Pete Maravich was an American professional basketball player.
Peter Press Maravich, best known by his nickname Pistol Pete was born on June 22, 1947, in Aliquippa, Pennsylvania, the United States to Peter “Press” Maravich and Helen Gravor Maravich.
Pete Maravich was raised in the Carolinas. His father was the head basketball coach at Clemson University who later joined the coaching staff at North Carolina State University. His mother had committed suicide with a self-inflicted gunshot.
Pete Maravich played high school varsity ball at Daniel High School in Central, South Carolina. He was selected by the Atlanta Hawks with the third pick in the first round of the 1970 NBA draft.
Pete Maravich is the all-time leading NCAA Division I scorer with 3,667 points scored and an average of 44.2 points per game. He is also one of the youngest players ever inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.
Pete Maravich passed away at age of 40 during a pick-up game in the gym at First Church of the Nazarene in Pasadena, California on January 5, 1988, as a result of an undetected heart defect.
Pete Maravich is buried at Resthaven Gardens of Memory and Mausoleum in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.
Did Pete Maravich predict his death?
Yes, when Pete Maravich was 25, he predicted when he would retire and when he would die. During his fourth NBA season, he allegedly said to a reporter, “I don’t want to play 10 years [referring to the NBA] and then die of a heart attack when I’m 40.”