{{Short description|American basketball player (1924–2019)}} {{Use mdy dates|date=July 2024}} {{Infobox basketball biography | name = Frank Saul | image = | width = | caption = | height_ft = 6 | height_in = 2 | weight_lb = 185 | birth_date = {{birth date|1924|2|16}} | birth_place = Oradell, New Jersey, U.S. | death_date = {{death date and age|2019|11|7|1924|2|16}} | death_place = East Hanover, New Jersey, U.S. | high_school = * Holy Trinity<br>(Hackensack, New Jersey) * Seton Hall Prep<br>(West Orange, New Jersey) | college = {{nowrap|Seton Hall (1942–1943, 1946–1949)}} | draft_league = BAA | draft_year = 1949 | draft_round = 1 | draft_pick = 10 | draft_team = Rochester Royals | career_position = Shooting guard | career_number = 03, 33, 18, 10 | career_start = 1949 | career_end = 1955 | years1 = {{nbay|1949|start}}–{{nbay|1950|end}} | team1 = Rochester Royals | years2 = {{nbay|1951|full=y}} | team2 = Baltimore Bullets | years3 = {{nbay|1951|end}}–{{nbay|1954|end}} | team3 = Minneapolis Lakers | highlights = * 4× NBA champion (1951–1954) * No. 3 retired by Seton Hall Pirates | stat1label = Points | stat1value = 2,152 (5.6 ppg) | stat2label = Rebounds | stat2value = 683 (2.0 rpg) | stat3label = Assists | stat3value = 596 (1.6 apg) }} '''Frank Benjamin''' "'''Pep'''" '''Saul Jr.''' (February 16, 1924 – November 7, 2019) was an American professional basketball player. He played in the National Basketball Association (NBA) for the Rochester Royals, Baltimore Bullets and Minneapolis Lakers. Saul won four consecutive NBA championships from 1951 to 1954. He played college basketball for the Seton Hall Pirates and had his number 3 retired by the team.

==Early life== Saul was born in Oradell and raised in Westwood, New Jersey, as the eldest of eight children to Frank and Lena Saul.<ref name=obit /> He attended Holy Trinity High School in Hackensack, where he captained the baseball and basketball teams to state championships.<ref name=obit /> He transferred to Seton Hall Preparatory in West Orange for his senior year.<ref name=Record2016>{{cite news|last=Iseman|first=Chris|url=http://www.northjersey.com/sports/college-sports/college-basketball/saul-left-a-historic-trail-during-basketball-career-1.1508432?page=all|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160919083244/http://www.northjersey.com/sports/college-sports/college-basketball/saul-left-a-historic-trail-during-basketball-career-1.1508432?page=all|archive-date=September 19, 2016|title=Where are they now? Seton Hall basketball star Frank 'Pep' Saul|work=The Record|date=February 9, 2016|access-date=August 14, 2016}}</ref>

==College basketball career== Saul played collegiately for the Seton Hall Pirates men's basketball, leaving college after his freshman year to serve for three years in the United States Army during World War II. He scored his 1,000th career point in a game against Creighton University on March 5, 1949, making him the first player from Seton Hall to reach that milestone.<ref name=Record2016/>

==Professional career== Saul won four consecutive NBA championships with the Rochester Royals in 1951 and with the Minneapolis Lakers from 1952 to 1954. He, Steve Kerr and Patrick McCaw are the only three players in NBA history who won three championships with two different teams in consecutive seasons,<ref>{{cite book|title=Basketball Championships' Most Wanted|first=David L.|last=Hudson, Jr.|date=2007|publisher=Potomac Books, Inc|page=202|isbn=978-1-59797-014-3|url=https://archive.org/details/basketballchampi0000huds/page/202/mode/1up?q=kerr|access-date=May 25, 2022|via=Internet Archive|url-access=registration}}</ref> with him and Kerr winning four times in a row.

