Eddie Beach

The late Eddie Beach, the first Mountaineer to be chosen in the NBA draft, was a WVU basketball letterman from 1947-50. Beach scored 972 career points and was a vital part of the Mountaineers’ 1947 team that ranked No. 1 nationally with an 18-1 record before entering that year’s National Invitation Tournament. He was named to the Helms Foundation’s All-America third team in 1948 and was selected team captain in 1950.

Beach, a native of Elizabeth, N.J., was selected in the fifth round of the 1950 NBA draft by the Minneapolis Lakers. He played one season (1950-51) in the NBA with Minneapolis and Tri-Cities before he was drafted into the U.S. Army for two years of service.

Beach returned to WVU to complete his master’s degree and then taught history at Union High School in Union Township, N.J., from 1955-82; he coached the basketball, baseball, golf and bowling teams at Union, winning state and conference championships. After his retirement, he and his wife, the former Delores Fisher, returned to the Morgantown area; their three children are Eddie III, Andrew and Diane. Beach died in Morgantown on March 14, 1996.