Only the rarest of Wisconsin Basketball fans are familiar with the achievements and career of a legendary player whose accomplishments still stand the test of time. His highest scoring games are shocking when you consider the decades in which they occurred, WAY before a three-point shot was even considered.
Contemporary player and Badger star Devin Harris scored 38 points against XX and the box score shows he made five 3 pointers. Adjusted to a pre-three-point rule, this would have been 33 points. This player preceded Devin by 52 years and during his career scored 34 against Iowa and 35 against Northwestern in the Chicago Stadium. This 35 point outburst was a Chicago Stadium record for over 15 years until the Chicago Bulls arrived in the middle to late 60s.
Who is this timeless player and what are his accomplishments and achievements in basketball at the University of Wisconsin that make him so legendary? He is the master of the hookshot ; Chicago and Wisconsin’s own Don Rehfeldt (1950)
Here is Don Rehfeldt’s basketball resume:
- All - American 1950;
- Highest drafted Badger Basketball player of All Time, 2nd Overall in the NBA in 1950;
- Big Ten MVP in 1950 - Winner of the Chicago Tribune Silver Basketball;
- Twice Big Ten Leading Scorer in 1949 and 1950;
- Twice first Team All Big Ten in 1949 and 1950; and 2nd team All Big Ten in 1948;
- A Big Ten Title in 1947; NCAA Elite 8 appearance in 1947;
- Team MVP in 1949 and 1950;
-Team finished second in the Big Ten 1950;
- 1950 World Series of Basketball vs. Harlem Globetrotters - Leading Scorer;
- First Badger to score 1000 pts.;
-Graduated from Wisconsin holding 14 of 28 Individual scoring records and tied for 4 more;
- Charter Member of the University of Wisconsin Athletic Hall of Fame - Inducted in 1991;
-Member of the Chicago Public League Hall of Fame;
-Member of the Illinois Basketball Coaches Hall of Fame.

Coach Bo Ryan, the winningest Coach in Wisconsin history, had this to say about Rehfeldt:

He was a basketball player whose achievements speak for themselves, including being a 1950 All-American, the 2nd overall draft pick by the NBA (which ties him for the highest drafted Badger male athlete of all time), Big Ten MVP and two time Big Ten leading scorer.
Time and the grim reaper have limited the number of people who are still alive that saw Don Rehfeldt play, but one is former University of Wisconsin – Whitewater Coach Dave Vander Meulen, Badger player and assistant coach and two-time Division III National Champion Coach in1984 & 1989- and four-time conference title winner.
Coach Vander Meulen had the following observations:
His hook shot and scoring prowess were legendary. Not only was he an accomplished athlete, but he was also a great person and of high character. There is no former Badger basketball player that can match his accomplishments…
I saw Don Rehfeldt play over 15 times and my conclusions… are based upon his accomplishments and having actually watched him play and watching just about every noteworthy Badger player since then."
You have been immersed in the accomplishments of Don Rehfeldt, now let’s fade back to get a timeline and the full flavor of what he brought to the basketball court. Don was recruited out of Amundsen High School in Chicago by the legendary coach (and Wisconsin All American player) Bud Foster who had just guided the Badgers to the 1941 National Championship. Rehfeldt arrived in Madison in the fall of 1944 and was drafted to serve in WWII shortly thereafter.
He returned to the Badgers in the second semester of the 1946-47 season and played a key role in the win over Minnesota in Madison having just been declared eligible hours earlier. Minnesota had a 6’9” center, Big Jim McIntyre, who gave the Badgers fits in the first half and Minnesota lead by 12. Rehfeldt having gained additional experience in the service, and whose basketball team won the Pan Pacific Olympics, explained to Foster at halftime how he could contain McIntyre by “circling him. Just let me handle him.” (See Requiem article by Bob Wolf – Milwaukee Journal, Oct. 24, 1980 “Rehfeldt’s Hook Was a Sweeper.”) Rehfeldt overwhelmingly outplayed McIntyre and lead a comeback victory for Wisconsin, 60-51. With Rehfeldt’s help, the Badgers won the 1947 Big Ten title by one game and were invited to the 1947 NCAA Elite 8.
