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A standout as both a player and coach over his brief career, former Pistons great Donnie Butcher passed away on Monday morning at the age of 76, according to Tom Leyden of WXYZ.com.
Selected in the seventh round by New York in 1961, Butcher was on the court for Wilt Chamberlain's legendary 100-point game in 1962 and actually managed to score 10 points on the Hall of Fame center. He then went on to play for the Pistons from 1963-66, and transitioned to coach for two years from 1967-68. Along with suiting up against some of the most historical figures in NBA history, Butcher also coached both Dave Bing and Dave DeBusschere before retiring from the game in 1968.
The 6'2 guard averaged 6.1 points per game over his NBA career, but was a noticeably different player after coming to Motown in a mid-season trade during the 1963-64 campaign. In what would go down as his most successful one-year stretch, Butcher averaged 8.6 points, five rebounds and 3.4 assists over a 52-game span after joining the Pistons.