Growing up in Roxana, Illinois, Gallatin had taken interest in all sports and has been quoted as saying, "Competition has always been my cup of tea." His drive for competition was amplified during his first year in high school as he attended Wood River High School from 1940–41. Since Roxana and some other outlying communities like Bethalto had no high school of their own at the time, all the athletes in the area attended Wood River, thus increasing the level of competition among them for varsity positions. The following year, however, Roxana got its own high school. He graduated from Roxana High School in 1944, and was granted a basketball scholarship by Northeast Missouri State Teachers' College. But after graduating from Roxana High School, he enlisted in the United States Navy and served until the end of World War II.
College career
At Northeast Missouri, he averaged 12.9 points per game and lead his team to a 59–4 record and two appearances in the NAIA tournament. He earned his bachelor's degree from Northeast Missouri in only two years and would later receive his master's degree in physical education from the University of Iowa in 1954.
Professional career
The New York Knicks selected Gallatin in the 1948 BAA draft. "It was a dream come true. I really didn't know what to expect; it was my first plane ride, from St. Louis to New York. Here I am a boy from Wood River, a country boy, and going to the Big Apple", Gallatin explained. "All I knew was that I loved to play basketball, and the Knicks had taken me with their number one choice. So I knew that they thought I had the kind of abilities they were looking for." In his third year in the NBA, Gallatin was selected for the first NBA All-Star Game in 1951, and from 1951 to 1957 was chosen for seven consecutive NBA All-Star games. It was in the NBA where he earned the nickname "The Horse". He played his entire career as an undersized center at 6'6" and 215 lbs., but made up for it with tremendous physical strength. He played nine seasons for the New York Knicks, from 1948 to 1957. His best statistical year was in 1954, when he led the NBA in rebounding, averaging 15.3 rebounds per game. That same year, he was also named to the All-NBA First Team. His most dominating single-game performance was on the last regular season game of the 1952–53 season. That night, against the Fort Wayne Pistons, Gallatin pulled down 33 rebounds, a Knicks record which still stands today. In the six seasons he played when rebounds were recorded, he was among the leaders in the league in rebounds per game. For his career, he averaged 11.9 rebounds per game. Gallatin still holds the Knick team record of consecutive games played, with 610. After nine strong years with the Knicks, Gallatin was traded to the Detroit Pistons with Richard Atha and Nathaniel Clifton for Mel Hutchins and Charlie Tyra on April 3, 1957. He played only one season for the Pistons before retiring as one of the most dominating post players of his era.
Baseball career
In addition to basketball, Gallatin also played baseball. He played two seasons of varsity baseball at Northeast Missouri. During the off-seasons between his first three seasons in the NBA, he played for the Class B Decatur, Illinois Cubs/Commodores of the Illinois–Indiana–Iowa League, which was an affiliate of the Chicago Cubs in 1949 and the Cincinnati Reds in 1950. He appeared in 46 games in those two seasons, winning 7, losing 9 and batting.227 in 75 at-bats. After the 1950 baseball season, however, he made basketball his only professional sport.
Post-playing life
After his retirement from playing in 1958, Gallatin became the head coach of the Southern Illinois University Salukis. In four seasons there, he led his teams to a 69–35 record and post-season tournament appearances every year. The 1961–62 team made it to the NCAA Small College Tournament semifinals before barely losing to eventual champion Mount St. Mary's College 58–57, then took third place by beating Nebraska Wesleyan University 98–81. He returned to the NBA in 1962 as coach of the St. Louis Hawks. In his first season, he led the Hawks to the division finals and was named NBA Coach of the Year. The 1963–64 season saw the Hawks again advance to the division finals, but halfway through 1964–65 he returned to New York to coach the Knicks while Richie Guerin replaced him as coach of the Hawks. The Knicks were developing into a championship team, but the pieces were not yet all in place and Gallatin left the Knicks and the NBA midway through the 1965–66 season. He became Assistant Dean of Students at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville in 1966, then the first athletic director and basketball coach in 1967. He remained at SIUE until his retirement in 1992, where he also taught in the physical education department and was the SIUE Cougars's men's golf coach for 24 years, leading that team to NCAA Division II championships 19 times and finishing in the top 10 six times. After his retirement from coaching, Gallatin remained active and enthusiastic, while continuing to live in Edwardsville, Illinois. He was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 1991, and was also named to nine other Halls of Fame. In 2011, the New York Knicks honored him in their second "Legends Night Awards" along with other former Knicks stars Dick Barnett, Earl Monroe, Mark Jackson, John Starks and Allan Houston, and in May 2015, the Knicks added him to Madison Square Garden's Walk of Fame.
Death
Harry Gallatin died on October 7, 2015 following surgery. He was survived by Beverly Hull Gallatin, his wife since 1949; their sons, Steve, Jim, and Bill; his sister, Eileen Palmer; eight grandchildren; and six great-grandchildren.
Legacy
On June 24, 2013, Gallatin took part as the SIUE athletics department broke ground for a new golf training facility. Following approval by the SIU Board of Trustees, it was officially named the Harry Gallatin Golf Training Facility. The facility, initially proposed as an on-campus venue, was moved when Sunset Hills Country Club in Edwardsville.offered to partner in the endeavor. The approximately $500,000, 1,840-square-foot facility was opened to SIUE students and SHCC members on December 10, 2019.
