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CITY OF HOPE Public Relations Dept. 208 W. Eighth St. Los Angeles, Calif. 90014 (213) 626-4611 (Hank Brown) (Suggested Column Material) Bill Sharman, all-around athlete and one of the most hailed of the fabled Boston Celtics during their championship reign over the National Basketball Association, has been named as a recipient of the Sportsmen?╟╓s World Award -- the "Victor" -- in ceremonies to be held June 27 at the Sands Hotel in Las Vegas. Sharman will be one of ten outstanding athletes of past decades who will be so honored, as chosen by a blue ribbon National Selections Committee composed of ranking sportswriters and sportscasters. The banquet and awards presentations are sponsored by the Sports- men's Club for the free and nonsectarian City of Hope National Medical Center, which will receive the proceeds of the event. One of college and professional basketball's most respected names, Sharman's athletic career is one of the most phenomenal of any athlete in the past 20 years. An All-American at the University of Southern California in 1949 and '50, he set a Pacific Coast scoring record of 238 points in 12 games as a senior. An eleven-year veteran of the NBA, Sharman was a mainstay on four Celtic World Championship and five Eastern Division championship teams. He played in eight All-Star games scoring 102 points and was voted Most Valuable Player in the 1954 contest. The smiling Celt was named to the NBA All-League first team four times and the second squad three times. He still holds the all-time career record for free throws with a mark of .932 set in 1957-58, netting 342 of 367 tries. Sharman's free throw mark has never even remotely been approached by professional players since. An outfielder-first baseman at USC, Sharman later played in the Brooklyn Dodger chain and spent some time with the parent club. He was a virtual one-man sports squad during his high school days at Porterville, California, where he was named the Best Athlete in the State in 1944. Sharman starred in football, baseball, basketball, track and tennis. In track, he competed in the shot put, javelin, discus and numerous running events. Add amateur boxing to Bill Sharman's list of accomplishments. He also was state (Calif.) amateur singles tennis champion, and is a fine golfer. Since leaving the pro playing ranks, Sharman has held coaching jobs with the Los Angeles Jets and later the Cleveland Pipers of the old American Basketball League. He coached in the collegiate ranks at Cal. State L.A. from 1962 to 1964. In 1966-67, he coached the San Francisco Warriors to the NBA Western Division title and now is the coach of the Los Angeles Stars, piloting his squad to the finals of the American Basketball Association?╟╓s championship match. Sharman will join Stan Musial, Sugar Ray Robinson, Roger Ward and Dr. Cary Middlecoff, as among the great sports figures to be honored this year. The Sportsmen's World Awards presentations will be syndicated for national television by Hughes Sports Network. Trans World Airlines, official carrier for the event, will transport the honorees and other dignitaries to Las Vegas. 670sj) ##