GEORGETOWN ATHLETIC HALL OF FAME

Throughout much of the 1920's, the center position attracted little interest at Georgetown. The position was held in such low esteem that when a seven footer named William Wimsatt enrolled at Georgetown in 1924, he passed on the opportunity to try out for the squad. (Another seven footer would not enroll at Georgetown until the fall of 1976.)

Three years later, a 5-11 center named Don Dutton arrived at Georgetown, ready to play. A teammate of Fred Mesmer over three years at Christian Brothers Academy, Don Dutton was nothing if not consistent, leading Georgetown to three remarkable seasons in the late 1920's and becoming one of the first Georgetown players to earn a pro career after graduation.

Two of Dutton's years was spent under the tutelage of Hall of Fame coach Elmer Ripley, who taught Dutton the ability to be a factor not only with rebounds, but an offensive force as well. Dutton started every game as a sophomore as Georgetown roared to a 12-1 record, falling only to nationally renowned NYU and defeating Navy for the first time in nearly 20 seasons. His 8.8 point average for a center in 1928 was the most for a GU center since 1908.

Dutton continued in the pivot in 1929, though he was moved to forward in a notable game at Yale which saw Ripley outfox the Elis, 33-17, on their own home court. The loss ironically led Yale to hire Ripley away from Georgetown a season later. Later in the season, Dutton sparked one of the young program's greatest comebacks in a 42-40 win over Penn State. Trailing by 13 points with five minutes left, Dutton scored 15 of the team's final 17 points in the win.

Well on his way to another strong season in 1930, Dutton was rendered ineligible by the College faculty after mid-term examinations. His 20 point effort versus Johns Hopkins prior to the announcement was a career high, following which Dutton returned to his studies, graduating on time later that spring.

Following Georgetown, Dutton played for five seasons in the American Basketball League and Eastern Basketball League, with now-forgotten teams as the Cleveland Rosenblooms and Syracuse Shamrocks doing battle in the era of professional basketball before the NBA.

For his accomplishments in basketball, Don Dutton was named to the inaugural class of the Georgetown University Athletic Hall of Fame in 1953.