Robert Paul "Bob" Kinney (September 16, 1920 – September 2, 1985) was an American professional basketball player in the Basketball Association of America

Basketball Association of America

The Basketball Association of America was a professional basketball league in North America, founded in 1946. The league merged with the National Basketball League in 1949, forming the National Basketball Association ...

 (BAA), National Basketball Association

National Basketball Association

The National Basketball Association is the pre-eminent men's professional basketball league in North America. It consists of thirty franchised member clubs, of which twenty-nine are located in the United States and one in Canada...

 (NBA) and National Professional Basketball League (NPBL). Besides Bob, his nicknames included Hi-Pocket and Bat-em Bob. Kinney, who attended high school in San Antonio

San Antonio, Texas

San Antonio is the seventh-largest city in the United States of America and the second-largest city within the state of Texas, with a population of 1.33 million. Located in the American Southwest and the south–central part of Texas, the city serves as the seat of Bexar County. In 2011,...

, Texas

Texas

Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...

, went to college at Rice University

Rice University

William Marsh Rice University, commonly referred to as Rice University or Rice, is a private research university located on a heavily wooded campus in Houston, Texas, United States...

 where he was a standout on the basketball team

Rice Owls men's basketball

The Rice Owls men's basketball program is the intercollegiate men's basketball program of Rice University. The program is classified in the NCAA's Division I, and the team competes in Conference USA...

 in 1940–41 and 1941–42.

During his career at Rice, Kinney, who was an imposing , 215 pounds (97.5 kg) 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...

 and forward, was a two-time consensus All-American

NCAA Men's Basketball All-Americans

The NCAA Men's Basketball All-American teams are honorary teams made up of those NCAA basketball players voted the best in the country by a variety of organizations.-History:...

. He was a Second Team selection in 1941

1941 NCAA Men's Basketball All-Americans

The Consensus 1941 College Basketball All-American team, as determined by aggregating the results of four major All-American teams. To earn "consensus" status, a player must win honors from a majority of the following teams: the Helms Athletic Foundation, Converse, and Madison Square Garden.-1941...

 and a First Team All-American in 1942

1942 NCAA Men's Basketball All-Americans

The Consensus 1942 College Basketball All-American team, as determined by aggregating the results of four major All-American teams. To earn "consensus" status, a player must win honors from a majority of the following teams: the Helms Athletic Foundation, Converse, Madison Square Garden, and Pic...

. He joined the Fort Wayne Pistons of the National Basketball League

National Basketball League (United States)

Founded in 1937, the National Basketball League, often abbreviated to NBL, was a professional men's basketball league in the United States. The league would later merge with the Basketball Association of America  to form the National Basketball Association  in 1949.- League history :The...

 (a precursor to the NBA) in 1945. On January 30, 1948, he was sold by the Pistons to the Boston Celtics

Boston Celtics

The Boston Celtics are a National Basketball Association team based in Boston, Massachusetts. They play in the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference. Founded in 1946, the team is currently owned by Boston Basketball Partners LLC. The Celtics play their home games at the TD Garden, which...

 and finished out the year with them. At the conclusion of the season, the BAA merged with some of the teams from the NBL to form the NBA. Kinney was retained for the season, which was the NBA's first, and therefore the Celtics' first in the league. In 60 games that year, Kinney scored 667 points (11.1 ppg

Points per game

Points per game, often abbreviated PPG, is the average number of points scored by a player per game played in a sport, over the course of a series of games, a whole season, or a career. It is calculated by dividing the total number of points by number of games. The terminology is often used in...

). Kinney's NBA career ended after that season, but he played for the Anderson Packers

Anderson Packers

The Anderson Packers also known as the Anderson Duffy Packers was a professional basketball team based in Anderson, Indiana, in the 1940s and 1950s....

 of the NPBL in 1950–51. In 23 games he averaged 12.4 points. On November 19, 1950, he tied a Packers franchise record with 28 points in a 73–81 loss to the Louisville Alumnites

Louisville Alumnites

Louisville Alumnites were a team in the National Professional Basketball League , based in Louisville, Kentucky.The Alumnites competed in the Eastern Division of the NPBL. They compiled a record of 18 wins and 17 losses , and finished in second place in the Eastern Division behind the Sheboygan...

.