Bill Spivey
Personal information | |
---|---|
Born | Lakeland, Florida, U.S. | March 19, 1929
Died | May 8, 1995 Quepos, Costa Rica | (aged 66)
Listed height | 7 ft 0 in (2.13 m) |
Listed weight | 200 lb (91 kg) |
Career information | |
College | Kentucky (1949–1951) |
Position | Center |
Number | 77 |
Career highlights and awards | |
| |
William Edwin Spivey (March 19, 1929 – May 8, 1995) was an American
After he testified before a grand jury in New York, he was indicted on perjury charges. Although Spivey was not convicted when the case went to trial in 1953, he was prevented from competing in the National Basketball Association (NBA) afterward. Spivey instead played professionally for various minor league teams. In 10 Eastern Basketball League (EBL) seasons, his teams won three championships. Spivey retired in 1968 and became a businessman, working in sales and operating restaurants. Upset by the accusations against him in the early 1950s, he was reclusive in his final years.
Early life
William Edwin Spivey[1] was born in Lakeland, Florida, and had moved to Columbus, Georgia, by 1944, at which time he was 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m). After taking up basketball, he played for his high school's team and had 18 points in his first half of game action. The following year, he moved to Warner Robins, Georgia, which did not have a basketball team before he arrived. The principal of Warner Robins' high school created a team, however, once Spivey came.[2] During one of his high school seasons, he was forced to play without shoes—since none of the school's shoes fit him—and wear three pairs of socks.[3] Spivey had over 1,800 points in his three-year high school career.[2]
College career
Recruitment
Several universities wanted to give Spivey a basketball scholarship in 1948.[2] The University of Kentucky first became aware of Spivey when a Georgia newspaper executive told Fred Wachs, whom writer Earl Cox said "pretty much ran Lexington", about him.[4] After hearing of Spivey from the executive, Wachs notified Kentucky's men's basketball coach, Adolph Rupp, who elected to have a former Wildcats player watch Spivey. Following positive feedback from the player,[4] Rupp invited Spivey to try out for a spot on the team against other leading high school players. After the tryout, Spivey received a scholarship.[5][6]
1948–49 to 1949–50
Even though he offered a scholarship to the seven-foot Spivey, Rupp was concerned about his weight, which was between 160 and 165 pounds. Rupp told him that he would play only if he added 40 pounds (18 kg), and Spivey bulked up to 200 pounds (91 kg) during the summer of 1948.
In the
1950–51
Kentucky played a much-anticipated game versus Kansas on December 16, 1950, with Spivey matched up against Jayhawks center Clyde Lovellette. The Wildcats won by 29 points as Spivey outplayed Lovellette, in what he later called the best performance of his college career. After one steal, he drove to the Kansas basket and did a slam dunk; this was rare for Kentucky basketball at the time, as Rupp instructed players not to dunk during games.[18] Spivey set another school record in a February 13, 1951, game, gathering 34 rebounds. As of 2017, he remains tied for the team record with Bob Burrow, who had the same number of rebounds in a 1955 game.[19] For the season, Spivey again averaged more than 19 points per game,[20] and he added 17.2 rebounds per game.[16] His point total led the SEC, and his 479 regular season points were the third-most in league history at the time.[21]
The Wildcats had a 28–2 record during the regular season, and entered the postseason as the top-ranked team in the country. One of those losses came in the SEC Tournament against
Implication in gambling scandal
The
Spivey intended to return to the Wildcats once the situation was resolved, which Kentucky's athletic association expected before reinstatement. On February 16, 1952, he and the association's directors agreed to have him testify before a grand jury in New York.[25] After Spivey's grand jury appearance later in February, however, the university banned him permanently on March 2. In its statement, Kentucky's athletic board said evidence pointed to him fixing games during the 1950 Sugar Bowl tournament.[26] Gambler Jack West was charged with bribing two Wildcats players, Spivey and Walter Hirsch, to engage in point shaving during one of the tournament's games, and eventually pleaded guilty.[23] In his grand jury testimony, Spivey denied receiving $1,000 to shave points in games from December 1950 to January 1951, or talking about doing so with gamblers.[27] He was the only implicated player to deny allegations of point shaving.[28] In April, the grand jury indicted him on charges of perjury for lying under oath during his testimony,[27] claiming he had done so on seven occasions.[23]
Trial
On June 9, Spivey was arrested in New York, and was released pending a trial, which started in January 1953.
