1. William Edwin Spivey was an American basketball player.
24 Facts About Bill Spivey
1. 2.
Bill Spivey left the Wildcats in December 1951, and the university banned him from the squad in March 1952.
3.
Bill Spivey retired in 1968 and became a businessman, working in sales and operating restaurants.
4.
Rupp told him that he would play only if he added 40 pounds, and Bill Spivey bulked up to 200 pounds during the summer of 1948.
5.
Bill Spivey spent his first year at Kentucky on a freshman team, while the varsity team won its second consecutive NCAA Basketball Championship in 1949.
6.
The US Olympic team, which had six Wildcats players on it, practiced in Lexington, and Bill Spivey gained knowledge and skills from team members Alex Groza, Vince Boryla and Bob Kurland.
7.
Kentucky played a much-anticipated game versus Kansas on December 16,1950, with Bill Spivey matched up against Jayhawks center Clyde Lovellette.
8.
Bill Spivey was later selected to the 1951 All-American team, as well as the All-SEC team for the second straight season.
9.
Bill Spivey denied rumors that he was involved in the scandal, calling them "false and malicious".
10.
Bill Spivey intended to return to the Wildcats once the situation was resolved, which Kentucky's athletic association expected before reinstatement.
11.
Bill Spivey was the only implicated player to deny allegations of point shaving.
12.
On June 9, Bill Spivey was arrested in New York, and was released pending a trial, which started in January 1953.
13.
Hirsch testified that Bill Spivey asked to be included as a point shaver, and was upset that the payment for his role in shaving during the 1950 Sugar Bowl tournament was less than he anticipated.
14.
Bill Spivey again denied taking part in the scandal, stating that he had turned down a different gambler on two occasions.
15.
Bill Spivey filed a lawsuit against the NBA and Podoloff in 1960, seeking more than $800,000 in damages.
16.
In one game with the Whirlwinds, Bill Spivey got into a fight with Globetrotters player Bobby "Showboat" Hall.
17.
The first two of those EBL seasons were spent with the Wilkes-Barre Barons, and Bill Spivey led the team to consecutive league championships.
18.
Bill Spivey had a 30-point, 23-rebound performance; his statistics were comparable to those of Chamberlain, who recorded a 31-point, 27-rebound game.
19.
Bill Spivey returned to the EPBL in 1963 to join the Scranton Miners, for whom he played five seasons.
20.
On February 11,1968, Bill Spivey participated in his final professional game.
21.
Bill Spivey helped to develop real estate and owned restaurants, including a Lexington-based eatery, Bill Spivey's Restaurant and Lounge.
22.
Bill 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.
23.
Bill Spivey moved to Quepos, Costa Rica, around 1993, after vacationing there with a friend six months before.
24.
Bill Spivey received two notable honors posthumously: his jersey number, 77, was retired by the University of Kentucky in January 2000, and the Kentucky Sports Hall of Fame inducted him in September 2004.