Departures of note

Bob Pettit was an American professional basketball player who spent all 11 of his NBA seasons with the Milwaukee/St. Louis Hawks. A two-time All-American at LSU, he was drafted second overall in 1954 and won the NBA Rookie of the Year award in 1955. In 1956 he became the first recipient of the NBA's Most Valuable Player award, and he won it again in 1959 while leading the league in scoring both seasons.

Pettit was an All-Star in every one of his 11 seasons and was named All-NBA First Team ten times. He led the Hawks to the 1958 NBA championship over the Boston Celtics, scoring a then-playoff-record 50 points in the clinching game, and was MVP of the All-Star Game four times, a mark later matched only by Kobe Bryant. He retired in 1965 as the NBA's career scoring leader with 20,880 points and second in rebounds with 12,849.

Inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 1970, Pettit was one of only four players named to all four NBA anniversary teams. He was one of the first big men to play facing the basket and is remembered as one of the greatest power forwards in basketball history. After his playing career he worked in banking and financial consulting in Louisiana.