associated Press (AP) nationally ranked Illini, Kerr and his teammates captured the 1951-52 Big Ten Conference championship with a 12–2 conference record (22–4 overall), and a berth in the NCAA Tournament.
The team advanced to the Final Four with victories over Dayton and Duquesne. The Illini lost to St. John's in the semifinals, 61–59, then they beat Santa Clara in the third-place game, with Kerr scoring 26 points. He was selected to the 1952 NCAA All-Tournament team. Kerr led the Illini with a 13.7-points average in 26 games. Illinois finished the season with a final AP ranking of No. 2 in the nation.
Kerr joined three starters from the previous season on the 1952–53 Illini team, but the team would not enjoy similar success. It finished 18–4 overall (14–4 in conference), which was good for a second-place finish to national champion Indiana. Kerr continued to shine with a team-high average of 17.5 points in 22 games. The Illini ranked No. 11 in the country in the final AP poll.
By the time that Kerr entered his senior year, he had grown one inch to 6-foot-9 and become a full-time pivotman. While the finale was the best of his three varsity seasons individually, the team would be the least successful among them. The 1953–54 Illini finished third in the Big Ten with a 10–4 record (17–5 overall) and was ranked 19th in the country in the final AP poll. They lost 67–64 to Indiana in the Big Ten championship game. Kerr paced the team in scoring for the third straight season, shattering the single-season team record with 556 points in 22 games for a 25.3 points average, which also led the Big Ten in scoring. In three varsity seasons, Kerr scored 1,299 points, an average of 18.6 points per game.
Kerr was selected a first-team forward Big Ten All-Star, and the Big Ten's Most Valuable Player in 1954. He was elected to the University of Illinois All-Century Team in 2004.
Syracuse Nationals-Philadelphia 76ers (1954–1965)
In 1954, the Syracuse Nationals selected Kerr at the sixth overall pick of the NBA draft. The 22-year-old played a bit role with the veteran-laden team in the early season. By the turn of the calendar year, he had earned enough trust from head coach Al Cervi to warrant an increased role. He went on to average 10.5 points and 6.6 rebounds per game in the regular season.
Come playoff time, Kerr was part of the core nucleus, starting alongside Dolph Schayes, Red Rocha, Paul Seymour and George King. In his postseason debut, the rookie dominated with 27 points and 14 rebounds in a 110–100 victory over the Boston Celtics that set the tone in the Eastern Division finals. The Nationals went on to beat the Celtics in four games, with Kerr averaging 16.5 points and 9.8 rebounds per game. The Nationals then beat the Fort Wayne Pistons in seven games in the NBA Finals to capture their first and only NBA championship in Syracuse. Kerr averaged 12.3 points and 11.3 rebounds per game in the finals, second only to Schayes in both categories.
Even though the Nationals included future Hall of famer Schayes, who was an All-Star selection for 12 consecutive years, Kerr was also a three-time All-Star selection (1956, 1959, 1963) who contributed similarly in the high and low post. As a big man who was a regular ball-handler and passer, Kerr had a skillset which was not common amongst other big men at the time. In addition to his strong production as a rebounder, he was known for being a skilled passer and master of the backdoor play, which he executed with guards Al Bianchi, Larry Costello and Hal Greer. Schayes, who called Kerr his best friend, said the center played rival superstars Bill Russell and Wilt Chamberlain as well as anyone in the era.
Kerr averaged double-doubles in scoring and rebounding from the 1956-57 through 1963-64 seasons. In the 1958-59 season he averaged a career-high 17.8 points per game to go along with 14 rebounds a game in one of his all-star seasons. In the 1961-62 season, he averaged a career high 14.7 rebounds per game and 16.8 points per game. The following season, the team's last year in Syracuse, he was 6th in NBA most valuable player voting, averaging 15.7 points and 13 rebounds per game. He was in the top-10 players in rebounding eight times and the top-five three times. Kerr also averaged a double-double over 76 playoff games, with 12.3 points and 10.6 rebounds per game.