Former Wake Forest great Len Chappell dies at 77
Published 1:34 am Saturday, July 14, 2018
- Wake Forest sports.com ... Wake Forest’s Len Chappell (50) drives against Ohio State’s Jerry Lucas (11) during a national semifinal basketball game in the 1962 Final Four. The Deacons lost that game to Ohio State, but bounced back to defeat UCLA in the third-place game. Chappell, the school’s first consensus All-American who went on to play in the NBA for nine seasons, died on Thursday at the age of 77.
WINSTON-SALEM (AP) — Wake Forest says former basketball all-American and NBA All-Star Len Chappell has died.
The school says the 77-year-old Chappell died Thursday. No cause of death was provided in Friday’s announcement.
The 6-foot-8 Chappell led the Demon Deacons to two Atlantic Coast Conference tournament titles and the school’s only Final Four trip in 1962. He was the school’s first consensus all-American. He was also named ACC player of the year in 1961 and 1962.
Chappell was the No. 4 pick in the 1962 NBA draft and played nine seasons in the league, scoring more than 5,600 points. In 1964, he became the first Demon Deacons player selected to an NBA All-Star Game while with the New York Knicks.
Chappell scored 2,165 career points at Wake Forest, still third all-time in school history. He also had 1,213 career rebounds.
The school retired Chappell’s No. 50 jersey number.
