Bill Pataky

Bill Pataky played Canadian football and basketball in high school before entering the University of Western Ontario and joining their basketball team. In 1952 the team became Canadian collegiate champions and was selected to play against the senior men’s champions, the Tillsonburg Livingstons, for the right to represent Canada at that year’s Summer Olympics. Although the Livingstons won, Pataky was recruited to accompany the team to the Games, where the Canadians won their qualification pool by defeating Italy, Romania, and Egypt. In round one, however, they lost to Brazil, Argentina, and the Philippines and were eliminated. Pataky played in all six matches.

Pataky also played baseball in southern Ontario at both the amateur and professional levels. He eventually moved to the University of Windsor, from which he graduated in 1957. By career he was a physical education teacher and coached basketball and football, and he retired as a school principal in 1986. He was inducted into the University of Windsor and Sarnia Lambton Sports Halls of Fame in 2005 and 2009 respectively.