Bill Bridges (basketball)

William C. Bridges (April 4, 1939 – September 25, 2015) was an American basketball player who earned an NBA championship and multiple NBA All-Star honors. Bridges played 13 seasons in the NBA for various teams, including the St. Louis / Atlanta Hawks, Philadelphia 76ers, Los Angeles Lakers, and Golden State Warriors.

Bill Bridges

Personal information
Born	(1939-04-04)April 4, 1939 Hobbs, New Mexico, U.S.
Died	September 25, 2015(2015-09-25) (aged 76) Santa Monica, California, U.S.
Listed height	6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)
Listed weight	228 lb (103 kg)
Career information
High school	Hobbs (Hobbs, New Mexico)
College	Kansas (1958–1961)
NBA draft	1961: 3rd round, 32nd overall pick
Selected by the Chicago Packers
Playing career	1961–1975
Position	Power forward / center
Number	10, 32, 23, 35
Career history
1961–1963	Kansas City Steers
1963–1971	St. Louis / Atlanta Hawks
1971–1972	Philadelphia 76ers
1972–1974	Los Angeles Lakers
1975	Golden State Warriors
Career highlights and awards
NBA champion (1975) 3× NBA All-Star (1967, 1968, 1970) 2× NBA All-Defensive Second Team (1969, 1970) All-ABL First Team (1962) No. 32 jersey retired by Kansas Jayhawks
Career NBA statistics
Points	11,012 (11.9 ppg)
Rebounds	11,054 (11.9 rpg)
Assists	2,553 (2.8 apg)
Stats at NBA.com
Stats at Basketball Reference

Early years

Born on April 4, 1939, Bridges grew up in Hobbs, New Mexico. He attended Hobbs High School and played for the Hobbs Eagles and legendary high school basketball coach Ralph Tasker. Bridges led Hobbs High School to New Mexico state high school basketball championships in 1956 and 1957. ^[1]

College career

Bridges enrolled at the University of Kansas for the 1957–1958 school year as a non-scholarship "walk-on".^[2] With freshmen ineligible for varsity competition until 1972,^[3] Bridges competed effectively in practice sessions during his 'redshirt' season against fellow Jayhawk Wilt Chamberlain who was playing his second and final season at Kansas. Bridges' performance in practices in the 1957-1958 season earned him a scholarship for his remaining three years.^[4]

During his subsequent three seasons of competition 1958-1959, 1959-1960, and 1960-1961 for the Kansas Jayhawks, Bridges averaged 13.2 points and 13.9 rebounds per game.

Bridges was chosen All-Big Eight all three seasons, and was an honorable mention All-American in 1961.^[5]

Professional playing career

After graduation from Kansas in 1961, Bridges was drafted by the Chicago Packers (currently Washington Wizards) with the 32nd pick in the 3rd round of the 1961 NBA draft.

Instead of signing with the Packers, Bridges played for the Kansas City Steers of the American Basketball League prior to entering the NBA. Bridges led the ABL in rebounding during both seasons he played for the Steers and led the league in scoring during his second season. He set the ABL single-game scoring record with 55 points on December 9, 1962.^[6] The league folded at the end of 1962, and the Steers were declared ABL champions.

Bridges then entered the National Basketball Association and spent 13 seasons (1962–1975) as a member of the St. Louis/Atlanta Hawks, Philadelphia 76ers, Los Angeles Lakers, and Golden State Warriors.

Bridges won an NBA championship with the Golden State Warriors in 1975 and was elected to three NBA All-Star teams in 1967, 1968, and 1970.

Though undersized at 6'6" for his position as a power forward, Bridges was an elite rebounder and averaged a double-double (11.9 points, 11.9 rebounds) over the course of his NBA career.

Bridges' tally of 11,054 career rebounds is ranked 30th in the history of the NBA.^[7]

Bridges is one of four players (Bill Russell, Wilt Chamberlain, and Willis Reed were the others) to record more than 35 rebounds in an NBA playoff game. Bridges, then playing for the Atlanta Hawks, tallied 36 rebounds in Game 2 of the 1971 Eastern Conference Semifinals versus the New York Knicks.

Bridges' league-leading 366 personal fouls during the 1967–68 season was, at the time, an NBA record.^[8]

Post-playing career

After retirement from the NBA in 1975, Bridges became an environmental consultant based in Santa Monica, California.^[9]

Bridges died in Los Angeles, California at the age of 76 following a battle with cancer.^[10]

NBA career statistics

Legend

GP	Games played	GS	Games started	MPG	Minutes per game
FG%	Field goal percentage	3P%	3-point field goal percentage	FT%	Free throw percentage
RPG	Rebounds per game	APG	Assists per game	SPG	Steals per game
BPG	Blocks per game	PPG	Points per game	Bold	Career high
†	Won an NBA championship

