William G. Schaeffer ‘73CBA in younger days
February 8, 2019
William G. Schaeffer ’73CBA remembers the night he had dinner with Robert Redford.
The year was 1975, and Mr. Schaeffer’s team, the American Basketball Association’s New York Nets, was playing the Utah Stars when he noticed a commotion in the stands behind the home team’s bench. It was an incognito Mr. Redford who, upon being mobbed by fans, had to be escorted out of the Salt Palace arena. After the game, Mr. Redford hosted a dinner for the visiting team.
That evening was one of many rides on what Mr. Schaeffer terms the “magic carpet” of basketball that has carried him through his life. A native of Bellerose, Queens, and an All-City player at Holy Cross High School in Flushing, Queens, Mr. Schaeffer stayed close to home when recruited to St. John’s University by legendary coach Lou Carnesecca ’50C, ’60GEd, ’00HON in 1969.
“Bill was one of the best ballplayers coming up that year,” said Coach Carnesecca, who left St. John’s in 1970 to coach the Nets as Mr. Schaeffer began his college basketball career. “He was a great shooter.”
Drafted by the NBA powerhouse Los Angeles Lakers in 1973, Mr. Schaeffer opted to join the Nets of the upstart ABA at Coach Carnesecca’s behest. Led by Julius Erving and coached by Kevin Loughery, the Nets won the ABA title in 1974. A year and a half later, Mr. Schaeffer was traded to the Virginia Squires, who were dissolved before the two basketball leagues merged.
Fortunately, Mr. Schaeffer had a St. John’s accounting degree on which to fall back. He also had a standing offer from Arthur Jenks, a partner at what was then Price Waterhouse, to join the firm when his playing days were over.
“It was a big pay cut,” laughs Mr. Schaeffer, who earned more than $100,000—equivalent to approximately $440,000 today—in his last year as a basketball player in 1976.
After three years, Mr. Schaeffer moved to EF Hutton, starting a quarter century of selling financial securities at various Wall Street firms. By 2003, the financial securities business was consolidating, and he was looking for a career change.
As luck would have it, the University asked him if he would consider coming back to St. John’s as Director of Alumni Relations. Because of his St. John’s background and his professional experience on and off the court, Mr. Shaeffer felt he was well-equipped for the transition from the corporate world into the academic world.
“Playing the game has taught me that hard work, dedication, leadership and teamwork are essential and required in life. Basketball also provided lessons in competing, winning and losing and how to handle those situations—some great, some bad,” he said.
The new job reunited Mr. Schaeffer with Coach Carnesecca, who had retired as coach and was serving as a Special Assistant to the University’s President at the time. Mr. Schaeffer and Coach Carnesecca often traveled the country together to speak with alumni.
Mr. Schaeffer’s professional role at St. John’s has brought him full circle. “Coach Carnesecca was the reason I came to St. John’s,” he said.
In 2016, Mr. Schaeffer assumed additional responsibilities as Director of Development for the Peter J. Tobin College of Business, working with Dean Norean R. Sharpe, Ph.D. To support Dean Sharpe’s vision, Mr. Schaeffer has raised approximately $7 million for the College since then.
“St. John’s was a wonderful experience for me as a local product and provided an opportunity to play basketball for an iconic basketball school, get a quality education that was the basis for my post-basketball career,” he said. “Most importantly, I met my wife (Linda Byrne Schaeffer ’73C), a cheerleader and women’s basketball player, at St John’s.”