Professional career
Although Spivey was not found guilty in the scandal, he found himself
1952–53 to 1956–57
In October 1952, Spivey played in two games for the American Basketball League's Elmira Colonels, scoring 21 and 32 points in the contests. That season, he also was a member of the Detroit Vagabonds barnstorming team. For the next three seasons, he spent time with three teams connected to the Harlem Globetrotters exhibition team: the Boston Whirlwinds, the House of David, and the Washington Generals. In one game with the Whirlwinds, Spivey got into a fight with Globetrotters player Bobby "Showboat" Hall.[38] For the 1955–56 and 1956–57 seasons, Spivey played for another barnstorming team, the New York Olympians, later renamed the Kentucky Colonels.[38]
1957–58 to 1962–63
Beginning with the 1957–58 season, Spivey spent 10 of his remaining 12 professional seasons in the EBL. The first two of those EBL seasons were spent with the Wilkes-Barre Barons, and Spivey led the team to consecutive league championships. On April 20, 1958, he scored 62 points in the title-clinching game against the Easton Madisons, setting an EBL playoff record. In 1958–59, he became the first player in league history with a 1,000-point season, and had 64 points in a March 1959 game.[38] That season, he was named the league's most valuable player.[39] Along with his play in the EBL, Spivey reached an agreement to join the Ansonia Norwoods of the semi-professional Connecticut Basketball Association (CBA) in 1958. Over two years with the Norwoods, his points-per-game average exceeded 30.0.[40]
Spivey moved to the Baltimore Bullets for the 1959–60 season, and played two seasons for the club. In Spivey's first season with the Bullets, he had 36.3 points per game, the highest average of his EBL career.[38] Outside EBL competition, he received an opportunity to play opposite leading NBA center Wilt Chamberlain in a 1960 exhibition game, held in Milford, Connecticut, against the CBA's Milford Chiefs. Spivey had a 30-point, 23-rebound performance; his statistics were comparable to those of Chamberlain, who recorded a 31-point, 27-rebound game.[40][41]
The Bullets won the league championship in 1960–61, after which Spivey played two seasons in a different
1963–64 to 1967–68
Spivey returned to the EBL in 1963 to join the Scranton Miners, for whom he played five seasons. His highest scoring average for the Miners came in the 1964–65 season, when he had 27.0 points per game. In 1967–68, his final professional season, Spivey went back to the Barons.
Later life
After retiring from basketball, Spivey became a businessman, and moved back to Kentucky. The majority of his jobs involved sales; these included the selling of building materials and insurance. He also helped to develop real estate and owned restaurants,[23][37] including a Lexington-based eatery, Bill Spivey's Restaurant and Lounge.[44] For a time he was the state's deputy insurance commissioner.[23] Spivey ran in the primary election for Lieutenant Governor of Kentucky in 1983 as a Democrat, but came in last in the seven-person race.[45]
Spivey made his final public appearance in 1991, at a reunion of the 1951 Kentucky Wildcats team in Lexington. Writer Greg Doyel says that "he was a recluse" at the time.[46] According to his wife, Audrey Spivey, "He never got over [his accusation in the 1951 college basketball scandal]. Bill could not let that go. He was just devastated."[23] Then living in Daytona Beach, Florida, he was later hurt in an automobile accident, which aggravated a lower-back injury. Spivey's son, Cashton, said that "He never made a full recovery from that. It affected his posture, and he had chronic pain from that."[47] In a post-accident bone grafting operation, a piece of equipment became lodged in Spivey's lower back; according to Cashton, he won a small amount from the hospital in a lawsuit.[47]
Spivey moved to
Notes
- ^ a b c d Murray, Jim (November 1, 1961). "A Case for Zola". Los Angeles Times. p. C1.
- ^ a b c d "Spivey Is a Peace Loving Fellow, but He Spells Trouble for Rivals". Milwaukee Journal. Associated Press. January 23, 1950. p. 2.
- ^ a b Trease, p. 41.
- ^ a b Cox, Earl (January 26, 2012). "Back On Top". The Louisville Voice-Tribune. Retrieved December 13, 2020.
- ^ "Remembering Warner Robins' Bill Spivey". The Houston Home Journal. April 1, 2020. Retrieved December 13, 2020.
- ^ "Third national title in four years as scandal breaks over Big Blue". Lexington Herald-Leader. December 23, 2009. Retrieved December 13, 2020.
- ^ a b Dorris, Joe (February 15, 1949). "Fire and Fall back". Kentucky New Era. p. 5. Retrieved January 13, 2010.
- ^ Sporting News. Internet Archive. Archived from the originalon March 24, 2004. Retrieved October 4, 2011.
- Toledo Blade. Associated Press. p. 11. Retrieved January 14, 2010.
- ^ Rose, Murray (January 2, 1950). "Kentucky Quint Still Near Top In College Ranks". Spartanburg Herald-Review. Associated Press. p. 7. Retrieved January 13, 2010.
- Pittsburgh Press. United Press. February 20, 1950. p. 20. Retrieved February 10, 2011.
- ^ Kentucky 2017–18 Men's Basketball Media Guide, pp. 160, 171.
- St. Petersburg Times. Associated Press. March 6, 1950. p. 19. Retrieved January 13, 2010.
- ^ "Kentucky Five's Appearance in Tournament Is a Surprise". Milwaukee Journal. Associated Press. March 9, 1950. p. 2.
- ^ "CCNY Humbles 'Cats, 89 to 50". St. Petersburg Times. Associated Press. March 15, 1950. p. 22. Retrieved January 14, 2010.
