100 Facts About Wayne Hightower

Wayne A Hightower was an American professional basketball player who had a long and productive career in the National Basketball Association and American Basketball Association from 1962 to 1972.

Wayne Hightower was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and attended Overbrook High School from 1955 to 1958, where he played basketball.

Wayne Hightower was both the EuroLeague Finals Top Scorer and the Spanish League Top Scorer in 1962.

Denver Rockets head coach and general manager Bob Bass would later say that the acquisition of Wayne Hightower was the most important moment in the team's first year.

In 1973, Wayne Hightower sued the ABA for backed wages and damages.

Wayne Hightower later returned to his hometown of Philadelphia, where he coached youth basketball.

Wayne Hightower died of a heart attack on April 18,2002, aged 62, in Philadelphia.

Wayne Hightower attended Overbrook High School in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and played on the school's varsity basketball team.

Wayne Hightower was named second team all-Pennsylvania by the United Press International and third team all-Pennsylvania by the Associated Press that season.

The AP reported that at least 33 colleges showed interest in recruiting Wayne Hightower, who was drawing comparisons to former Overbrook center Wilt Chamberlain.

Wayne Hightower played college basketball at Kansas, with the Kansas Jayhawks.

Wayne Hightower averaged 25.7 points per game, but other stats for the season are unavailable.

Wayne Hightower played in 28 games and averaged 21.8 points per game and 10.1 rebounds.

Wayne Hightower led the Big Eight Conference in scoring and was second in rebounding on the Jayhawks behind center Bill Bridges.

Wayne Hightower gave an interview to the Philadelphia Daily News in 1960 criticizing the selection process for the United States men's national basketball team leading up to the 1960 Summer Olympics in Rome, Italy.

Wayne Hightower was named an alternate for the team, but was never allowed to practice.

Dutch Lonborg, the athletic director of the University of Kansas and the chairman of the United States men's basketball Olympic committee, sent a letter to Wayne Hightower telling him that no alternates would be selected for the team as all of the original selectees agreed to join the team.

In 1960, Wayne Hightower said he was considering joining an Amateur Athletic Union team at the conclusion of his college career instead of signing with a professional club.

The Buchan Bakers of Seattle, Washington, reached out to Wayne Hightower and asked him to commit to joining their team.

Wayne Hightower stated he had interest in joining the Phillips 66ers of Bartlesville, Oklahoma, but thought it was a longshot due to his race.

On March 11,1961, Wayne Hightower was ejected from a game against the Missouri Tigers after getting into a fist fight with Tigers player Charley Henke and several spectators.

Wayne Hightower was the third junior in Big Eight Conference history to score 1,000 career points, the others being Wilt Chamberlain and Clyde Lovellette.

The Associated Press reported that Wayne Hightower would have been ineligible to play basketball during his senior season due to his poor grades.

Wayne Hightower finished his varsity career at Kansas with 1,128 total points scored and 573 rebounds in 53 games.

Wayne Hightower reported to training camp, but a few days later his contract was voided when Kansas City Steers management entered a protest to league president Abe Saperstein.

Wayne Hightower eventually left the Rens for a councilor position with a United Jewish Fund camp located in the Pocono Mountains.

Pittsburgh owner Lenny Litman sent Wayne Hightower an offer from the Easton Madisons of the Eastern Professional Basketball League that would be partially paid by the Rens, but Wayne Hightower declined the offer.

In September 1961, Wayne Hightower signed with the Allentown Jets of the EPBL.

Wayne Hightower had verbally committed to joining the Harlem Globetrotters, which he was unable to do after he moved to Spain.

Wayne Hightower led the Spanish League in scoring that season.

Wayne Hightower finished his college education at the Complutense University of Madrid.

Warriors owner Eddie Gottlieb denied his team was paying Wayne Hightower and claimed Littman was lying to drum up publicity.

Wayne Hightower reportedly told his friends that the only reason he would leave Spain was if he was drafted by Philadelphia.

Later, Gottlieb stopped denying that the Warriors had paid Wayne Hightower, instead noting that he was eligible to be drafted by any team in the upcoming NBA draft.

Gottlieb did not deny that if Wayne Hightower was drafted by another team Philadelphia would seek a reimbursement.

Irish was cautiously optimistic, saying Wayne Hightower played well, but noting the opposition was not comparable to the NBA.

Wayne Hightower was selected in the 1962 NBA draft, at fifth overall, by the Warriors, with whom he played for three seasons.

On October 12,1962, Wayne Hightower played in a charity game against the New York Knicks at Madison Square Garden for a team called the "College All-Stars".

Wayne Hightower notched a double-double, with 18 points and 10 rebounds in 27 minutes played.

Wayne Hightower finished the season with an average of 7.4 points per game, 5.4 rebounds and 0.8 assists in 66 games played.

In July 1963, Wayne Hightower re-signed with San Francisco for the upcoming season.

Warriors coach Alex Hannum publicly praised Wayne Hightower for playing through his injury.

Wayne Hightower was dragged away from the fight by his teammates as Warriors guard Al Attles shoved Beaty to the ground.

Wayne Hightower recorded his best season that year, averaging 13.2 points and 7.2 rebounds per game.

Since he was still recovering, Wayne Hightower wore a protective face mask that covered his nose.

Wayne Hightower admitted to having animosity towards the Warriors front office for the way the trade was handled.

Wayne Hightower played 27 games for the Bullets that season, averaging 6.7 points per game, 6.4 rebounds and 0.6 assists.

Wayne Hightower's combined averages between Baltimore and San Francisco were 7.8 points per game, 5.6 rebounds and 0.7 assists in 75 games played.

