Gallatin, Harry J.
Basketball
b. April 26, 1926, Roxana, IL
While a student at Northeast Missouri State, Gallatin was drafted into the U. S. Navy in 1945. He returned to school in 1946 and played basketball during his junior and senior years, averaging 13.2 points a game. He joined the New York Knickerbockers of the NBA in 1948.
Although nicknamed "the Horse," the 6-foot-6, 215-pound Gallatin was an agile forward who used his quickness to get to rebounds ahead of bigger men. He led the league in rebounding in 1953-54 with 1,098, an average of 15.3 a game. After ten seasons with New York, he went to the Detroit Pistons in 1957-58 and then retired. Gallatin played in 747 consecutive games, including playoffs, a record at the time.
After four years of coaching at Southern Illinois University-Carbondale, Gallatin took over the NBA's St. Louis Hawks in 1962. He was named the league's coach of the year in 1963, then went to the New York Knicks. He was fired during the 1964-65 season.
Gallatin returned to Southern Illinois as dean of students and later became a professor of physical education and the school's golf coach.