When Halbrook joined the Oregon State Beavers, Life magazine declared him the "World's Tallest Basketball Player" in their Jan. 18, 1954 issue. Under legendary head coachSlats Gill, he instantly turned the team into a national title contender, earning All-American status in 1955 and All-Pacific Coast Conferencefirst team and All-Northern Division first team honors in 1954 and 1955, the only two seasons he played. As of 2006, he still holds the top 3 spots on Oregon State's single game rebound records, his top performance of 36 being tied for 15th in NCAA history. He also holds the Oregon State record for free throws attempted at 28.
Professional career
Halbrook signed with the Wichita Vickers in 1956, where he played five seasons and led the team to the nationalAAU title in 1959. The next year, he was selected to play for the Syracuse Nationals. He played in 79 games for them in the 1960–61 season, with his team making it to the NBA playoffs and finishing the season in third place. Halbrook was a key presence in many of the Nationals' victories, including a 3-game series sweep over Wilt Chamberlain and the Philadelphia Warriors. Syracuse coach Alex Hannum told an Oregonian reporter that "Wilt was really concerned with Swede...Wilt never had to look anyone in the eye and he would get more involved in trying to outplay Swede than he would in trying to win the game." The following season, he played in 64 games for the Nationals, that season marking the end of his professional career. He remained the tallest player in NBA history until the 1982 draft brought Mark Eaton and Chuck Nevitt into the league.
Personal life
Off-court issues cut short both Halbrook's college and professional careers. He would reportedly go missing for days, sometimes weeks at a time without explanation. Oregon State coach Gill was forced to cut him from the team after only two seasons for skipping class so often. Nationals coach Hannum is quoted to have said that "He could have had a worthwhile career if he had taken care of himself. During his second season, he disappeared for a week and we sent the police out to look for him. But they couldn’t find a 7-footer! He came back on his own but he never would tell me where he had been." Swede moved to Portland, Oregon after being released from the Nationals and worked at a variety of odd jobs for the remainder of his life. In later life, he worked as a circus clown and was given the title of the "World's Tallest Clown". He died of a heart attack on April 5, 1988 on a Portland city bus.
