Charlie Tyra

Charlie Tyra

Personal information
Born	(1935-08-16)August 16, 1935 Louisville, Kentucky, U.S.
Died	December 29, 2006(2006-12-29) (aged 71) Louisville, Kentucky, U.S.
Listed height	6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)
Listed weight	230 lb (104 kg)
Career information
High school	Atherton (Louisville, Kentucky)
College	Louisville (1953–1957)
NBA draft	1957: 1st round, 2nd overall pick
Selected by the Detroit Pistons
Playing career	1957–1963
Position	Power forward / center
Number	14
Career history
1957–1961	New York Knicks
1961–1962	Chicago Packers
1962–1963	Pittsburgh Rens
Career highlights and awards
Consensus first-team All-American (1957) No. 8 retired by Louisville Cardinals
Career NBA statistics
Points	3,091 (8.9 ppg)
Rebounds	2,567 (7.4 rpg)
Assists	315 (0.9 apg)
Stats at NBA.com
Stats at Basketball Reference

Charles E. Tyra (/ˈtaɪreɪ/ Tie-RAY;^[1] August 16, 1935 – December 29, 2006) was an American basketball player who is best known as the first Louisville Cardinal All-American. He played five seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA) for the New York Knicks and Chicago Packers.

Basketball career

Tyra as a senior at Louisville.

Tyna attended Atherton High School in Louisville, Kentucky and played collegiately for the Louisville Cardinals from 1953 to 1957.

Tyra was a 1957 All-American. He is still the school's leading all-time rebounder and ranks 11th on the NCAA career rebounds list with 1,617. He was the first and one of five to have their basketball jersey number retired by Louisville Cardinals.

Tyra was the No. 2 overall pick of the 1957 NBA draft by the Detroit Pistons. Prior to the April 17, 1957 draft day, on April 3, 1957, the #2 pick (Tyra) was traded by the Pistons with Mel Hutchins to the New York Knicks for Dick Atha, Nathaniel Clifton and Harry Gallatin.^[2]

On May 16, 1961, Tyra was traded by the New York Knicks with Bob McNeill to the Chicago Packers for Dave Budd.^[2]

Overall, Tyra played five seasons in the National Basketball Association for the New York Knicks (1957–1961) and Chicago Packers (1961–1962). He played one season with the Pittsburgh Rens (1962–1963) of the American Basketball League. Tyra averaged 8.9 points and 7.4 rebounds in 348 NBA games.^[2]

Personal

Tyra died, aged 71, at the Franciscan Health Care Center in Louisville, Kentucky on December 29, 2006; he had been diagnosed with congestive heart failure more than two years earlier.^[3]

Tyra's son, Vince Tyra, served as athletic director at the University of Louisville from 2018 to 2021. He served as the interim athletic director after the departure of Tom Jurich and was appointed permanently to the position on March 26, 2018, before leaving on December 10, 2021.

Career statistics

Legend

GP	Games played	GS	Games started	MPG	Minutes per game
FG%	Field goal percentage	3P%	3-point field goal percentage	FT%	Free throw percentage
RPG	Rebounds per game	APG	Assists per game	SPG	Steals per game
BPG	Blocks per game	PPG	Points per game	Bold	Career high

NBA

Source^[2]

Regular season

Year	Team	GP	MPG	FG%	FT%	RPG	APG	PPG
1957–58	New York	68	17.4	.357	.670	7.1	.5	7.4
1958–59	New York	69	23.0	.396	.679	7.0	.5	8.8
1959–60	New York	74	27.5	.426	.704	8.1	1.1	12.8
1960–61	New York	59	23.8	.362	.694	6.7	1.4	8.8
1961–62	Chicago	78	20.6	.361	.621	7.8	1.1	6.7
Career		348	22.4	.387	.672	7.4	.9	8.9

Playoffs

Year	Team	GP	MPG	FG%	FT%	RPG	APG	PPG
1959	New York	2	27.5	.429	.667	15.5	.5	15.0

See also

• List of NCAA Division I men's basketball players with 30 or more rebounds in a game
• List of NCAA Division I men's basketball career rebounding leaders

References

1. Vince Tyra (profile) – University of Louisville Athletics (same surname pronunciations for both father and son). Retrieved October 28, 2021
2. "Charlie Tyra NBA stats". Basketball Reference. Sports Reference, LLC. Retrieved November 26, 2023.
3. "Louisville's first All-American Tyra passes away at 71". ESPN.com. December 31, 2006.

External links

• ESPN article reporting Tyra's death