Early life

Thacker was born in and grew up in Covington, Kentucky across the Ohio River from Cincinnati, the son of William and Velma Arvin Thacker. He attended Our Savior's High School until integration closed it in 1956. He then attended the all-black William Grant High School, where he played basketball. He averaged 31.7 points per game as a junior and led the team to a 2605 record. As a senior he averaged 33.8 points as the team went 31-7. He scored 36 points in his final high school game as the team lost the Kentucky state championship game, 85-84.

In 1959 he needed a few credits to earn his degree, so he attended Holmes High School during the summer and graduated.

College career

Thacker attended the University of Cincinnati and played three varsity seasons for the Bearcats under coach Ed Jucker. As a sophomore in 1960-61, he averaged 12.3 points per game and was named All-Missouri Valley Conference (MVC) as the Bearcats won the league title. The Bearcats finished the season with a record of 27-3 and, on March 25, 1961, Cincinnati, led by the balanced attack of Thacker, Bob Wiesenhahn, Tony Yates, Paul Hogue and Carl Bouldin, won the NCAA Championship with a 70-65 overtime win over the Ohio State Buckeyes.

As a junior in 1961-62, Thacker averaged 11.0 points per game and was again All-MVC. The Bearcats again captured the MVC and posted a 29-2 record. With Ron Bonham and George Wilson replacing the departed Wiesenhahn and Bouldin, the Bearcats again captured the NCAA title on March 24, 1962, again over Ohio State, 71-59.

As a senior in 1962-63, he averaged 15.8 points per game, led the team in assists with 4.0 per game, and was named the team MVP. He was also named All-MVC for the third consecutive season. In addition, he was a consensus first-team All-American along with teammate Bonham. The Bearcats, with the same starting lineup as the year before except for Larry Shingleton replacing the departed Hogue, won the league crown yet again and, for the third straight season, advanced to the NCAA championship game. However, on March 23, 1963, the Bearcats lost to Loyola University Chicago.

Professional career

Thacker was chosen in the first round (fifth overall) of the 1953 NBA Draft as a territorial pick by the Cincinnati Royals. During his three seasons with the Royals, he played about nine minutes per game as a backup guard, averaging 2.8, 2.5, and 3.7 points per game, respectively during the 1963-64 through 1965-66 seasons. On May 1, 1966 he was drafted by the Chicago Bulls in the NBA expansion draft, but he decided to retire and did not play that season.

On August 4, 1967, he returned to the NBA and was signed as a free agent by the Boston Celtics. It turned out to be a fortuitous trade for Thacker. Averaging about 12 minutes per game and 4.2 points and 2.5 rebounds per game, he earned a championship ring as the Celtics won the NBA title in a six-game finals series over the Los Angeles Lakers. He also posted a career single-game high of 17 points twice, on February 11, 1968 against the Lakers and again on March 7 against the Bulls.

After Thacker's fourth NBA season, on May 6, 1968, he was drafted by the Milwaukee Bucks in the NBA expansion draft. However, he opted to play in the American Basketball Association (ABA) for the Indiana Pacers. In 1968-69, playing just 18 games, he averaged 5.4 points, 3.7 rebounds and 2.9 assists per game, all career personal bests. In 1969-70, he played 70 games, averaging 2.7 points per game and helped the Pacers capture the ABA championship in six games over the Los Angeles Stars. In his third and final ABA season of 1970-71, he played eight games and his seven-year professional career ended.

Personal life

Thacker earned both a bachelor's degree and a master's degree from the University of Cincinnati. He became the first African-American coach at the University of Cincinnati, leading the women's basketball program from 1974 to 1977.

Thacker owns his own small business, Tom Thacker Enterprises, in Cincinnati.

He has served as deputy director of the Cincinnati Urban League, and he also served as a teacher with Cincinnati Public Schools. In 1986, he was inducted into the Northern Kentucky Sports Hall of Fame and, in 1989, into the Northern Kentucky Black Hall of Fame.

He will be inducted into the Ohio Basketball Hall of Fame at the 11th Annual Ceremony on May 21, 2016 in Columbus.

[ Source: Wikipedia ]