A 1961 graduate of St. Bonaventure, Tom Stith’s name is one of those synonymous with the storied past of the university’s men’s basketball program.
Now, 63 years later, Stith will get his recognition from the rest of the collegiate basketball world as he is set to be posthumously inducted into the National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame.
“A co-captain of the 1960-61 team, Stith had an almost unstoppable hook shot and won more national attention for the program than any other player up to that time,” St. Bonaventure Athletics stated in a press release. “At the time of his graduation, Tom set the all-time scoring record at St. Bonaventure with 2,052 points over his three years. That total has been surpassed four times, but three times it was by men who played four seasons.”
Stith’s records for field goals in a season (327) and scoring average in a season (31.5 points per game — set in the 1959-60 season) stand to this day. He owns the top two scoring seasons in program history, scoring 830 points in 60-61 and 819 points in 59-60. He had eight 40+ point performances for the Bonnies “and his 27.0 ppg average ranks second only to Bob Lanier in the Bona record books.”
On the national stage, Stith averaged 29 points and eight rebounds during Bona’s three-game run in the 1961 NCAA tourney. He had point tallies of 25, 26 and 34 in NIT fixtures as well.
The following are the honors Stith received during his collegiate basketball career according to the press release:
Associated Press All-American (1959-60 and 1960-61); United Press International All-American (1959-60 and 1960-61); Look Magazine All-American (1960-61); Sporting News All-American (1959-60 and 1960-61); Coach and Athlete All-American (1960-61); Coach and Athlete Player of the Year (1960-61); Converse All-American (1959-60 and 1960-61); Helms Foundation All-American (1960-61); Catholic Digest All-American (1960-61); and ECAC All-East (1960-61).
Post-college hoops, Stith was the second overall pick in the 1961 NBA Draft, selected by the New York Knicks.
“He was inducted into the St. Bonaventure Athletics Hall of Fame in 1969 as part of the inaugural Bonnies Hall of Fame class,” the release noted. “In 2019, he was selected to the program’s Centennial Season ‘All-Time Team’ as one of the top 20 players in Bonnies basketball history.”
Stith will join Lanier (‘70) as Bona alumni to be honored with a place in the National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame.
