Joseph F. "Bells" Colone^[1] (January 23, 1924 – July 1, 2009) was an American professional basketball player for the New York Knicks.^[1][2][3]

Early life [link]

Colone attended Berwick High School in Berwick, Pennsylvania^[1][3] and then played basketball collegiately at Bloomsburg State Teachers College (now named Bloomsburg University of Pennsylvania).^[1][2][3]

Professional career [link]

He was not drafted into the NBA but still managed to make the Knicks' roster for the 1948–49 season. At 6 feet 5 inches tall and 210 pounds,^[1] Joe played the forward position. He only played for one season in the NBA and appeared in 15 games while averaging 5.5 points.^[2]

Personal [link]

After his brief stint in the NBA, Colone migrated to Woodbury, New Jersey to teach.^[3] He taught at Woodbury Junior-Senior High School from 1954–1986.^[1] He was an assistant coach for the football and basketball teams there. Colone mentored rising basketball star Dave Budd, who later went on to play at Wake Forest University and then, coincidentally, the New York Knicks.^[3] Budd is still the only Woodbury High School graduate to ever reach the NBA. Budd's career lasted five seasons and he was also responsible in sharing the duty of guarding Wilt Chamberlain during his 100–point game. Budd and Colone stayed friends throughout the rest of Colone's life.^[3]

Joe "Bells" Colone died at age 83 on July 1, 2009 after many years of fighting various illnesses.^[3] He had been married to his wife Genevieve for 57 years and had five children – four sons and one daughter.^[3]

References [link]