William Edward "Easy Ed" Ratleff (born March 29, 1950 in Bellefontaine, Ohio

Bellefontaine, Ohio

Bellefontaine is a city in and the county seat of Logan County, Ohio, United States. The population was 13,069 at the 2000 census. It is the center of the Bellefontaine Micropolitan Statistical Area, as defined by the United States Census Bureau in 2003...

) is a retired American

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 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...

 player. He attended Columbus East high school where he led the basketball team to the Ohio State Championship in 1968 and was joined by Dwight "Bo" Lamar (Southwestern Louisiana) to claim the 1969 title.

A 6'6" guard/forward from California State University, Long Beach

California State University, Long Beach

California State University, Long Beach is the second largest campus of the California State University system and the third largest university in the state of California by enrollment...

, Ratleff played for the United States national basketball team

United States national basketball team

The United States men's national basketball team represents the United States of America in international men's basketball. The USA is the most successful team in international competition, winning medals in all sixteen Olympic tournaments it has entered, coming away with thirteen golds...

 at the 1972 Summer Olympics

1972 Summer Olympics

The 1972 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XX Olympiad, were an international multi-sport event held in Munich, West Germany, from August 26 to September 11, 1972....

, where the United States lost a controversial gold medal game to the Soviet Union

Soviet Union

The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....

. Ratleff and his teammates earned silver medals, which they refused to accept. Throughout the Olympic tournament, Ratleff averaged 6.4 points per game

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...

.

From 1973 to 1978, Ratleff played professional basketball in the 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...

 as a member of the Houston Rockets

Houston Rockets

The Houston Rockets are an American professional basketball team based in Houston, Texas. The team plays in the Southwest Division of the Western Conference in the National Basketball Association . The team was established in 1967, and played in San Diego, California for four years, before being...

. He averaged 8.3 points and 4.0 rebounds

Rebound (basketball)

A rebound in basketball is the act of successfully gaining possession of the basketball after a missed field goal or free throw. Rebounds in basketball are a routine part in the game, as all possessions change after a shot is successfully made...

in his NBA career.