PHILADELPHIA – The University of Pennsylvania's Division of Recreation and Intercollegiate Athletics (Penn Athletics), and especially the men's basketball program, was saddened to learn of the passing of Ernie Beck W'53 at the age of 93.

Ernie Beck obituary (Donohoe Funeral Homes)
 
Arguably the greatest player in program history and one of the best players in Philadelphia's rich collegiate history, Beck—a lifelong Philadelphian—was inducted into the Inaugural Class of the Penn Athletics Hall of Fame in 1996.
 
"In my opinion, Ernie Beck was the greatest Quaker of them all," said Steve Donahue, Penn's John R. Rockwell Head Coach of Men's Basketball. "A strong, large athletic guy who was kind to everyone he met. Ernie had amazing humility considering his icon status, not just at Penn but in the city of Philadelphia and the basketball world. I am grateful that we became friends over the last 10 years and I will miss him dearly."
 
A three-year varsity letter winner from 1951-53, Beck held the program's scoring record for a staggering 67 years, with 1,827 points. (When it was broken, by AJ Brodeur in 2020, Beck's standing as Penn's all-time scoring leader had lasted longer than that of at any other Division I institution in the country.) He also still holds the mark for points in a season (673 as a senior in 1952-53), as well as the two highest-scoring games in program history (47 points vs. Duke on December 30, 1952 and 45 vs. Harvard on February 6, 1952).
 
Beck also still holds the program records for rebounds in a career (1, 557) and season (556 in 1950-51); free throws made and attempted in a season (183-for-229, 1952-53); and scoring average for a season (25.9 in 1952-53). Beck averaged 22.3 points and 19.0 rebounds across 82 appearances wearing the Red and Blue, both program records, and he graduated having put up 81 double-figure scoring games—including 54 games with at least 20 points and 13 with at least 30—and 32 documented double-doubles (several box scores from that era do not include rebound and/or assist totals).
 
(March 4, 2020) QMH: An Appreciation of AJ Brodeur…And Ernie Beck
 
Penn had a combined record of 62-21 in his three varsity seasons. Beck's senior season, the Quakers won the Eastern Intercollegiate League title and played in the NCAA Tournament for the first time in school history, losing to Notre Dame in the East Regional second round then defeating DePaul in a consolation game. (Beck scored a combined 47 points across the two games, played in Chicago.)
 
Following his collegiate career, Beck was selected by the Philadelphia Warriors as a territorial pick in the 1953 NBA Draft and was a member of the Warriors' 1956 NBA championship team. He played six seasons with the Warriors.

Beck is survived by his wife, Betty; two children, Ernie III and John; and two grandchildren, Jessica and Jonathan.

For the latest on Penn men's basketball, follow @PennMBB on X (formerly Twitter) and Instagram, and on the web at PennAthletics.com.