Pete Maravich was a native son of Beaver County who didn’t play any
of his basketball here and never reached his goal of playing in a
championship game, but whose dynamic style earned him his nickname.
Pete was born in Aliquippa on June 22, 1947, while his father
Press Maravich was
coaching at Aliquippa High School. The family left Beaver County
when Pete was nine years old. Pete later played three years at
Louisiana State under his father, setting an NCAA scoring record of
3667 points for a 44.2 points per game average. Pete averaged 24.2
points per game in his pro career and was inducted into the
Basketball Hall of Fame in 1987. Pete played in the NBA All Star
Game five times and won a scoring title. Pete unluckily retired from
the Celtics one year before they won the NBA championship. Pistol
Pete ironically predicted his own fate in an interview with Beaver
County Times sportswriter Andy Nuzzo while playing for the Atlanta
Hawks in 1974: "I don’t want to play ten years in the NBA and die of
a heart attack at 40. I’ve got other things to do. Who needs
basketball?” But that was exactly what happened. Pete retired from
his ten year pro basketball career in 1980 after stints with the
Hawks, the New Orleans and Utah Jazz, and the Boston Celtics and was
serving as a traveling lecturer for youth groups when he died of a
massive heart attack on January 5, 1988, after playing a half court
game at a California church.
Pete Maravich was a native son of Beaver County who didn’t play any
of his basketball here and never reached his goal of playing in a
championship game, but whose dynamic style earned him his nickname.
Pete was born in Aliquippa on June 22, 1947, while his father