William G. "Bill" Mokray enshrined as a contributor in 1965

William G. "Bill" Mokray

Enshrined 1965
Born: June 6, 1907
Passaic, NJ
Died: March 21, 1974

Weak eyesight stopped Bill Mokray from playing basketball, but luckily his love of the game led him to become one of basketballs leading promoters, historians and authors. Mokray's romance started while a student at Passaic High School during the era of the "Passaic High School Wonder Teams." After graduating from the University of Rhode Island, he became public relations director at Rhode Island State College and joined the Boston Celtics in the same capacity in 1946. Mokray gathered statistics and wrote articles for Converse's Basketball Yearbook, founded and was editor of The Official NBA Guide and authored the history of basketball for the Encyclopedia Britannica. He also wrote the 900-page Ronald Basketball Encyclopedia. Much of his extensive personal sports library was donated to the Hall of Fame.