Bill Mlkvy

William Paul Mlkvy (January 19, 1931 – December 12, 2024) was an American professional basketball player who spent his one-year career with the Philadelphia Warriors (now the Golden State Warriors). Philadelphia selected Mlkvy with a territorial pick of the 1952 NBA draft out of Temple University.

A 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) and 190 pounds (86 kg) forward, he was nicknamed "the Owl without a Vowel." His parents, John and Margaret, migrated to the United States in 1907 from present-day Slovakia, then part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, when his father got a job with The New Jersey Zinc Company. Mlkvy was one of eight children.

After being drafted, Mlkvy continued with his schooling, attending Temple's dental school while playing with the Warriors. After his rookie season, Warriors general manager and coach Eddie Gottlieb made Mlkvy choose between school and basketball. Mlkvy initially chose basketball but changed course when he was informed that he would be drafted into the United States Army as a private if he was no longer enrolled in school but, if he finished school, he would be drafted as a dental officer.

Mlkvy finished dental school the following year and enlisted in the Army as a dentist and served from 1955 to 1962, eventually reaching the rank of major and was stationed in Korea for the last few years of his service.

In 1992, Mlkvy was inducted into the Pennsylvania Sports Hall of Fame. Mlkvy died in Medford, New Jersey, on December 12, 2024, at the age of 93.

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