Bert H. "B. H." Born (born June 6, 1932 in Osawatomie, Kansas

Osawatomie, Kansas

Osawatomie is a city in Miami County, Kansas, United States, southwest of Kansas City. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 4,447. It derives its name from two streams nearby, the Osage and Potawatomie.-History:...

) is an American retired basketball

Basketball

Basketball is a team sport in which two teams of five players try to score points by throwing or "shooting" a ball through the top of a basketball hoop while following a set of rules...

 center

Center (basketball)

The center, colloquially known as the five or the post, is one of the standard positions in a regulation basketball game. The center is normally the tallest player on the team, and often has a great deal of strength and body mass as well...

. After graduating from Medicine Lodge High School in 1950, he played for the Kansas Jayhawks from 1951 to 1954. In the 1951–52 season, Born was a reserve behind Clyde Lovellette, averaging 1.6 points per game. The following season, he had 18.9 points per game for the Jayhawks as the team reached the NCAA Tournament

1953 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament

The 1953 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament involved 22 schools playing in single-elimination play to determine the national champion of men's NCAA Division I college basketball. It began on March 10, 1953, and ended with the championship game on March 18 in Kansas City, Missouri...

 final. Indiana

Indiana Hoosiers men's basketball

The Indiana Hoosiers men's basketball team is the intercollegiate men's basketball program representing Indiana University . The school competes in the Big Ten Conference in Division I of the NCAA. The Hoosiers play on Branch McCracken Court at the Assembly Hall in Bloomington, Indiana on the IU...

 defeated Kansas 69–68 in the championship game, but Born won the tournament's Most Outstanding Player

NCAA Basketball Tournament Most Outstanding Player

At the conclusion of the NCAA men's and women's Division I basketball championships , the Associated Press selects a Most Outstanding Player. The MOP need not be, but almost always is a member of the Championship team, especially since the third place game was eliminated after 1981...

 award. During the final, Born scored 26 points, compiled 15 rebounds, and blocked 13 shots.

Born posted an average of 19 points per game in the 1953–54 season, and competed for the U.S. national team in the 1954 FIBA World Championship

1954 FIBA World Championship

The 1954 FIBA World Championship was an international basketball tournament held by the International Basketball Federation in Ginásio do Maracanãzinho, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil from October 22 to November 5, 1954...

. The Detroit Pistons

Detroit Pistons

The Detroit Pistons are a franchise of the National Basketball Association based in Auburn Hills, Michigan. The team's home arena is The Palace of Auburn Hills. It was originally founded in Fort Wayne, Indiana as the Fort Wayne Pistons as a member of the National Basketball League in 1941, where...

 selected Born with the 22nd overall pick of the 1954 NBA Draft

1954 NBA Draft

The 1954 NBA Draft was the eight annual draft of the National Basketball Association . The draft was held on April 24, 1954 before the 1954–55 season. In this draft, nine NBA teams took turns selecting amateur U.S. college basketball players. In each round, the teams select in reverse order of...

. However, he did not join the team. In the mid-1950s, he played for an Amateur Athletic Union

Amateur Athletic Union

The Amateur Athletic Union is one of the largest non-profit volunteer sports organizations in the United States. A multi-sport organization, the AAU is dedicated exclusively to the promotion and development of amateur sports and physical fitness programs.-History:The AAU was founded in 1888 to...

 team in Peoria, Illinois

Peoria, Illinois

Peoria is the largest city on the Illinois River and the county seat of Peoria County, Illinois, in the United States. It is named after the Peoria tribe. As of the 2010 census, the city was the seventh-most populated in Illinois, with a population of 115,007, and is the third-most populated...

, and helped the Jayhawks recruit Wilt Chamberlain

Wilt Chamberlain

Wilton Norman "Wilt" Chamberlain was an American professional NBA basketball player for the Philadelphia/San Francisco Warriors, the Philadelphia 76ers and the Los Angeles Lakers; he also played for the Harlem Globetrotters prior to playing in the NBA...

, a leading high school player at the time. In Peoria, Born was employed with Caterpillar Inc.

Caterpillar Inc.

Caterpillar Inc. , also known as "CAT", designs, manufactures, markets and sells machinery and engines and sells financial products and insurance to customers via a worldwide dealer network. Caterpillar is the world's largest manufacturer of construction and mining equipment, diesel and natural gas...

's tractor business for 43 years. In 1992, the University of Kansas

University of Kansas

The University of Kansas is a public research university and the largest university in the state of Kansas. KU campuses are located in Lawrence, Wichita, Overland Park, and Kansas City, Kansas with the main campus being located in Lawrence on Mount Oread, the highest point in Lawrence. The...

 retired Born's jersey, 23. He has also been inducted into the Kansas Sports Hall of Fame

Kansas Sports Hall of Fame

The Kansas Sports Hall of Fame is a museum located in Wichita, Kansas, dedicated to preserving the history of sports in the state of Kansas. The museum provides exhibits, archives, facilities, services, and activities to honor those individuals and teams whose achievements in sports brought...

.