He came in here like a lamb and left as a majestic lion without ever feeling he had to roar and beat his chest to prove his worth. His feats did the talking.
That would be soft-spoken former Kansas basketeer Bill Bridges. In 1959, '60 and '61 he became the first player in a Big Six-Seven-Eight career to score more than 1,000 points (1,028) and command more than 1,000 rebounds (1,032).
Former KU basketball standout Bill Bridges, right, visits with John Hadl, left, and Dee Ketchum. Bridges, who will be recognized at halftime of today's KU-OU basketball game, was honored at a dinner with other former players on Friday at Alvamar Country Club.
Bridges was an imposing 235 pounds, but stood only 6-foot-5. He posted a double-double every season at KU and left with a 13.2 scoring average and a 13.9 rebound average over 76 games.
Bill's back this weekend to be honored at today's KU-Oklahoma game with a Kansas Hall of Fame portrait he never got and a replica of the Bill Bridges Rebound Award given to a Jayhawk each year. He's now in the ecology field in Santa Monica, Calif.
Bill was an all-leaguer three times and an All-American in '61 when he was a Jayhawk co-captain with Dee Ketchum. Then came 13 seasons in the NBA with St. Louis, Atlanta, Philadelphia, Los Angeles and Golden State after he starred a year with the old ABA Kansas City Steers.
Bridges scored more than 10,000 points, captured more than 10,000 rebounds as a pro and made three all-star teams. The only NBA star under 6-6 who claimed more rebounds in his career was 6-5 Elgin Baylor. Ever hear of that Hall of Famer?
Bill's beginnings, here and in Hobbs, N.M., were difficult. He considered Kansas State and Wichita State but liked KU coach Dick Harp. He got no scholarship as a freshman due to his high school grades and waited tables. Never had his hand out, never begged for special privileges and diligently did what he had to to get by, always with dignity same as Gale Sayers when Gale was struggling here as a freshman due to lack of a scholarship, also due to low high school academic profile. Both qualified as sophomores because of their great drive and fierce refusal to surrender to adversity.
Ralph Tasker was Bridges' prep coach. Tasker was the Hobbs basketball equivalent of Al Woolard in football at Lawrence High. He set standards that Hobbs still follows with success. Old-timers there are quick to recall the feats of Bill Bridges as a prep.
Bridges was forever cursed with bad knees, one of them the result of faulty surgery early on. He actually limped up and down the court and often needed fluid drainage to keep active. One leg flared sideways like a bad railyard switchoff.
Imagine if Wilt Chamberlain had stayed for his senior season and had been joined by Bridges as a '59 sophomore. Nobody else might have had a prayer to get a a rebound.
But KU went from a 7-1 worldwise pivot to a dedicated 6-5 work in progress and struggled that year.
For all his lack of refinements, Bill used good judgment and timing, was a good jumper and had terrific bulk and muscle. Add an insatiable desire to get better. He felt nobody but he deserved to get a rebound.
After struggling early, Bill steadily improved on offense. His field goal percentage was 38.1 his sophomore season; as a senior he was up to 43.7. His free-throw mark climbed from 57.4 percent as a rookie to 71 percent as a senior. He never stopped working.
Jerry Waugh, former Jayhawk who coached with Harp from 1957 through 1960, said Bridges "started from nowhere and did it all himself. He was determined to succeed, in basketball and in school. Once on a trip we stayed in a college dorm; I found him sitting on a toilet doing classwork because that was the only good light he could find late at night."
KU was 11-14 that first Wilt-less year with Bridges, Ron Loneski, Bob Billings, Al Donaghue and Bob Hickman the kingpins.
Kansas tied for the league title and reached the NCAA Regional finals in 1960 with Bridges, Wayne Hightower, Donaghue, Jerry Gardner and Hickman the most productive five. The fabled Oscar Robertson scored 43 points and derailed the Jayhawks in the regional final.
KU was 17-8 and darned good in 1961, but was denied NCAA participation due to sanctions involving illegal help Chamberlain got with a car. With Hightower, Bridges, Gardner, Nolen Ellison and Allen Correll the starters and a good bench, the Jayhawks might have made some noise had they made the tournament. Knowing they couldn't go, the Jayhawks had periodic letdowns and Kansas State represented the league when only one club per conference could move on.
Bridges had three 24-or-more rebound games and his career high was 30 against Northwestern as a junior. Chamberlain's rebound average at KU was 18.3. With a career record of 13.9 and at least eight inches shorter, Big Bill needn't apologize.
He's had a somewhat checkered career since leaving pro ball in 1975, but now is doing well in Santa Monica. He's single. Bill's whipped a lot demons and has established a reputation for earning what he gets from life, often the hard way same as he did at Kansas.
It's impossible to describe fully the deep satisfaction a newsman can get from meeting and then watching a shy, backward, unpolished kid like Bridges (and Sayers) work, grow and emerge as a big-timer.
The sports field gets justified criticism for its many flaws. But it's so heartwarming to have been a part of an era where an athletic career may have been the only door to success and fulfillment for a lot of kids. It makes you glow even more to see guys like Bridges who used that vehicle so well.
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