Sports · Basketball · 1 hr ago
Basketball Hall of Famer Cliff Hagan dies at 94
Cliff Hagan, a Basketball Hall of Famer, has died at 94.
The University of Kentucky, where he played college basketball, announced his death on Friday.
Hagan helped Kentucky win the 1951 NCAA title and later played his entire NBA career with the St. Louis Hawks.
Boston had traded Hagan and Ed Macauley to the Hawks for the draft rights to Bill Russell, who led the Celtics to a long run of championships.
Hagan and Bob Pettit led the Hawks past Boston in the 1958 Finals, giving the team its only NBA title.
Hagan was a five-time NBA All-Star and later became the first Kentucky player inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.
He also finished his playing career with the Dallas Chaparrals in the ABA, but no further plans or arrangements were announced.
Basketball Hall of Famer Cliff Hagan has died at 94, the University of Kentucky announced Friday.
Hagan helped Kentucky win the 1951 NCAA title and led the St. Louis Hawks to the 1958 NBA championship.
A five-time NBA All-Star, he averaged 18.0 points and 6.9 rebounds per game over a 10-year NBA career.
He was traded by the Boston Celtics to the Hawks in 1956 in a deal involving the draft rights to Bill Russell.
Hagan was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 1978.
- Who
- Cliff Hagan, a Basketball Hall of Famer and former University of Kentucky and St. Louis Hawks star.
- What
- Hagan has died at age 94.
- When
- Friday, October 16, 2026.
- Where
- Not stated.
- Why
- Not stated. A cause of death has not been shared publicly.
This story does not have two clearly opposing sides.
Hagan helped Kentucky win the NCAA title.
The Celtics traded Hagan and Ed Macauley to the Hawks for the draft rights to Bill Russell.
Hagan and the Hawks won the NBA championship by beating the Celtics in the Finals.
Hagan became the first Kentucky player inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.
The University of Kentucky announced Hagan's death at age 94.
- Age at death
- 94
- NBA All-Star selections
- 5
- NBA career scoring average
- 18.0 points per game
- 1958 NBA championship
- St. Louis Hawks
- Hall of Fame induction
- 1978
3 sources
What people are saying
Cliff was a Kentucky legend and a great friend to all of us
His legacy is forever imprinted in the annals of Kentucky basketball and the rafters of Rupp Arena. We will miss him dearly. Praying for his family.
I was just thrown in on the deal. The [Celtics] didn't know what to do with me at my size.
I hope Cliff will be remembered for all his kindness and compassion while not having access to unlimited funding for athletes of women's basketball and Olympic sports like today