Paul Kartluke was an excellent all-around basketball player, who was exceptional in the pivot position. He was left handed and tall for his day with great reach, and had a large repertoire of shots. He was mostly known for a two handed underhand shot he took from the pivot, along with an excellent hook shot.

Kartluke barely played his sophomore year, but exploded his junior season, scoring 259 points, accounting for 36% of the team's total scoring, setting the school record for points per game, and nearly rivaling the school total point record previously set by Vic Hanson. He followed up in his senior year as team captain leading the team again in scoring, and to a very respectable 14-5 record.

Kartluke did benefit from an increased scoring pace to break Hanson's records. However, like Hanson, Kartluke was often double teamed on the court. He tied Hanson's single game scoring record on December 12, 1939 with 25 points against Clarkson, and broke the record with 27 versus St. Lawrence later that year. He would later tie that record again his senior year, also against St. Lawrence. He was the team captain his senior season. That year he would suffer a leg injury that would cost him a few games, and hamper his scoring in others, preventing him from making another serious charge at Hanson's record.

Kartluke played a year of professional basketball in the fledgling New York State Professional League for the 1946-1947 season. He played for three different franchises: Cohoes Mastadons, Gloversville Glovers, and Saratoga Indians (the Gloversville team disbanded during the season).

Kartluke was an engineer for General Electric for 40 years. He died in 1985 when he was struck by a car.

©RLYoung 2005, 2006