Regular season

Year	Team	GP	GS	MPG	FG%	3P%	FT%	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	PPG
1962–63	St. Louis	27	—	13.9	.413	—	.627	5.3	0.9	—	—	6.1
1963–64	St. Louis	80	—	24.4	.397	—	.652	8.5	2.3	—	—	8.5
1964–65	St. Louis	79	—	29.9	.386	—	.676	10.8	2.4	—	—	11.5
1965–66	St. Louis	78	—	34.3	.407	—	.706	12.2	2.7	—	—	13.0
1966–67	St. Louis	79	—	39.6	.455	—	.702	15.1	2.8	—	—	17.4
1967–68	St. Louis	82	—	39.0	.462	—	.717	13.4	3.1	—	—	15.6
1968–69	Atlanta	80	—	36.6	.453	—	.677	14.2	3.7	—	—	11.8
1969–70	Atlanta	82	—	39.9	.475	—	.734	14.4	4.2	—	—	14.8
1970–71	Atlanta	82	—	38.3	.458	—	.639	15.0	2.9	—	—	11.9
1971–72	Atlanta	14	—	39.0	.381	—	.705	13.6	2.9	—	—	9.5
1971–72	Philadelphia	64	—	34.5	.509	—	.702	13.5	2.5	—	—	13.2
1972–73	Philadelphia	10	—	37.6	.376	—	.708	12.2	2.3	—	—	14.0
1972–73	L.A. Lakers	72	—	34.6	.479	—	.700	10.9	2.7	—	—	9.8
1973–74	L.A. Lakers	65	—	27.9	.421	—	.707	7.7	3.9	0.9	0.5	8.4
1974–75	L.A. Lakers	17	—	18.1	.351	—	.533	5.5	1.0	0.4	0.2	3.3
1974–75†	Golden State	15	—	7.2	.417	—	.250	2.7	0.3	0.3	0.0	2.1
Career		926	—	33.3	.442	—	.693	11.9	2.8	0.7	0.4	11.9
All-Star		3	0	17.7	.813	—	.182	7.4	2.0	—	—	9.3

Playoffs

Year	Team	GP	GS	MPG	FG%	3P%	FT%	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	PPG
1963	St. Louis	11	—	18.5	.427	—	.741	7.8	0.8	—	—	9.3
1964	St. Louis	12	—	20.0	.313	—	.632	7.0	2.0	—	—	5.3
1965	St. Louis	4	—	36.3	.356	—	.667	16.8	2.3	—	—	13.0
1966	St. Louis	10	—	42.1	.506	—	.721	14.9	2.8	—	—	20.3
1967	St. Louis	9	—	41.0	.375	—	.672	18.8	2.4	—	—	15.7
1968	St. Louis	6	—	36.0	.507	—	.720	12.8	2.3	—	—	15.7
1969	Atlanta	11	—	40.2	.442	—	.708	16.4	3.4	—	—	15.6
1970	Atlanta	9	—	42.3	.400	—	.593	17.1	3.2	—	—	11.6
1971	Atlanta	5	—	45.8	.397	—	.333	20.8	1.0	—	—	9.8
1973	L.A. Lakers	17	—	34.2	.419	—	.776	9.3	1.7	—	—	8.9
1974	L.A. Lakers	5	—	28.8	.293	—	.492	6.0	1.2	1.4	0.0	6.0
1975†	Golden State	14	—	10.6	.435	—	.286	3.5	0.5	0.6	0.3	1.6
Career		113	—	31.2	.419	—	.673	11.5	1.9	0.8	0.2	10.5

Awards

Starting in 1962, in what Bridges called his greatest honor, the University of Kansas basketball program named its yearly post-season individual rebounding award the "Bill Bridges Rebounding Award".^[11]

In 2002, at a ceremony during a game at Allen Field House, Bridges was honored as the first Jayhawk to record 1,000 points and 1,000 rebounds in a career.^[12]

In 2004, the University of Kansas retired Bridges' jersey at a ceremony in Allen Field House.^[13]

In 2014, Bridges was inducted into the New Mexico Sports Hall of Fame.^[14]

In 2016, Bridges was inducted into the Kansas Sports Hall of Fame.^[15]

See also

• List of NBA career rebounding leaders
• List of NBA career personal fouls leaders
• List of NBA career playoff rebounding leaders

References

1. "Hobbs High School Basketball 1950-19830". archive.org. February 23, 2022. Retrieved February 23, 2022.
2. Bedore, Gary (December 9, 2004). "Jayhawks to hang Bridges' jersey". Lawrence Journal World.
3. White, Gordon A. (January 9, 1972). "Freshmen Given Varsity Status in Surprise Move". The New York Times. Retrieved January 26, 2022.
4. Bedore, Gary (December 9, 2004). "Jayhawks to hang Bridges' jersey". Lawrence Journal World.
5. Kerkhoff, Blair (October 8, 2015), "Former KU basketball great Bill Bridges dies", The Kansas City Star
6. NBA Register: 1986–87 Edition. The Sporting News Publishing Company. 1986. p. 295. ISBN 9780892042272.
7. N/A, N/A (February 23, 2022). "NBA Advanced Stats – All Time Leaders". No. nba.com. NBA. Retrieved February 23, 2022.
8. The Official NBA Basketball Encyclopedia. Villard Books. 1994. p. 379. ISBN 0-679-43293-0.
9. Bedore, Gary (December 10, 2004). "Bridges reconnects with KU". Lawrence Journal World.
10. Bedore, Gary (October 8, 2015). "Former KU basketball great Bill Bridges dies at age of 76". Lawrence Journal World.
11. Bedore, Gary (December 9, 2004). "Jayhawks to hang Bridges' jersey". Lawrence Journal World.
12. N/A, N/A (January 20, 2002). "Kansas Notebook – Boschee knows threes". Kansas City Star. p. 34.
13. Bedore, Gary (December 10, 2004). "Bridges reconnects with KU". Lawrence Journal World.
14. "Bill Bridges". nmshof.org. January 26, 2022. Retrieved January 26, 2022.
15. "Bill Bridges". kshof.org. January 26, 2022. Retrieved January 26, 2022.

External links

• Career stats