==Later life and death== Saul worked in insurance after his athletic retirement.<ref name=obit /> He worked with State Farm and James E. Wordley Agency before he opened his own agency in 1967; he sold his business in 1994.<ref name=obit />

Saul was married to his wife for 72 years and had eight children.<ref name=obit /> He was a resident of East Hanover, New Jersey.<ref name=Record2016/> Saul died on November 7, 2019, at the age of 95.<ref name=obit>{{cite web |title=Frank Saul Obituary |url=https://www.dignitymemorial.com/obituaries/livingston-nj/frank-saul-8920621 |website=Dignity Memorial |access-date=November 28, 2022}}</ref>

==Career statistics== {{NBA player statistics legend|champion=y|leader=y}}

===Playing===

====NBA==== Source<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.basketball-reference.com/players/s/saulpe01.html|title=Pep Saul NBA stats|website=Basketball Reference|publisher=Sports Reference LLC|accessdate=12 May 2023}}</ref>

=====Regular season===== {| class="wikitable sortable" style="font-size:95%; text-align:right;" |- ! Year ! Team ! GP ! MPG ! FG% ! FT% ! RPG ! APG ! PPG |- |style="text-align:left;"| 1949–50 |style="text-align:left;"| Rochester | 49 || &ndash; || '''.404''' || .723 || &ndash; || .6 || 3.7 |- |style="text-align:left;background:#afe6ba;"| 1950–51† |style="text-align:left;"| Rochester | 63 || &ndash; || .339 || .686 || 1.3 || 1.0 || 4.3 |- |style="text-align:left;"| 1951–52 |style="text-align:left;"| Baltimore | 39 || 18.5 || .339 || '''.800''' || 2.2 || 2.0 || 5.6 |- |style="text-align:left;background:#afe6ba;"| {{nbay|1951|nolink=y}}† |style="text-align:left;"| Minneapolis | 25 || '''30.4''' || .389 || .763 || '''3.2''' || '''2.7''' || '''8.6''' |- |style="text-align:left;background:#afe6ba;"| 1952–53† |style="text-align:left;"| Minneapolis | 70 || 25.7 || .397 || .710 || 2.0 || 1.6 || 7.4 |- |style="text-align:left;background:#afe6ba;"| 1953–54† |style="text-align:left;"| Minneapolis | '''71''' || 25.4 || .347 || .753 || 2.2 || 2.0 || 6.4 |- |style="text-align:left;"| 1954–55 |style="text-align:left;"| Milwaukee | 65 || 17.5 || .317 || .772 || 2.1 || 1.6 || 4.4 |- class="sortbottom" |style="text-align:center;" colspan="2"|Career | 384 || 23.0 || .360 || .739 || 2.0 || 1.6 || 5.6 |}

=====Playoffs===== {| class="wikitable sortable" style="font-size:95%; text-align:right;" |- ! Year ! Team ! GP ! MPG ! FG% ! FT% ! RPG ! APG ! PPG |- | style="text-align:left;"| 1950 | style="text-align:left;"| Rochester | 2 || &ndash; || '''.538''' || '''.800''' || &ndash; || 2.0 || 9.0 |- | style="text-align:left;background:#afe6ba;"| 1951† | style="text-align:left;"| Rochester | 9 || &ndash; || .333 || .500 || .3 || .7 || 1.0 |- | style="text-align:left;background:#afe6ba;"| 1952† | style="text-align:left;"| Minneapolis | '''13''' || '''40.8''' || .463 || .729 || '''2.8''' || '''3.5''' || '''11.3''' |- | style="text-align:left;background:#afe6ba;"| 1953† | style="text-align:left;"| Minneapolis | style="background:#cfecec;"|12* || 24.8 || .419 || .727 || 2.3 || 1.5 || 7.2 |- | style="text-align:left;background:#afe6ba;"| 1954† | style="text-align:left;"| Minneapolis | style="background:#cfecec;"|'''13'''* || 17.5 || .353 || .735 || 2.1 || 1.1 || 4.7 |- |style="text-align:center;" colspan="2"|Career | 49 || 27.7 || .428 || .730 || 2.0 || 1.8 || 6.6 |}

==References== {{reflist}}

==External links== {{basketball stats}}

{{Navboxes|list1= {{1949 BAA Draft}} {{Rochester Royals 1950–51 NBA champions}} {{Minneapolis Lakers 1951–52 NBA champions}} {{Minneapolis Lakers 1952–53 NBA champions}} {{Minneapolis Lakers 1953–54 NBA champions}} }}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Saul, Frank}} Category:1924 births Category:2019 deaths Category:American men's basketball players Category:Baltimore Bullets (1944–1954) players Category:Basketball players from Bergen County, New Jersey Category:Basketball players from Morris County, New Jersey Category:Minneapolis Lakers players Category:People from East Hanover, New Jersey Category:People from Westwood, New Jersey Category:Rochester Royals draft picks Category:Rochester Royals players Category:Seton Hall Pirates men's basketball players Category:Shooting guards Category:United States Army personnel of World War II