Dr. William P. Mlkvy, 93, of Medford, New Jersey, passed away peacefully on Dec.12.

Bill was born Jan. 19, 1931, in Palmerton to John and Margaret Mlkvy who immigrated to the United States in the early 1900s from the Slovakian area of what was then the Austrian-Hungarian Empire.

His love of basketball began at a very early age, playing in the basement of his family’s home and then later on the Lehigh Avenue playground. He attributed his determination and skill to his older brother, Milton, who he said, “taught him how to shoot.”

He was a graduate of the Stephen F. Palmer High School, Palmerton, where he was president of his sophomore, junior and senior class. He played basketball for the Palmerton Blue Bombers where he was All-State.

After graduating from high school in 1948, he attended Temple University and was given the nickname “The Owl Without a Vowel”. He played basketball under Josh Cody from 1948 – 1952 and earned first team All-American honors. He led the nation in scoring during the 1950-1951 season. On March 3, 1951, playing against Wilkes College, Bill scored 73 points, which included scoring 54 consecutive points, a record that still stands today.

His number 20 has been retired by the Temple Owls and his banner hangs in the rafters at Temple’s Liacouras Center. In later years, he and his wife established the Bill and Barbara Mlkvy Men’s Basketball Endowment Fund at Temple University.

Mlkvy was drafted by the Philadelphia Warriors in the 1st round of the 1952 NBA Draft and played for one year while he was attending Temple Dental School.

After graduating from dental school in 1955, Mlkvy served from 1955 until 1962 as a dentist in the United States Army where he earned the rank of Major. In the last few years of his enlistment, Bill was stationed in Korea, where he brought his wife and daughter along to live. Mlkvy opened his dental practice in Morrisville, and subsequently moved to Newtown.

Mlkvy has been inducted into several Basketball Hall of Fames including, Temple University, Big Five, Palmerton High School, and the Philadelphia Chapter and the Carbon County Chapter of the Pennsylvania Sports Hall of Fame.