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Sixers stat man Pollack seriously hurt in one-car crash

Harvey Pollack, 92, underwent surgery after his car struck a wall in a parking garage.

Harvey Pollack: Crash leaves him in critical condition. (Akira Suwa/Staff Photographer)
Harvey Pollack: Crash leaves him in critical condition. (Akira Suwa/Staff Photographer)Read moreAKIRA SUWA / STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER
    by BY BOB COONEY, Daily News Staff Writer <a href="mailto:cooneyb@phillynews.com">cooneyb@phillynews.com</a>
    Published 

LEGENDARY basketball stat man Harvey Pollack was in critical but stable condition at Hahnemann University Hospital yesterday after a one-car accident on New Year's evening in Center City.

Pollack, 92, the 76ers' director of statistical information, was driving his car in a parking garage after being a judge for the Mummers Parade. His car hit a wall, and Pollack suffered a broken hip, ribs, pelvis and jaw along with facial lacerations. He underwent hip surgery yesterday.

"I'm surprised he just didn't walk out of the car and brush himself off," 76ers coach Brett Brown said from Phoenix, where his team played the Suns last night.

"He's a stud, an absolute stud. Our thoughts are with him. Clearly, someone like that, who has been involved in the league for over six decades, he's a stud. I see him walking around all the time through the building, and it's always great to have a conversation with him. We send our best wishes. Based on what he's done, you expect him to just bounce back any day and keep moving again."

Pollack has been with the NBA since its inaugural season of 1946-47. He was on the sideline keeping the book during Wilt Chamberlain's 100-point game for the Philadelphia Warriors in a 169-147 win over the New York Knicks on March 2, 1962, in Hershey. It was Pollack who wrote "100" on a piece of paper and handed it to Chamberlain to hold, one of the most famous photos in sports.

Before each season, Pollack gives out his book of statistics to media members, a book that entails stats many sports fans couldn't even imagine. This year's edition of Harvey Pollack's Statistical Yearbook is 362 pages.

Pollack was a 2002 recipient of the John Bunn Award, the lifetime-achievement honor given by the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame.

He is a member of the Simon Gratz High School Hall of Fame, the Temple University Hall of Fame and the Big 5 Hall of Fame.

Pollack's interests are not limited to sports. He has been a regular contributor of theater, food and movie reviews for several newspapers.