All-American basketball player saw scandal end his career

Ralph Beard, a three-time All-American guard for the University of Kentucky in the 1940s and a figure in college basketball’s biggest betting scandal, died Thursday. He was 79.

Beard, who helped the Wildcats win national championships in 1948 and 1949 under coach Adolph Rupp, died at his home in Louisville, Ky., his son Scott said. After a series of illnesses in recent years, Beard died from heart failure, his son said.

A speedy, 5-foot, 10-inch guard, Beard was among Rupp’s famous “Fabulous Five,” along with Alex Groza, Wallace Jones, Cliff Barker and Kenny Rollins.

The Wildcats finished 36-3 in 1948, beating Baylor, 77-59, in the final of the NCAA tournament. That summer, Rupp and the five starters teamed with Amateur Athletic Union champion Phillips Oilers to win the Olympic gold medal in London, then won another NCAA title the next season.

Beard was the school’s first four-time All-Southeastern Conference selection and finished with 1,517 points, currently 14th on Kentucky’s scoring list. His No. 12 jersey was retired and hangs at Rupp Arena.

He moved on to the National Basketball Assn., where he played for and became a part-owner of the Indianapolis Olympians, a new franchise. He was chosen one of the starting five for the NBA All-Star Game his second season, 1950-51.

Before the start of the 1952 NBA season, Beard and Groza were among several players involved in a point-shaving scandal that rocked college basketball. They received suspended sentences but were banned for life from the NBA. When Beard tried to play professional baseball, he was told he was barred from that sport too.

“It ruined my life as I knew it,” he told the Louisville Courier-Journal last year. “All I ever wanted to do was play basketball.”

Beard admitted taking $700 from gamblers but repeatedly denied shaving points.

“I was wrong,” Beard told the Chattanooga Free Press in 1996. “But it was so different then. I had no money. I didn’t even have money for a haircut. I grew up in a slum in Louisville. My father left us when I was 7, and my mother worked two jobs from then on.

“Suddenly, I had $100 in my pocket,” he said. “I didn’t know any better. I didn’t even know what gambling was.”

Jones called his former teammate a “top-notch player in the country, the best guard I ever saw.”

Joe B. Hall, who played for Rupp in 1949 and later replaced him as Kentucky coach, said Beard’s style on the court transcends the changes in the game.

“He would be an All-American in today’s game,” Hall said.

“His style of play was timeless. He was so aggressive and quick, a tenacious defender. He would make any adjustments offensively it took to make himself better,” he said.

Beard was born Dec. 2, 1927, in Hardinsburg, Ky., and moved to Louisville as a youngster.

After his pro career ended, he returned to Louisville and went to work as a pharmaceuticals salesman. He later became general manager of the company.

In addition to his son Scott, Beard is survived by his wife of 52 years, Bettye; a daughter, Jill Hubbuch; another son, Mike; and six grandchildren.