Ed Ratleff

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Ed Ratleff

Ratleff as a sophomore at Long Beach State.
Personal information
Born	(1950-03-29) March 29, 1950 (age 74) Bellefontaine, Ohio, U.S.
Listed height	6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)
Listed weight	195 lb (88 kg)
Career information
High school	East (Columbus, Ohio)
College	Long Beach State (1970–1973)
NBA draft	1973: 1st round, 6th overall pick
Selected by the Houston Rockets
Playing career	1973–1978
Position	Shooting guard / small forward
Number	42
Career history
1973–1978	Houston Rockets
Career highlights and awards
2× Consensus first-team All-American (1972, 1973) 2× PCAA Player of the Year (1972, 1973) 3× First-team All-PCAA (1971–1973) No. 42 retired by Long Beach State 49ers
Career NBA statistics
Points	2,813 (8.3 ppg)
Rebounds	1,363 (4.0 rpg)
Assists	896 (2.7 apg)
Stats at NBA.com
Stats at Basketball Reference
Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame
Medals Men's basketball Representing  United States Olympic Games 1972 Munich Team

William Edward "Easy Ed" Ratleff (born March 29, 1950) is an American retired basketball player. He attended East High School (Columbus, Ohio) where he led his high school basketball team to the Ohio State Championship in 1968 and was joined by Dwight "Bo" Lamar to claim the 1969 Ohio High School title.^[1] In college, Ratleff was a two-time first-team All-American at Long Beach State. He was chosen for the 1972 U.S. Men's Olympic Basketball Team and participated in the Munich Games. He was selected with the sixth pick of the NBA Draft and played five NBA seasons.

Ratleff attended Columbus East High School in Columbus, Ohio, leading his team to the AAA (big school) state championship in 1967–1968 with a 25–0 record.^[2] The ’68-69 Tigers were also undefeated state champions. Overall in three seasons he led the Tigers to three state championship games, two state championships and a 70-1 record.^[3]

A 6'6" guard/forward, he played college basketball at California State University, Long Beach under coach Jerry Tarkanian. He still holds the school's career record for scoring average (21.4). He was twice named first-team AP All-American by the AP, in 1971–72 and 1972–73.^[4]

Ratleff played for the United States national basketball team at the 1972 Summer Olympics, where the United States lost a controversial gold medal game to the Soviet Union. Ratleff and his teammates refused to accept silver medals in protest at the refereeing controversy. Throughout the Olympic tournament, Ratleff averaged 6.4 points per game.^[5]

Ratleff was chosen with the sixth pick in the 1973 NBA draft by the Houston Rockets.^[6] He played five season for the Rockets, averaging 8.3 points and 4.0 rebounds in his NBA career.^[7]

In 1991 his number 42 was retired by Long Beach State. In 2009, he was inducted into the Ohio Basketball Hall of Fame.^[2] In 2015, he was part of the class inducted into the College Basketball Hall of Fame and in 2017 he was inducted into the Ohio High School Athletic Association Ring of Champions.