Former Kentucky National Champion Ed Beck Passes Away Aged 83

A Kentucky Wildcats legend has passed away.

Former National Champion basketball player Ed Beck died on Wednesday at the age of 83.

Ed Beck was a part of the "Fiddlin' Five" team that won the 1958 National Championship. #BBN https://t.co/U32bn7Unt6
— Willie Hope (@WillieWYMT) October 18, 2019

Beck played three seasons of Wildcat basketball, in which he served as a two-year captain from 1956-58. More importantly, Beck was a member of the 1958 "Fiddlin' Five" team that won the National Championship, where he was a dominant presence in the paint.

In that championship season, Beck averaged an impressive 11.6 rebounds per game. Kentucky went through a path of Miami (Ohio), Notre Dame, Temple, and Seattle to win the NCAA title.

Through his collegiate career, Beck averaged 10.0 rebounds and 5.9 points per game.

One of our program's great leaders, Ed Beck, passed away on Wednesday at the age of 83.

A 1958 national champion, Beck was the SEC Defensive Player of the Year and one of our program's best rebounders who averaged more than 10 a game. #TGT

? https://t.co/5H7lwXWWMe pic.twitter.com/9ZRarFUj0k
— Kentucky Basketball (@KentuckyMBB) October 18, 2019

Following his tenure at Kentucky, Beck received an offer to play for the New York Knicks in the NBA. However, he turned it down following the death of his first wife, Billie, due to Hodgkin's disease. Instead, Beck joined a ministry and stayed there for the better part of 50 years.

Ed Beck will go down as a legend of Kentucky Wildcats basketball, and a key contributor to the program's success.