Joe Ruklick

Ruklick was born in Chicago, but he moved to an orphanage in Princeton, Illinois, after his mother was diagnosed with tuberculosis when he was 11.[2] He attended Princeton High School, leading the team to consecutive state tournaments in 1954 and 1955.[3]

Ruklick attended Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois.[4] He played three seasons with the Wildcats, leading the team in both scoring and rebounds each year.[4] Ruklick averaged 23 points and 13 rebounds as a senior in 1958–59,[4] when he was named a third-team All-American by the Associated Press and National Association of Basketball Coaches.[5][6] He finished with career averages of 19.9 points and 13.2 rebounds per game.[5]

Ruklick guarded Wilt Chamberlain in his first collegiate game with Kansas in 1956.[2][7] Chamberlain had 52 points and 31 rebounds,[8] and his scoring total remains a Kansas single-game record.[9] Ruklick countered with 22 points but fouled out with 9:30 remaining in the game.[7] "I held him to 52", quipped Ruklick in 2002.[2]

Ruklick was selected by the Philadelphia Warriors in the second round of the 1959 NBA draft with the ninth overall pick.[5] In teammate Wilt Chamberlain's 100-point game, he got the assist for Wilt's 100th point and played eight minutes.[10] Late in the game after Chamberlain has already scored 100, Ruklick missed two free throws,[11] stating afterwards that he intentionally missed the second in hopes that Chamberlain might rebound it and get 102 points.[12]

After Ruklick's third season with the Warriors, the team moved to San Francisco.[2] Averaging only 3.5 points and eight minutes per game in his career as a backup to Chamberlain,[4][10] he asked to be traded in order to play more. However, the team refused.[2] According to Ruklick, owner Eddie Gottlieb told him, "We need you next year. Fans won't buy tickets if you have too many Negroes." Ruklick left the team over moral objections.[10]

After his NBA career, Ruklick worked in investment banking. He received a graduate degree from Northwestern University's Medill School of Journalism at the age of 50. [10] He worked at newspapers including The Galesburg Register-Mail and later The Chicago Defender,[4][10] where he was the only white among the African-American newspaper's 22-person editorial staff.[2]

Ruklick lived in Evanston, and frequently attended Northwestern games while reporting for the Aurora Voice. He died of natural causes at 82 on September 17, 2020.[5]

• Career statistics and player information from NBA.com  and Basketball-Reference.com