# Jack Smiley

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**Arthur John Smiley** (December 22, 1922 – July 30, 2000) was an American professional [basketball](/source/Basketball) player. Smiley played basketball for Waterman High School, in [Waterman, Illinois](/source/Waterman,_Illinois). With [Gene Vance](/source/Gene_Vance), [Andy Phillip](/source/Andy_Phillip), [Ken Menke](/source/Ken_Menke), and [Art Mathisen](/source/Art_Mathisen), Smiley was a member of the [University of Illinois](/source/University_of_Illinois)' "[Whiz Kids](/source/1942%E2%80%9343_Illinois_Fighting_Illini_men's_basketball_team)" team that went 35-6 from 1941 to 1943, earning two [Big Ten Conference](/source/Big_Ten_Conference) championships. The team voted to turn down an invitation to the NCAA tournament in 1943, after Smiley, Vance and Phillip were inducted into the military mid-season.

As an artillery corporal with the Army's 106th division, Smiley was engaged in one of the bloodiest skirmishes of the Battle of the Bulge- once firing his 105 mm Howitzer for 96 continuous hours. The 106th division suffered a 90% casualty rate in the skirmish.[1]

Smiley returned to Illinois for the 1946–47 season and won team MVP honors.[2]

After college, Smiley played two seasons in the [National Basketball Association](/source/National_Basketball_Association) with the [Fort Wayne Pistons](/source/Fort_Wayne_Pistons), [Anderson Packers](/source/Anderson_Packers), and [Waterloo Hawks](/source/Waterloo_Hawks). He averaged 6.2 points per game in his NBA career.[3] Smiley also served as a [player-coach](/source/Player-coach) for the Hawks for 27 games in the 1949–50 season, and posted an 11–16 record.[4]

Smiley spent his later years in [Des Moines, Iowa](/source/Des_Moines,_Iowa). He died in 2000.[2]

## Career statistics

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

### BAA/NBA

Source[3]

#### Regular season

Year Team GP FG% FT% APG PPG 1948–49 Fort Wayne 59 .247 .683 2.3 6.7 Anderson 12 .120 .500 1.2 2.0 Waterloo 47 .293 .701 3.1 6.6 Career 118 .256 .679 2.5 6.2

## Head coaching record

|- | style="text-align:left;"|[Waterloo](/source/1949%E2%80%9350_Waterloo_Hawks_season) | style="text-align:left;"| | 27||11||16|||| style="text-align:center;"|5th in Western||—||—||—||— | style="text-align:center;"|Missed playoffs

Source[4]

## References

1. Hoxsey, Brian. ["Jack Smiley Special Player"](http://ltcbasketball.tripod.com/id11.html). Retrieved 2013-05-05.

1. Jim Rossow. "Whiz Kid passes away". *News Gazette*. July 31, 2000. C1.

1. ["Jack Smiley BAA/NBA playing statistics"](https://www.basketball-reference.com/players/s/smileja01.html). *[Basketball Reference](/source/Basketball_Reference)*. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved 10 September 2025.

1. ["Jack Smiley head coaching record"](https://www.basketball-reference.com/coaches/smileja01c.html). *[Basketball Reference](/source/Basketball_Reference)*. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved 10 September 2025.

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