Dick Peete had a knack
for playing on successful basketball teams. Many veteran fans and
coaches in the community like
Dom Casey think
Dick was a key factor
in the success on teams on which he starred. In fact, Casey
described Pete as “one of the five best athletes to come out of
Beaver Falls.” Born in Beaver Falls, Dick was the son of Mr and Mrs
Herbert Peete. He graduated from Beaver Falls High School in 1945
after earning two letters each in basketball and football. Dick
played on the Beaver Falls High basketball teams that reached the
WPIAL cage tournament championship game in both 1944 and 1945. After
two years in the Army, he toured with the Harlem Aces basketball
team for one season and later joined the famous Beaver Falls
American Legion basketball team that won four state championships
from 1948 to 1951. Dick was named to the All State Legion team three
times. The Tommies won the American Legion title in 1948 and were
runners up in 1951. Dick received the Sportsmanship Award in the
1948 national tournament and also received the same award three
times in state tournaments. He was named MVP in the State Legion
cage tourney in 1950. During his career with the Beaver Falls Legion cagers, Dick averaged 12 points per game on squads that were famous
for their ball handling and defense. The Tommies won 88 Legion games
in the four year stretch from 1948 to 1951. Dick died in 1960 at
age 33.
Dick Peete had a knack
for playing on successful basketball teams. Many veteran fans and
coaches in the community like