St. Louis Sent Ed Conlin and Cash to Philadelphia
St. Louis sent Ed Conlin and cash to Philadelphia for Woody Sauldsberry and Ernie Beck on October 17, 1960. The Hawks, Warriors and league Basketball-Reference transaction pages all preserve the same package. Conlin had never played a regular-season game for St. Louis after arriving from Detroit in April, so the Hawks were converting an offseason asset plus cash into two established Warriors. Philadelphia, meanwhile, consolidated two veterans into one younger wing and financial consideration. The surviving public ledgers do not identify the cash amount, which limits how precisely the Warriors' return can be valued.
Sauldsberry Supplied the Best Hawks Return
Sauldsberry became the main basketball return for the Hawks. He played 69 games in 1960-61, averaging 7.5 points and 7.1 rebounds in 21.6 minutes, then appeared in 14 more St. Louis games in 1961-62 before being traded to the Chicago Packers. Across 83 Hawks games he averaged roughly 7.4 points and 6.8 rebounds. St. Louis later included Sauldsberry with Joe Graboski and Si Green in the November 1961 trade that brought Barney Cable and Archie Dees back, so he retained some transactional value beyond his direct minutes. Beck's Hawks stay was much shorter: seven games at 2.7 points before St. Louis sold his rights to Syracuse on November 28, 1960, recovering another cash return.
Conlin Gave the Warriors Two Rotation Seasons
Conlin gave the Warriors more games than either incoming Hawk did individually. He played 77 games in 1960-61 and 70 more in 1961-62, totaling 147 regular-season appearances for Philadelphia. His role was modest but steady: 7.0 points, 3.4 rebounds and 1.6 assists per game in the first season, followed by 4.6 points and 2.2 rebounds in 1961-62. Across the two seasons he averaged about 5.8 points and 2.8 rebounds. Philadelphia also received cash in the original transaction, but the amount is not preserved in the public ledgers located for this review. Conlin left the NBA after the 1961-62 season, so the Warriors did not turn the deal into a long-duration asset.
The Secondary Value Nudges the Deal toward St. Louis
The exchange is closer than the old archive grades suggested. Philadelphia received 147 games from Conlin plus cash, while St. Louis received 90 combined games from Sauldsberry and Beck before both were moved again. The difference is that Sauldsberry supplied stronger rebounding and comparable scoring on a per-game basis, then remained part of a later Hawks trade package, while Beck was sold for additional cash after his brief stay. Those secondary conversions give St. Louis a slight realized-value advantage, but Philadelphia's two full seasons of Conlin make a low grade inappropriate. This was a useful asset reshuffle for both clubs rather than a one-sided result.
Final Verdict
Hawks Win — St. Louis B+, Philadelphia B-. St. Louis traded Ed Conlin and cash to the Philadelphia Warriors for Woody Sauldsberry and Ernie Beck on October 17, 1960. Basketball-Reference's Hawks, Warriors and league transaction ledgers all agree on the date and four-part package. Sauldsberry played 83 regular-season games for St. Louis over parts of two seasons, averaging 7.4 points and 6.8 rebounds, while Beck appeared in seven Hawks games before his rights were sold to Syracuse. Conlin became a two-season Philadelphia rotation wing, playing 147 games at 5.8 points and 2.8 rebounds per game. The Hawks received the slightly stronger overall return because Sauldsberry provided comparable short-term value and later remained usable in another trade, while Beck also generated a cash recovery.