Encyclopedia Dubuque
"Encyclopedia Dubuque is the online authority for all things Dubuque, written by the people who know the city best.”
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Affiliated with the Local History Network of the State Historical Society of Iowa, and the Iowa Museum Association.
KIRK, Walton (Walt)
KIRK, Walton (Walt) (Mt. Vernon, IL- ). Educator. Kirk, retired assistant principal at STEPHEN HEMPSTEAD HIGH SCHOOL, played in the National Basketball Association from 1947 through 1952. His team, the Fort Wayne (Indiana) Zollner Pistons (now the Detroit Pistons) had the largest payroll in the league--$100,000. In 1949 he first appeared in a regional telecast from St. Louis.
In 1960 Kirk came to Dubuque as the successor to DUBUQUE SENIOR HIGH SCHOOL head basketball coach, Tom Johnson. Kirk's team made an unexpected state tournament trip during the 1962-1963 season despite a 2-16 regular season. His 1967-1968 team won the school's first Mississippi Valley Conference title since 1932. Kirk moved to Hempstead at the beginning of the 1969-1970 school year. He announced his intention to retire as a coach in March 1973, and joined the administrative staff.