Geoff Petrie - Basketball

Geoff Petrie will forever be remembered as the first star of the Portland Trail Blazers, helping build the team’s identity before it won the World Championship in 1977.

Born in 1948, Petrie grew up in Pennsylvania, and then attended Princeton University, where he was one of the top players in the Ivy League from 1967-70. He helped the Tigers reach the NCAA Tournament in 1969 when he averaged 23.9 points per game. Portland made Petrie, a 6-foot-4 shooting guard, the first of its 19 draft picks (eight overall) during its expansion season, 1970-71, and he responded by being named NBA Rookie of the Year along with Dave Cowens of the Boston Celtics. Petrie averaged 24.8 points during the season and also earned a spot on the 1971 Western Conference All-Star Team.

In his six seasons with the Blazers, Petrie averaged 24 points per game per season three times and was selected to play in the 1974 All-Star Game. He played in 446 games during his years in Portland and averaged 21.8 points. He set the team record for scoring at 51 points, twice in 1973 (both times against the Houston Rockets), a record that stood until 2005, when Damon Stoudamire scored 54. Petrie scored 40 or more points in a game 13 times.

The Blazers traded Petrie to the Atlanta Hawks for the second pick in the ABA Dispersal Draft following the 1975-76 season, but he retired before playing any further games due to a knee injury. The Blazers used the draft pick to select Maurice Lucas.

Petrie rejoined the Blazers in 1985 and rose to Senior Vice President of Operations before being hired by the Sacramento Kings in 1994 as President of Basketball Operations. The NBA named Petrie Executive of the Year in 1999 and 2001.

The Blazers retired Petrie’s number (45). He was inducted to the Oregon Sports Hall of Fame in 1984.