Wayne Hightower re-signed with the Bullets on September 1,1965, for the upcoming season.

Wayne Hightower returned to the Baltimore roster briefly in early February 1966 as a replacement for Don Ohl, who was sidelined with a broken cheekbone.

Wayne Hightower was sent back down to Harrisburg on February 11,1966, when Ohl returned to the team.

Wayne Hightower was named to the EPBL All-Star team, but was unable to play in the game because he had been called up to the NBA.

Wayne Hightower averaged 7.6 points per game, 5.5 rebounds and 1.5 assists in 24 games played for Baltimore.

Wayne Hightower played in 40 games for Harrisburg, but other statistics are not available.

Wayne Hightower was not on the Bullets' roster during the 1966 NBA Playoffs.

In 1966, Wayne Hightower arrived early to the Bullets training camp and worked out with the team's rookies in a bid to impress management.

On January 30,1967, Wayne Hightower was sold by Baltimore to the Detroit Pistons for an undisclosed amount.

Six days later, in a game against Baltimore, Wayne Hightower recorded 15 rebounds.

Wayne Hightower played 29 games for Detroit and averaged 8.6 points, 5.7 rebounds and 1.0 assists.

Wayne Hightower signed a contract with the Denver Rockets of the fledgling American Basketball Association in May 1967.

Wayne Hightower attended the Rockets training camp in September 1967, but left when he was offered a contract by his former team, the Detroit Pistons.

Wayne Hightower was waived by Detroit before the start of the NBA season and re-joined the Denver Rockets.

Wayne Hightower was named an All-ABA honorable mention at the conclusion of the season.

Wayne Hightower re-signed with the Denver Rockets for two seasons in September 1968.

Wayne Hightower was selected for the 1969 ABA All-Star Game by the Western Division head coach Alex Hannum.

Wayne Hightower was sidelined early in the season with a wrist injury he suffered off the court.

Wayne Hightower played just 27 games and averaged a career-best 18.1 points per game, 9.4 rebounds and 2.6 assists.

Wayne Hightower's injury kept him out through the 1970 ABA Playoffs.

Wayne Hightower was elected the organization's first vice president after it gained recognition.

Wayne Hightower scored a season high 34 points and 8 assists during the Stars victory over the Indiana Pacers on October 24,1970.

Wayne Hightower played the entire game, 48 minutes, and grabbed 11 rebounds.

On November 24,1970, Wayne Hightower set a team record for free throws and free throws attempted with 16 and 19, respectively, in a game against the Denver Rockets.

Wayne Hightower suffered an eye injury during a game against the Pacers on November 8,1970, that sidelined him for two subsequent games.

Wayne Hightower averaged 13.9 points per game with 5.8 rebounds and 2.9 assists.

Wayne Hightower was then traded by the Chaparrals to the Carolina Cougars on July 21,1971, in exchange for cash considerations.

Wayne Hightower scored a season high 13 points twice during the season.

Wayne Hightower finished the season with averaging 5.6 points per game, 3.3 rebounds and 0.8 rebounds in 10.8 minutes.

However, Rockets coach Alex Hannum voided the deal after Wayne Hightower was late reporting to Denver's preseason training camp.

Wayne Hightower's contract was returned to the Cougars as Denver refused to send the agreed upon money.

In 1973, Wayne Hightower sued the American Basketball Association and the Carolina Cougars for $573,000 for backed salary in the form of unpaid living expenses and fines.

Wayne Hightower claimed damages, alleging the Cougars prevented him from signing with any other ABA teams.

Wayne Hightower had hoped to transition into coaching after he retired from playing, but received no offers.

Wayne Hightower later became an ordained minister and coached basketball at the West Philadelphia Boys Club.

Wayne Hightower died from a heart attack on April 18,2002, in his hometown of Philadelphia, aged 62.

Later the biographical parallels continued, as Wayne Hightower followed Chamberlain to the University of Kansas.

The similarities between the two men persisted, as Wayne Hightower left college in 1961 with one-year of eligibility left to pursue professional basketball, just like Chamberlain had done in 1958.

Ultimately Wayne Hightower did accept Detroit's non-guaranteed contract and reported to their training camp.

Wayne Hightower was waived before the start of the season and became a free agent.

Wayne Hightower re-signed with Denver and played for them for two seasons.

Wayne Hightower was named to the 1969 ABA All-Star Game as a coaches selection.

There's nothing wrong with that, but I added Wayne Hightower to help us win the game.

Wayne Hightower is big enough to guard a big man and still agile enough to handle a good size guard.

In 1968, Real Madrid head coach Pedro Ferrandiz said Wayne Hightower was his team's greatest all-time player.

Ferrandiz said that if Wayne Hightower had stayed with his team, he would have been one of the greatest all-time players in Spanish basketball.

Wayne Hightower was born on January 14,1940, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, to Earnest and Ruth Wayne Hightower.

Wayne Hightower played for the school's basketball team, but dropped out of college to manage a lounge owned by Wayne in Denver, Colorado, called the Bunny Club.

Wayne Hightower's interest led him to open a men's clothing store in Denver when he was playing for the Denver Rockets in the late 1960s.

In September 1965, Wayne Hightower declared bankruptcy, listing his just $255 in assets and $51,476 in debts.

At the top of the list of debts were three cars Wayne Hightower purchased for $9,800.

In 1968, Wayne Hightower endorsed the non-partisan political advocacy group, Peaceful Resources in Democratic Education, which lobbied for the inclusion of African American history in public school curriculum.