Nationality Finnish 1952–1963 Tampereen Pyrintö 1956 Finland (women) Height 1.74 m | Listed height 5 ft 8.5 in (1.74 m) 1955–1969 Finland 1959–1960 Finland (women) | |
Born August 9, 1927 (age 89)
Vesilahti, Finland ( 1927-08-09 ) | ||
Kalevi tuominen v rink sitys loi uuden toimintatavan olympiamuisto
Kalevi Vilho Tapio ”Kallu” Tuominen (born August 9, 1927 in Vesilahti) is a Finnish retired basketball coach and player and sports executive, who also played handball and football at the national top-tier level as well as practiced many other sports. He worked as the overall head coach of Finnish Olympic Committee between 1969–1992. In basketball, the 174-centimetre-tall (5 ft 9 in) Jantunen played his whole SM-sarja career for Tampereen Pyrintö and also coached the team between 1960–1964. He capped 11 times as a player and was a long-time head coach of Finland men's national team in its peak era. During Tuominen's coaching years 1955–1969 Finland qualified for 1964 Summer Olympics in Tokyo (the only Finnish ball game team still in 2016 that has advanced to Olympics through qualification), where it placed 11th, and played in seven EuroBaskets (1955 [Tuominen as player-coach], 1957, 1959, 1961, 1963, 1965 and 1967). In EuroBasket 1967 arranged in Finland, the host team placed sixth, which is still in 2016 Finland's best position in EuroBasket. Finland women's national basketball team placed 11th in Tuominen's guidance in EuroBasket 1956 Women. He worked also as a FIBA-licensed referee. Tuominen was inducted to Finnish Basketball Hall of Fame as one of its first members in 2009. Pyrintö has retired Tuominen's jersey but allows players to use his number 15.