Sept. 25, 2012
Bronx, N.Y. -
The Fordham University community lost a valuable member last Friday with the passing of Athletic Hall of Famer Ed Conlin, GSB '55, a former men's basketball standout, at the age of 79.
"Ed Conlin was one of the true greats at Fordham," said associate vice president of student affairs for athletic alumni relations and external affairs/athletic director emeritus, Frank McLaughlin, who played his senior year for Conlin when Conlin became head coach at Fordham. "Aside from his outstanding accomplishments on the basketball court, he was a loyal man of Fordham who truly loved and cherished the university. Our thoughts and prayers go out to the entire Conlin family for their loss. Ed was a tremendous person and he will be greatly missed."
A native of Brooklyn where he played at St. Michael's High School, Conlin arrived at Fordham in 1951 and immediately went to work on the school's record books, graduating in 1955 as Fordham's all-time leading scorer, with 1,886 points, and rebounder, with 1,930 career rebounds, records that still stand today. At the time, his 1,886 career points was the New York City basketball record.
Conlin averaged 5.8 points a game as a freshman in 1951-52, and then exploded for his sophomore season, averaging 18.2 ppg, guiding Fordham to its first ever NCAA Tournament appearance. As a junior in 1953-54, Conlin averaged 22.4 ppg, and led the Rams to their second straight NCAA Tournament. He became the first Fordham player to score more than 40 points in a game that year when he netted 42 versus Adelphi, still the record for most points scored in the Rose Hill Gym. Conlin closed out his college career by pumping in a school-record 26.1 ppg, a single season mark which still stands today.
Conlin received the 1954 and 1955 Haggerty Award as the top collegiate player in the Metropolitan area, the first and only Ram to win the award twice, and he was named All-American those two years as well, becoming Fordham's first basketball All-American.
Following his playing days, Conlin was drafted by the Syracuse Nationals with the fifth overall pick and he played there for four years until moving to the Detroit Pistons during the 1958-1959 season. He closed out his NBA career with the Philadelphia Warriors from 1960-1962. He averaged 10.1 ppg and 4.8 rpg in his professional career.
Following his playing days, Conlin returned to Rose Hill, serving as an assistant coach under legendary Fordham head coach John Bach from 1967-68 and then taking over as head coach for the 1968-1969 and 1969-70 seasons.
Conlin was inducted into the Fordham Athletic Hall of Fame in 1973, the New York City Basketball Hall of Fame in 2003 and had his number (11) retired by the school in 2004.
There is no wake or funeral for scheduled. A memorial is being planned for Thanksgiving weekend. More information will be posted on FordhamSports.com when it becomes available.
