Esko Karhunen played his entire career from 1944-60 with Helsinkin Pantterit. With them Karhunen won a record of 13 Finnish titles (1944-45, 1948-57, 1959). He was capped eight times with the Finnish national team between 1950-52, representing his country at the 1950 World Championships and 1952 Olympics. After finishing his playing career, Karhunen was a long-time chairman of Pantterit and was also a manager of the Finnish national team in the 1970s and 1980s. From 1971-2000 Karhunen organized Emal Cup, an annual basketball tournament, and in the 1990s brought the Harlem Globetrotters to Finland. Outside of sports, Karhunen was a real estate agent who ran his own real estate firm from 1972 until his retirement in 1995.
Finland