Here is all you need to know about American basketball player Pete Maravich including his age, career, bio, wife and cause of death
After overwhelming Pete Maravich to become the all-time highest scorer in NCAA Division I for both men’s and women’s basketball, Clark now sits alone at the top of the record books.
Who was Pete Maravich, cause of death, wife, basketball college stats, scoring record and videos
Who wants to see Pistol Pete Maravich playing H-O-R-S-E with Bob McAdoo? Alright then.
— Super 70s Sports (@Super70sSports) March 4, 2024
With eighteen points remaining to pass Maravich, the Iowa point guard faced Ohio State on Sunday in her final NCAA regular season game. She broke the record with two free throws shortly before halftime, having scored 11 straight Iowa points in the second quarter.
Accompanying her record quest or not, Clark overtook Maravich in a high-stakes game. Now fans are curious to know about the late basketball star.
A NEW ERA ๐คฉ
Caitlin Clark surpasses Pete Maravich for most career points in Division I history ๐ pic.twitter.com/BM7M7xz2Ml
— ESPN (@espn) March 3, 2024
Who was Pete Maravich?
Pistol Pete, a nickname for American professional basketball player Peter Press Maravich, was born on June 22, 1947, in Aliquippa, Pennsylvania, U.S. He stood 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) tall.
A look at Pete Maravich’s career
Pete was a standout player for the Tigers basketball team at the Louisiana State University college, the team coached by his father. Maravich was regarded as one of the most inventive offensive players of all time and one of the best ball handlers in history.
Following his 1970 draft selection by the Atlanta Hawks, Maravich spent four seasons with the team. After being traded, he played much of the remainder of his career with the New Orleans Jazz, an expansion franchise at the time. He played for the Boston Celtics and the Jazz in his final season.
After a 10-year career playing professional basketball, injuries finally caused Maravich to retire in 1980. During his professional career, he was named to four All-NBA Teams and an All-Star five times. In 1996, he was named for the NBA’s 50th anniversary squad, and in 2021 for the 75th anniversary team.
Pete Maravich’s parents
Pete Maravich was born to Petar “Press” Maravich, (1915โ1987), a basketball coach who managed the Tigers basketball team, where his son played, and Helen Gravor Maravich (1925โ1974) in Aliquippa.
When Maravich was at LSU back in the late 1960s, freshmen were not allowed to play varsity and there was no shot clock and no 3-point line. That means he tallied all 3,667 points over three seasons without hitting a single 3 and Pistol Pete averaged 43.8 points per game as a sophomore, 44.2 points as a junior and 44.5 points as a senior.
#OTD in 1977, Pistol Pete Maravich scores 68 points in a win over the New York Knicks pic.twitter.com/RjIJLmvl1U
— hoopsjunky (@hoopsjunky54491) February 25, 2024
Pete Maravich’s wife and children
Pete Maravich was married to Jackie McLachlan, his wife. He was survived by his then 8-year-old Jaeson and 5-year-old Josh.
Pete Maravich’s cause of death
Due to an undiagnosed cardiac condition, he unexpectedly passed away in 1988 during a pick-up game at the age of 40.
As Maravich, then forty, was playing pickup basketball in the gym at First Church of the Nazarene in Pasadena, California, on January 5, 1988, he fell and passed away from heart failure.
Maravich was playing in a pickup game at First Church of the Nazarene in Pasadena, Calif., on Jan. 5, 1988, when he died of heart failure andย was taken to a hospital by an ambulance but was pronounced dead within minutes of his arrival.
Maravich was posthumously diagnosed with a congenital heart defect.
An autopsy determined that the cause of death was an uncommon congenital abnormality; the absent left coronary artery supplied blood to the heart’s muscular fibres. He had a massively enlarged right coronary artery that was making up for the flaw.