- ^ a b c Doyel, p. 61.
- ^ "NCAA College Basketball AP All-America Teams". Basketball-Reference. Retrieved August 31, 2014.
- ^ Nelli and Nelli, p. 68.
- ^ Kentucky 2017–18 Men's Basketball Media Guide, p. 177.
- ^ Trease, pp. 41–43.
- ^ "Bill Spivey Easily Tops SEC Scoring". The Florence Times. Associated Press. March 1, 1951. p. 14. Retrieved January 14, 2010.
- ^ "NCAA College Basketball Final Four Most Outstanding Player Winners". Basketball-Reference. Retrieved January 14, 2010.
- ^ a b c d e f g h Litsky, Frank (May 10, 1995). "Bill Spivey, 66, Kentucky Star Implicated In Scandal of 1950s". The New York Times. Retrieved January 15, 2010.
- ^ "Bill Spivey Withdraws From Kentucky Squad". St. Petersburg Times. Associated Press. December 25, 1951. p. 23. Retrieved January 15, 2010.
- ^ "Bill Spivey Agrees To Appear Before New York Grand Jury". The Tuscaloosa News. Associated Press. February 17, 1952. p. 8. Retrieved January 15, 2010.
- ^ "Bill Spivey Barred By Kentucky Board". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Associated Press. March 3, 1952. p. 23. Retrieved January 15, 2010.
- ^ a b "Bill Spivey Indicted for Perjury". The Schenectady Gazette. Associated Press. April 29, 1952. p. 17. Retrieved January 15, 2010.
- ^ "Bill Spivey Faces Perjury Charge In New York City Today". The Florence Times. Associated Press. January 14, 1953. p. B3. Retrieved January 15, 2010.
- ^ "Spivey Named In 'Fix'". Pittsburgh Press. United Press. January 20, 1953. p. 22. Retrieved January 15, 2010.
- ^ "Defense Calls More Character Witnesses For Bill Spivey Today". The Florence Times. Associated Press. January 23, 1953. p. 10. Retrieved January 15, 2010.
- ^ a b Doyel, p. 62.
- ^ Porter, p. 379.
- ^ Doyel, Gregg (June 15, 2005). "Unfair denial of NBA dream haunted Spivey". CBS Sports. p. 1. Archived from the original on June 19, 2005. Retrieved March 18, 2016.
- ^ "Podoloff Won't Approve Contract For Bill Spivey". The Florence Times. Associated Press. September 1, 1960. p. 3. Retrieved May 3, 2014.
- ^ "Spivey Sues Pro League for Blacklist". The Spokesman-Review. Associated Press. January 4, 1960. p. 11. Retrieved February 10, 2011.
- ^ a b c Doyel, p. 63.
- ^ a b c d e f Black, Jack; Kenyon, J. Michael; Hoover, Bill; Bradley, Robert. "Bill Spivey's Professional Career Highlights". The Association for Professional Basketball Research. Retrieved January 16, 2010.
- ^ Bradley, Robert; Pfander, Dick. "Eastern Pennsylvania Basketball League/Eastern Professional Basketball League/Eastern Basketball Association History". The Association for Professional Basketball Research. Retrieved July 9, 2020.
- ^ a b Borges, David (September 25, 2012). "New Haven 200: Snubbed by Kentucky and the NBA, Bill Spivey was embraced in Ansonia". New Haven Register. Retrieved April 3, 2016.
- ^ a b Doyel, Gregg (June 15, 2005). "Unfair denial of NBA dream haunted Spivey". CBS Sports. p. 2. Archived from the original on June 20, 2005. Retrieved March 18, 2016.
- ^ Bradley, Robert. "History of the American Basketball League". The Association for Professional Basketball Research. Retrieved December 31, 2014.
- ^ Goldstein, Joe (November 19, 2003). "Explosion: 1951 scandals threaten college hoops". ESPN Classic. Retrieved January 16, 2010.
- ^ Porter, p. 447.
- ^ "Sports People: Spivey Falls Short". The New York Times. June 1, 1983. Retrieved January 17, 2010.
- ^ Doyel, pp. 63–64.
- ^ a b c Doyel, p. 64.
- ^ Doyel, p. 65.
References
- Doyel, Gregg (2005). Kentucky Wildcats: Where Have You Gone?. Sports Publishing LLC. ISBN 1-58261-930-1.
- Kentucky 2017–18 Men's Basketball Media Guide (PDF). University of Kentucky. 2017. Retrieved January 21, 2018.
- Nelli, Bert; Nelli, Steve (2015) [1984]. The Winning Tradition: A History of Kentucky Wildcat Basketball. University Press of Kentucky. ISBN 9780813165233.
- Porter, David L. (2005). Basketball: A Biographical Dictionary. Greenwood Publishing Group. ISBN 978-0-3133-0952-6.
- Trease, Denny (2002). Tales from the Kentucky Hardwood: A Collection of the Greatest Kentucky Basketball Stories Ever Told!. Sports Publishing LLC. ISBN 1-58261-319-2.