Marion Odicea "Odie" Spears (June 17, 1925–March 28, 1985) was an American basketball

Basketball

Basketball is a team sport in which two teams of five players try to score points by throwing or "shooting" a ball through the top of a basketball hoop while following a set of rules...

 player.

A 6'5" guard from Scottsville, Kentucky

Scottsville, Kentucky

Scottsville is a city in and the county seat of Allen County, Kentucky, United States. The population was 4,327 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Scottsville is located at ....

, Spears attended nearby Western Kentucky University

Western Kentucky University

Western Kentucky University is a public university in Bowling Green, Kentucky, USA. It was formally founded by the Commonwealth of Kentucky in 1906, though its roots reach back a quarter-century earlier....

 but saw little playing time during his first two seasons. After his sophomore year, he left Western Kentucky to serve in the United States Army

United States Army

The United States Army is the main branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S. military, and is one of seven U.S. uniformed services...

, where he played three seasons for the 326th Glider Infantry basketball team at Fort Bragg, North Carolina

Fort Bragg, North Carolina

Fort Bragg is a major United States Army installation, in Cumberland and Hoke counties, North Carolina, U.S., mostly in Fayetteville but also partly in the town of Spring Lake. It was also a census-designated place in the 2010 census and had a population of 39,457. The fort is named for Confederate...

. He then returned to Western Kentucky in 1946 with improved skills and confidence and became the team's leading scorer during his junior and senior years. Spears received All-American honors in 1948 after leading Western Kentucky to a third-place finish in the National Invitation Tournament

National Invitation Tournament

The National Invitation Tournament is a men's college basketball tournament operated by the National Collegiate Athletic Association. There are two NIT events each season. The first, played in November and known as the Dick's Sporting Goods NIT Season Tip-Off , was founded in 1985...

 (then the nation's premier basketball tournament).

From 1948 to 1957, Spears played professionally in the National Basketball Association

National Basketball Association

The National Basketball Association is the pre-eminent men's professional basketball league in North America. It consists of thirty franchised member clubs, of which twenty-nine are located in the United States and one in Canada...

 as a member of the Chicago Stags

Chicago Stags

The Chicago Stags were a National Basketball Association team based in Chicago, Illinois, U.S..- Franchise history :The Chicago Stags were founded in 1946 and folded in 1950. Despite their short history, they were able to acquire the draft rights to a young Bob Cousy in a trade with the Tri-Cities...

, Rochester Royals

Rochester Royals

The franchise that would become the Sacramento Kings initially started in the city of Rochester, New York, as the Rochester Royals of the National Basketball League....

, Fort Wayne Pistons, and St. Louis Hawks. He averaged 8.7 points per game

Points per game

Points per game, often abbreviated PPG, is the average number of points scored by a player per game played in a sport, over the course of a series of games, a whole season, or a career. It is calculated by dividing the total number of points by number of games. The terminology is often used in...

 and 4.0 rebounds per game in his NBA career and ranked as one of the league's top-ten free throw

Free throw

In basketball, free throws or foul shots are unopposed attempts to score points from a restricted area on the court , and are generally awarded after a foul on the shooter by the opposing team...

 shooters three times. Spears also played during the 1950-51 season for the Louisville Alumnites

Louisville Alumnites

Louisville Alumnites were a team in the National Professional Basketball League , based in Louisville, Kentucky.The Alumnites competed in the Eastern Division of the NPBL. They compiled a record of 18 wins and 17 losses , and finished in second place in the Eastern Division behind the Sheboygan...

 of the National Professional Basketball League.

After his playing career ended, Spears moved to Louisville, Kentucky

Louisville, Kentucky

Louisville is the largest city in the U.S. state of Kentucky, and the county seat of Jefferson County. Since 2003, the city's borders have been coterminous with those of the county because of a city-county merger. The city's population at the 2010 census was 741,096...

, where he became an insurance executive. He was elected to the Western Kentucky Hall of Fame in 1993.