# Gene Rock

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"Eugene Rock" redirects here. For the Canadian actor, see [Eugene Brave Rock](/source/Eugene_Brave_Rock).

**Eugene O. Rock** (November 4, 1921 – October 31, 2002) was an American professional [basketball](/source/Basketball) player who played in the [Professional Basketball League of America](/source/Professional_Basketball_League_of_America) (PBLA) and the [Basketball Association of America](/source/Basketball_Association_of_America) (BAA) during the 1947–48 season.[1][2] A native of [Huntington Park, California](/source/Huntington_Park,_California), Rock attended [Huntington Park High School](/source/Huntington_Park_High_School) before enrolling at the [University of Southern California](/source/University_of_Southern_California) to play basketball.[1] While at USC, Rock earned varsity letters in 1942, 1943 and 1947.[3] Like many male college athletes during his day, Rock served in the military for two years before finishing college; he attained the rank of Captain in the [Marine Corps](/source/United_States_Marine_Corps).[3] Rock led the [Trojans](/source/USC_Trojans_men's_basketball) in scoring during 1942–43 (12.6 points per game) and again in 1946–47 (11.1 ppg).[3] During the former season, USC finished with a then-school record 23–5 mark en route to winning the Pacific Coast League Southern Division title.[3] Rock was also a teammate of future [College Basketball Hall of Fame](/source/College_Basketball_Hall_of_Fame) coaches [Alex Hannum](/source/Alex_Hannum) and [Tex Winter](/source/Tex_Winter).

After his college career ended, Rock played for the Birmingham Skyhawks in the PBLA, which was a professional basketball league that lasted for less than one full season due to underfunding. He averaged 6.9 points per game in seven games before the league folded.[2] Rock then signed with the [Chicago Stags](/source/Chicago_Stags) of the BAA. In 11 games played, he averaged 0.9 points.[1] His basketball career ended after the season, and Rock worked for the [Los Angeles Police Department](/source/Los_Angeles_Police_Department) where he became a [captain](/source/Police_captain).[3] He served in the vice squad, Hollywood division.[4] Rock retired in 1979 and lived the rest of his life in the [San Diego](/source/San_Diego) area. On October 31, 2002, he succumbed to cancer.[3]

## BAA career statistics

Legend GP Games played FG% Field-goal percentage FT% Free-throw percentage APG Assists per game PPG Points per game

### Regular season

Year Team GP FG% FT% APG PPG 1947–48 Chicago 11 .222 .500 .0 .9 Career 11 .222 .500 .0 .9

### Playoffs

Year Team GP FG% FT% APG PPG 1948 Chicago 2 .000 .000 .0 .0 Career 2 .000 .000 .0 .0

## See also

- [List of shortest players in National Basketball Association history](/source/List_of_shortest_players_in_National_Basketball_Association_history)

## References

1. ["Gene Rock"](https://www.basketball-reference.com/players/r/rockge01.html). *basketball-reference.com*. Sports Reference LLC. 2010. Retrieved October 4, 2010.

1. ["Professional Basketball League of America 1947–48"](http://www.apbr.org/pbla.html). *apbr.org*. The Association for Professional Basketball Research. 2009. Retrieved October 4, 2010.

1. ["Former Trojans player Rock dies"](https://web.archive.org/web/20080123221536/http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/basketball/college/news/2002/11/01/rock_obit_ap/). *[Sports Illustrated](/source/Sports_Illustrated)*. CNN. November 1, 2002. Archived from [the original](http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/basketball/college/news/2002/11/01/rock_obit_ap/) on January 23, 2008. Retrieved October 4, 2010.

1. ["The Ladder, May 1957, Vol. 1, No. 8 | Alexander Street Documents"](https://documents.alexanderstreet.com/d/1003347887). *documents.alexanderstreet.com*. Retrieved 2024-01-27.

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