Ljubomir Katić

Ljubomir Katić

Personal information
Born	(1934-04-25) 25 April 1934 (age 90) Veliki Bečkerek, Yugoslavia
Nationality	Serbian
Listed height	1.88 m (6 ft 2 in)
Career information
Playing career	1952–1964
Position	Power forward / center
Number	3, 10, 12
Coaching career	1960–1979
Career history
As player:
1952	Radnički Zrenjanin
1953–1957	Proleter Zrenjanin
1958	Crvena zvezda
1959–1963	Proleter Zrenjanin
1964	Split
As coach:
00	Proleter Zrenjanin
1975–1979	Čelik Zenica
Career highlights and awards
As player Yugoslav League champion (1956)

Ljubomir "Ljuba" Katić (Serbian Cyrillic: Љубомир "Љуба" Катић; born 25 April 1934) is a Serbian former basketball player and coach. He represented the Yugoslavia national basketball team internationally.

Playing career

Katić started his basketball career with Partizan Zrenjanin. Later, he moved to another Zrenjanin-based team Radnički Kristal.^[1]

In autumn 1952, Katić joined Proleter Zrenjanin. On 22 May 1953, he made his professional debut for Proleter in a 54–52 loss to Crvena zvezda.^[1] During his first stint with Proleter he won the Yugoslav Championship in the 1956 season.^[2] Katić was a part of the group of players known as the Proleter's Five, which included himself, Milutin Minja, Lajos Engler, Dušan Radojčić, and Vilmos Lóczi.^[3][4]

During the 1958 season, Katić played for Crvena zvezda from Belgrade. He moved to the Zvezda together with Minja. After one season in Belgrade, he moved back to Zrenjanin. During his second stint with Proleter, he was a player-coach together with Lóczi. Katić played for Proleter until 1964 when he moved to Split, SR Croatia, with his family. There he joined Split, a team coached by Branko Radović, his teammate in the Zvezda. On 26 April 1964, Katić he made his debut for Split in a 65–63 loss to Partizan.^[1] Split debuted in the Yugoslav First Federal League in that season.

National team career

Katić was a member of the Yugoslavia national team that participated at the 1955 European Championships in Budapest, Hungary. Over five tournament games, he averaged 2.0 points per game.^[5] Also, he was a member of the national team that participated at the 1957 European Championships in Sofia, Bulgaria. Over nine tournament games, he averaged 4.4 points per game.^[6]

Katić played 29 games for the national team and averaged 3.4 points per game.^[1]

Coaching career

Katić started his coaching career during the second playing stint with Proleter Zrenjanin when he was a player-coach. After retirement from playing career, he was just a coach. In 1975, Katić became the head coach for Čelik Zenica. Four years later, he left Čelik.^[1]

Career achievements and awards

• Yugoslav League champion: 1 (with Proleter Zrenjanin: 1956).
• Plaque of the Basketball Federation of Serbia (2016)^[7]

In popular culture

• The 2016 Serbian documentary, Šampioni iz pedeset i šeste (transl. The 1956 Champions), portrays Katić and the achievements of the Proleter basketball team in the mid 1950s and how they won the Yugoslav Championship in 1956.^[8][9][10]

References

1. "Daba: Ljubomir Katić, ponos Proletera". kosmagazin.com. Retrieved 2 May 2020.
2. "Košarkaška prvenstva Jugoslavije (1945-91) – treći deo". strategija.org. Retrieved 11 January 2019.
3. "DISKRETNI ŠARM ŠAMPIONA I VIRTUOZA POD OBRUČIMA". sportinfo.rs. Retrieved 11 January 2019.
4. "Košarkaško prisećanje: Proleter Zrenjanin 1956". utakmica.rs. Retrieved 12 January 2019.
5. "1955 Yugoslavia 12 - Ljubomir Katic". fiba.basketball. Retrieved 11 January 2019.
6. "1957 Yugoslavia 8 - Ljubomir Katic". fiba.basketball. Retrieved 11 January 2019.
7. "Zrenjanin u znaku košarke". kss.rs. Retrieved 12 January 2019.
8. "Šampioni iz pedeset i šeste". kss.rs. Retrieved 13 January 2019.
9. "Film Šampioni iz pedeset šeste prikazan u Ljubljani". zrenjanin.org.rs. Retrieved 13 January 2019.
10. "ŠAMPIONI IZ PEDESET I ŠESTE". on YouTube. Retrieved 13 January 2019.