Triptow, Chicago Basketball Pioneer and Lake Forest Resident, Dies

Team photo of 1947 Chicago American Gears, courtesy of Hoopedia.

Former college basketball star Richard Triptow, who played with George Mikan at DePaul University in the 1940s died in late-February at Lake Forest Hospital after a bout with pneumonia, the Chicago Tribune reports.

Triptow, a former Lake Bluff resident, most recently lived at the Lake Forest Place Retirement Community in Lake Forest.

Triptow was a member of Chicago’s first-ever professional basketball championship in 1947, teaming with Mikan for the Chicago American Gears. The Tribune says the American Gears “went on a stunning run” through the National Basketball League playoffs and defeated the Rochester Royals for the championship.

Read more via the Chicago Tribune