Zelmo Beaty, Undersize Force in Pro Basketball, Dies at 73 Zelmo Beaty, a star center in the N.B.A. who left the league to play for its upstart competitor, the A.B.A., where he immediately took the previously mediocre Utah Stars to victory in the 1971 championship series in his first season, died on Aug. 27 at his home in Bellevue, Wash. He was 73. The cause was cancer, his wife, Annie, said. In an era when big men dominated professional basketball, Beaty (pronounced BAY-tee), who was listed at 6 feet 9 inches but was closer to 6-8, was neither as big nor as well known as star centers like Wilt Chamberlain and Bill Russell. Yet he was productive scorer and a fierce rebounder and defender, and often cited by his peers as a force. "The game was made for centers like Wilt Chamberlain, Luke Jackson, Bob Rule and Zelmo Beaty," the Hall of Fame center-forward Elvin Hayes told The New York Times in 1984, referring to his early days in the N.B.A. "Today, it's more of a floor game, with emphasis on outside shooting, passing and pushing the ball up the floor." In eight seasons in the National Basketball Association - Beaty played the first seven for the Hawks, first in St. Louis and then in Atlanta, and the eighth, after his time in the American Basketball Association, for the Los Angeles Lakers - Beaty averaged 16 points and nearly 11 rebounds a game. He averaged more than 20 points in three seasons and more than 10 rebounds in six. He was named to the league's all-rookie team his first season, 1962-63, and played in two N.B.A. All Star Games. His last season with the Hawks was 1968-69. With rules requiring that he sit out for one season before switching to the A.B.A., Beaty worked for a bank in Southern California before both he and his new team, the Los Angeles Stars, moved to Utah. His production with the Stars was particularly strong in his first two seasons, when he averaged 22.9 and 23.6 points and 15.7 and 13.2 rebounds. He played in three A.B.A. All-Star Games in four seasons in the league. Beaty returned to the N.B.A. and the Lakers for his final season as a player, 1974-75. He played in 69 games, averaging 17.6 minutes, 5.5 points and 4.7 rebounds. Zelmo Beaty Jr. was born in Hillister, Tex., on Oct. 25, 1939. His father died when he was a boy. Beaty was a star at the segregated Scott High School in Woodville and later at the historically black Prairie View A&M University in Texas. Spotted by the Hawks scout Marty Blake, who also landed Lenny Wilkens, Pete Maravich and others, Beaty was drafted third over all in 1962. In addition to his wife, whom he met at Prairie View and married in 1963, Beaty is survived by two children, Debra and Darryl. Beaty briefly coached the Virginia Squires in the A.B.A. in the 1975-76 season. He later worked in financial planning. He spent many years working as a substitute physical education teacher for elementary schools in Seattle.