Tom Riach, 77; Captain, MVP of USC’s 1951 Basketball Team
Tom Riach, 77, captain and most valuable player of the USC men’s basketball team that won the Pacific Coast Conference Southern Division title in 1951, died of cancer Friday at his Newport Beach home.
Riach was a native of Faribault, Minn., who grew up in Glendale. He played guard for three seasons -- 1948, 1950-51 -- and was taken in the seventh round of the ’51 NBA draft by Baltimore.
For the record:
12:00 a.m. Oct. 16, 2006 For The Record
Los Angeles Times Monday October 16, 2006 Home Edition Main News Part A Page 2 National Desk 1 inches; 59 words Type of Material: Correction
Riach obituary: The obituary of former USC athlete Tom Riach in Thursday’s California section reported that the USC men’s basketball team won the Pacific Coast Conference Southern Division title in 1951. In fact, USC and UCLA finished the regular season tied and were declared co-champions; UCLA beat USC in a division playoff to go on to the conference final.
Riach also lettered three seasons in baseball, 1949-51, playing center field. The ’49 and ’51 teams won the California Intercollegiate Baseball Assn. championships and went on to the College World Series.
After college he played briefly in the Chicago White Sox organization, then served two years in the Army.
He married Joan Field in 1953 and went on to a career as a residential and commercial developer in Southern California.
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