Rochester, N.Y. (AP) - Al Cervi, a pro-basketball star who went on to coach the 1955 NBA champion Syracuse Nationals, has died in Rochester at age 92.
The 5-foot-11-inch Cervi, one of the strongest backcourt players of the 1940s and 1950s, was elected to the Basketball Hall of Fame in 1985. Nicknamed "Digger," he was an all-star guard, scoring champion and 1947 league MVP for the Rochester Royals of the National Basketball League.
He became a player-coach for the Syracuse Nationals in 1948, continuing in that role after the team entered the NBA. He retired as a player in 1953 but coached the Nats until 1957.
A Buffalo native, Cervi died at a hospice in Rochester on Monday. He and his widow, Ruthie, had been married for 68 years.
(Copyright 2009 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
