SYDNEY—A lifetime of voluntary work has earned Al Ramsay MBE OAM the honour of being the first Australian inductee into basketball's FIBA Hall of Fame.
The 85-year-old will join the likes of Dr James Naismith in the hall, the man who invented the sport in 1891.
Ramsay will be inducted alongside NBA great Oscar Robertson and nine others on September 20 after an all-round contribution to basketball that includes playing, coaching, refereeing and administration.
The Australian helped establish the Oceania Zone, with the Boomers and the New Zealand Tall Blacks competing annually for the Al Ramsay Shield.
Ramsay's induction will be a proud day for Australian basketball and a well-deserved honour, according to Basketball Australia chief executive Larry Sengstock.
"For Al to be recognised on a global stage in this manner is a prestigious acknowledgement of his enormous contribution to Australian and world basketball," Sengstock said.
Ramsay is the greatest voluntary worker in the history of Australian basketball, holding a number of voluntary positions over a period of approximately 50 years.
"Alistair was instrumental in establishing the Oceania Zone which we continue to compete in today, while the annual Trans-Tasman men's competition between the Boomers and the Tall Blacks is named in his honour," Sengstock said.
Ramsay has already been inducted into the Australian hall of fame and received the Order of the British Empire (MBE) and the Medal of the Order of Australia (OAM).
He will be unable to attend the official enshrinement ceremony for the 2009 class, so he will be honoured at the 2010 men's world championship in Turkey.
