Former USC captain, Army veteran Riach dies

 

LOS ANGELES -- Tom Riach, captain of the 1951 Southern California basketball team, has died, the school said Wednesday. He was 77.

Riach died last Friday in nearby Newport Beach. No cause of death was given.

Riach, who grew up in nearby Glendale, averaged 8.3 points per game in the 1950-51 season and led the Trojans to the Pacific Coast Conference Southern Division championship. He lettered in three seasons in basketball and baseball at USC, and was a seventh-round selection by Baltimore in the 1951 NBA Draft.

After college, Riach played briefly in the Chicago White Sox organization and served two years in the U.S. Army. He then began a career as a developer of residential and commercial properties.

Riach is survived by his wife, Joan, two sons, Tom Jr., and Steve, and eight grandchildren.

AP NEWS
The Associated Press News Service

Copyright 2007-2008, The Associated Press, All Rights Reserved
 
 
 

CBS Sports is a registered trademark of CBS Broadcasting Inc. SportsLine is a registered service mark of SportsLine.com, Inc.