Bob Wolf’s facts and conclusions were not conjecture but a first-hand account because he was a manager for the Wisconsin basketball team from 1947-1950 and he was in that locker room at halftime of the Minnesota game in 1947. Wolf also went on to compare Rehfeldt’s hook shot with that of then Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and concluded: “He (Rehfeldt) had a hook shot that may never have been equaled. Fans who have seen Kareen Abdul-Jabbar’s sky-hook may argue that point, but even Kareem doesn’t have the range that Rehfeldt had. The former Badger star, who died a week ago at 53, could loop in his left-handed hooks from either corner.”
It should be noted that Wolf had direct knowledge of both Rehfeldt, from being the Wisconsin senior manager as noted above, and Abdul-Jabbar from being a Milwaukee Journal sportswriter during Abdul-Jabbar’s stay in Milwaukee and was in a unique position to compare the two.
Rehfeldt then went on to lead the Big Ten in scoring in 1949 and 1950 and was First Team All Big Ten both years, garnering the Big Ten MVP in his senior year, 1950. He was also accorded All American honors and went on to join a national tour, promoted by Abe Saperstein, where the College All Americans played the Harlem Globetrotters in an 18 games series over a span of only 18 days including Midwest, West Coast and East Coast dates. The tour started in Chicago, IL, Rehfeldt’s hometown on April 2, 1950 at the Chicago Stadium and continued until April 19th, with its conclusion at the Uline Arena in Washington, DC. The person who selected the All Americans to play was none other than Chuck Taylor of Converse fame. This tour not only featured College All Americans, but also featured and all world coaching staff of Ray Meyer of DePaul, Clair Bee of LIU and Hank Iba of Oklahoma State. Iba went on the coach the 1972 Olympic men’s basketball team that resulted in a controversial loss to the Russians, the first ever, in Olympic basketball by the USA.
Saperstein began the tour in Chicago not only because it was Rehfeldt’s hometown and he would be a great draw, with Madison, WI only 95 miles away, but because it was the Globetrotter’s home base. A little know fact here is that the “Harlem” in Globetrotters does not refer to Harlem in NY city, but Harlem Avenue in Chicago. Also, a fact that is little known is that Rehfeldt sprained an ankle in practice the day before that first game and his ankle was “frozen” for the contest in which he scored 10 of the All Americans 47 points. Rehfeldt had never sprained an ankle before, nor did he ever sprain one afterward.
The All Americans won seven and lost 11 games during the tour and Rehfeldt played them all, 18 in a row, and was the leading scorer with 213 points. Paul Arizin was the MVP for the All Americans for the tour.
Rehfeldt had a modest career in the NBA after being drafted by the Baltimore Bullets second overall in 1950. After playing the 1950-51 season with the Bullets he was traded to the Milwaukee Hawks midway through the 1951-52 season. The Hawks, who had just been moved from the Tri Cities (Blackhawks) to Milwaukee by owner Ben Kerner, would subsequently be moved again to St. Louis and then finally to Atlanta where they reside today. Rehfeldt would also sign a contact with the Boston Celtics for the 1952-53 and spend some time in their training camp before being released. (See picture with Red Auerbach) He scored 692 points in the NBA.
Rehfeldt returned to Wisconsin and ultimately moved to Wisconsin Rapids, taking on a sales position with Gross Common Carrier in early 1953. He remained there until death in 1980, except for a short stint in Menominee, Michigan. In the early to mid-50’s Rehfeldt began a campaign of amateur basketball playing for as many as 7 teams at one time including the: Fond du Lac Rangers, Bangor Blatz Bombers (see 1954 picture), Bethke Ramblers, Brig Bombers just to name a few. The picture of the 1954 Bangor Blatz Bombers is a nice piece of history as it includes the names of all in the picture. But also note the statements at the end: “Seasons (sic) record 19-0. Current win streak 40. Don Rehfeldts (sic) average 37.5.” Almost hard to believe that someone in the mid-1950s could be averaging 37.5 point per game with no 3-point line!
During the 1950s Rehfeldt tours with many teams were the rule rather than the exception in the cold Wisconsin winters and one famous time he and a pickup bunch played the Minneapolis Lakers, who were barnstorming, in Wisconsin Rapids. Many other such tales are out there, and many have their stories as well. Rehfeldt was one of the best-known people in Wisconsin Rapids and central Wisconsin. After a 15 year battle with cancer, Rehfeldt succumbed on October 16, 1980.