Mark Eaton, American basketball player and sportscaster
Mark Edward Eaton (January 24, 1957 – May 28, 2021) was an American professional basketball player who spent his entire career (1982–1993) with the Utah Jazz of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Named an NBA All-Star in 1989, he was twice voted the NBA Defensive Player of the Year (1985, 1989) and was a five-time member of the NBA All-Defensive Team. Though limited offensively, the 7-foot-4-inch (2.24 m) Eaton became one of the best defensive centers in NBA history. He led the league in blocks four times and holds the NBA records for single-season blocks (456) and career blocked shots per game average (3.50). His No. 53 was retired by the Jazz.
Eaton was a reserve on his high school basketball team before graduating and working as an auto mechanic. He was discovered by an assistant coach at Cypress College, who persuaded Eaton to enroll at the community college and play basketball. Eaton transferred to play college basketball for the UCLA Bruins, but he was used sparingly. He was drafted in the fourth round of the 1982 NBA draft by the Utah Jazz as a long-term project. Eaton helped transform the Jazz from a last-place team into a perennial playoff team. When he retired from playing in 1994, he ranked second in the NBA in career blocks behind Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.
1957Jan, 24
Mark Eaton (basketball)
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Events on 1957
- 9Jan
Suez Crisis
British Prime Minister Sir Anthony Eden resigns from office following his failure to retake the Suez Canal from Egyptian sovereignty. - 8Mar
Suez Crisis
Egypt re-opens the Suez Canal after the Suez Crisis. - 24Jun
First Amendment to the United States Constitution
In Roth v. United States, the U.S. Supreme Court rules that obscenity is not protected by the First Amendment. - 6Jul
Paul McCartney
John Lennon and Paul McCartney meet for the first time, as teenagers at Woolton Fete, three years before forming the Beatles. - 24Sep
101st Airborne Division
President Dwight D. Eisenhower sends 101st Airborne Division troops to Little Rock, Arkansas, to enforce desegregation.