Lefty Byers

American basketball coach
Lefty Byers
Personal information
Born(1905-09-06)September 6, 1905
Nebraska
DiedMay 25, 2000(2000-05-25) (aged 94)
Ohio
NationalityAmerican
Career information
CollegeKansas State (1924–1927)
Career history
As player:
1930–1932Akron Firestone Non-Skids
As coach:
1936–1939Akron Goodyear Wingfoots
Career highlights and awards
As player
  • 2× First-team All-MVC (1926, 1927)
As coach
  • NBL champion (1938)
  • NBL Coach of the Year (1938)
  • MBC champion (1937)

Clifton Andrew "Lefty" Byers (September 6, 1905 – May 25, 2000) was an American professional basketball coach for the Akron Goodyear Wingfoots in the United States' National Basketball League (NBL). He was the NBL Coach of the Year in 1937–38.[1] During Byers' tenure, the Wingfoots transitioned from the Midwest Basketball Conference (MBC) in 1936–37 into the NBL in 1937–38 (its inaugural season). Byers led the Wingfoots to win the first-ever NBL championship in 1938.[1] The year before, the team had also won the MBC championship.[1]

As a player, Byers competed in basketball,[2] track,[3] and baseball[1] for Kansas State University in the 1920s. In basketball, he was named to the All-Missouri Valley Conference first-team twice, as both a junior (1926) and as a senior (1927).[1] He then played semi-professionally for the Akron Firestone Non-Skids in 1930–31 and 1931–32 while they were an amateur industrial league team.[1]

Head coaching record

The below season records reflect Byers' tenure as head coach when the Akron Goodyear Wingfoots were in the NBL. In 1936–37 they were still members of the MBC and that season is not counted toward official NBL coaching records.[1]

Legend
Regular season G Games coached W Games won L Games lost W–L % Win–loss %
Playoffs PG Playoff games PW Playoff wins PL Playoff losses PW–L % Playoff win–loss %
Team Year G W L W–L% Finish PG PW PL PW–L% Result
Akron 1937–38 18 13 5 .722 2nd in Eastern 5 4 1 .800 Won NBL Championship
Akron 1938–39 28 14 14 .500 2nd in Eastern — — — — Missed Playoffs
Total 46 27 19 .587 5 4 1 .800

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g Marcus, Jeff (2003). A Biographical Directory of Professional Basketball Coaches. Lanham, Maryland: Scarecrow Press, Inc. pp. 97–98. ISBN 0-8108-4007-3.
  2. ^ "Lefty Byers". ProBasketballEncyclopedia.com. Retrieved November 23, 2019.
  3. ^ "Death Notices: Clifton "Lefty" Byers". Akron Beacon Journal. Newspapers.com. May 26, 2000. p. 24. Retrieved November 23, 2019.
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Akron Goodyear Wingfoots 1936–37 MBC champions
  • Head coach Byers
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Akron Goodyear Wingfoots 1937–38 NBL champions
  • Head coach Byers
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National Basketball League (United States) Coach of the Year Award


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