Hall of Fame
Forward/Center
USF Career Years: 1946–1950
Birthdate: September 24, 1926
Hometown: San Francisco
High School: Saint Ignatius College Preparatory
Joseph McNamee was born on September 24, 1926 in San Francisco and attended Saint Ignatius College Preparatory. McNamee attended the then Saint Ignatius College, and played both forward and center for the then Grey Fog. McNamee was the second leading scorer, averaging 10.7 PPG on a front line featuring All-American center Don Lofgran. San Francisco had a pedestrian season in 1948 before shocking the collegiate basketball world by finishing with a 21-5 record. In 1949, the team was the first from the West Coast to advance to the NIT Tournament partly due to McNamee who averaged 9.8 PPG. Playing forward he had a team high of 20 points in the thrilling 64-63 triumph over Utah in the second round.
Following this senior year, he was drafted by the Rochester Royals in the first round (9th pick overall) of the 1950 draft. As a rookie, McNamee helped the Royals win the franchise’s lone NBA Championship, defeating the New York Knicks in seven games to win the Finals. McNamee ended his professional career with the Baltimore Bullets in 1951-1952.
After basketball, McNamee embarked on a successful career with Watson and Meehan, a distributor for Cummins engines.
