Norm Van Lier

Norman Allen Van Lier III (April 1, 1947 – February 26, 2009) was an American professional basketball player and television broadcaster who spent the majority of his career with the Chicago Bulls. Born in East Liverpool, Ohio, to Helen and Norm Sr., he was raised in Midland, Pennsylvania, alongside three brothers and a sister. His father, the son of a Baptist preacher, worked in a steel mill for decades. Van Lier later credited his childhood circumstances — including playing tackle football with a taped coffee can for a ball — with forming the work ethic that defined his life. As a high schooler, he was a member of the 1965 Midland High School Leopards, a team regarded by many as one of the greatest in Pennsylvania history, which finished 28–0, won the Western Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic League title, and captured the statewide Pennsylvania Interscholastic championship. He died on February 26, 2009.