Reggie Harding

Reggie Harding
Personal information
Born (1942-05-04)May 4, 1942
Detroit, Michigan
Died September 2, 1972(1972-09-02) (aged 30)
Detroit, Michigan
Nationality American
Listed height 7 ft 0 in (2.13 m)
Listed weight 249 lb (113 kg)
Career information
High school Eastern (Detroit, Michigan)
NBA draft 1962 / Round: 4 / Pick: 29th overall
Selected by the Detroit Pistons
Position Center
Number 19, 17, 32
Career history
1963–1967 Detroit Pistons
1967 Chicago Bulls
1967 Trenton Colonials
1967–1968 Indiana Pacers
Stats at Basketball-Reference.com

Reginald 'Reggie' Harding (May 4, 1942 – September 2, 1972) was an American professional basketball player.

Basketball career

A native of Detroit, Michigan and a 1961 graduate of Eastern High School, Harding, a 7'0" center, was selected by the Detroit Pistons in the fourth round of the 1962 NBA Draft and later in the 6th round of the 1963 draft. He became the first player drafted into the NBA without having played in college,[1] although he did not actually play for the Pistons until the 1963–64 season.

In four seasons with the Pistons and Chicago Bulls, Harding averaged 9.0 points and 9.1 rebounds per game, and also spent part of 1967–68 with the ABA's Indiana Pacers, averaging 13.4 points and 13.4 rebounds in 25 games.

Personal issues and death

Harding's basketball career was cut short by a number of personal problems. He spent time in jail,[2] often struggled with drug addictions, and was rumored to carry a pistol in his gym bag.[3] During a television interview, he threatened to shoot the Indiana Pacers' general manager, Mike Storen. He also reportedly threatened to shoot teammate Jimmy Rayl while the two were rooming together.[2] According to Peter Benjaminson's The Lost Supreme: The Life of Dreamgirl Florence Ballard, Harding raped Florence Ballard, a member of The Supremes, at knifepoint in 1960.[4]

Harding was shot dead at a Detroit intersection in 1972, aged 30.[2][5]

See also

Notes

  1. ↑ Dupree, David (12 June 1977). "Even Without College Experience Play of Dawkins May Someday Match His Ego and Personality". The Washington Post.
  2. 1 2 3 Pluto, Terry (2007) [originally published 1990]. Loose Balls: The Short, Wild Life of the American Basketball Association (paperback ed.). New York: Simon & Schuster. pp. 139–142. ISBN 978-1-4165-4061-8. OCLC 153578380.
  3. ↑ Sachare, Alex. The Chicago Bulls Encyclopedia. Chicago: Contemporary, 1999
  4. ↑ Benjaminson, Peter. The Lost Supreme: the Life of Dreamgirl Florence Ballard. Chicago: Lawrence Hill Books, 2008. 22-23.
  5. ↑ Reusse, Patrick. "And the winner for stupidity by an athlete is ...". Minneapolis Star-Tribune. 30 May 1998.
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