Luke Witte (born October 19, 1950) is a retired American

college A college (Latin: ''collegium'') is an educational institution or a constituent part of one. A college may be a degree-awarding tertiary educational institution, a part of a collegiate or federal university, an institution offering ...

and

professional A professional is a member of a profession or any person who works in a specified professional activity. The term also describes the standards of education and training that prepare members of the profession with the particular knowledge and skil ...

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...

player who is now a

church minister In Christianity, a minister is a person authorised by a church or other religious organization to perform functions such as teaching of beliefs; leading services such as weddings, baptisms or funerals; or otherwise providing spiritual guidan ...

. He played at the collegiate level for

Ohio State University The Ohio State University, commonly called Ohio State or OSU, is a public land-grant research university in Columbus, Ohio. A member of the University System of Ohio, it has been ranked by major institutional rankings among the best publ ...

and professionally for the

Cleveland Cavaliers The Cleveland Cavaliers (often referred to as the Cavs) are an American professional basketball team based in Cleveland. The Cavaliers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference (NBA), Ea ...

. It was during his time at Ohio State that he was severely injured in one of the more brutal on-court brawls in basketball history.

High school and college

Witte was a standout player at

Marlington High School Marlington High School is a public high school in Lexington Township, Ohio near Alliance. It is the only high school in the Marlington Local School District. The name is a portmanteau of Marlboro and Lexington or Washington townships, and the ...

Alliance, Ohio Alliance is a city in eastern Stark County, Ohio, United States. With a small district lying in adjacent Mahoning County, the city is approximately northeast of Canton, southwest of Youngstown and southeast of Cleveland. The population was 21 ...

, where he scored over 1500 points during his career. He went on to the

, where, as a sophomore, in

1971 * The year 1971 had three partial solar eclipses ( February 25, July 22 and August 20) and two total lunar eclipses (February 10, and August 6). The world population increased by 2.1% this year, the highest increase in history. Events Ja ...

led the team in

rebounds 'Rebound' is a term used in sports to describe the ball (or puck or other object of play) becoming available for possession by either opponent after an attempt to put the ball or puck into the goal has been unsuccessful. Rebounds are generally ...

(331 for the season) and was all-

Big Ten The Big Ten Conference (stylized B1G, formerly the Western Conference and the Big Nine Conference) is the oldest Division I collegiate athletic conference in the United States. Founded as the Intercollegiate Conference of Faculty Representati ...

. The Ohio State team were Big Ten champions, and teamed with fellow Buckeye standouts

Allan Hornyak Allan J. Hornyak (born March 3, 1951) is an American former basketball player known for his high school and collegiate careers. Despite being selected in the 1973 NBA draft by the Cleveland Cavaliers and also in the 1973 ABA Draft by the Indi ...

and

Jim Cleamons James Mitchell Cleamons (born September 13, 1949) is an American former professional basketball player and current coach. Playing career He played collegiately at the Ohio State University, and was selected by the Los Angeles Lakers with the 13 ...

. The 1971 Ohio State team defeated Marquette in the NCAA Tournament Mid-East regional semifinal before losing to Western Kentucky.

Brawl in Minnesota

Witte is best known for the incident at the Ohio State–

Minnesota Minnesota () is a state in the upper midwestern region of the United States. It is the 12th largest U.S. state in area and the 22nd most populous, with over 5.75 million residents. Minnesota is home to western prairies, now given over to ...

game, played at

on January 25, 1972. According to the Big Ten Conference's review of the game film, Witte appeared to elbow Minnesota guard Bobby Nix as the two teams headed to their locker rooms at halftime. During the second half, Ohio State led 50-44 with 36 seconds to go when Witte went for a

layup A layup in basketball is a two-point shot attempt made by leaping from below, laying the ball up near the basket, and using one hand to bounce it off the backboard and into the basket. The motion and one-handed reach distinguish it from a Jump sh ...

but was fouled hard. Immediately following the foul, Minnesota player Corky Taylor extended an arm to help Witte up, then kneed Witte in the groin and punched him in the head. While on the floor, he was also kicked and stomped by Minnesota player

Ron Behagen Ron is a shortening of the name Ronald. Ron or RON may also refer to: Arts and media * Big Ron (''EastEnders''), a TV character * Ron (''King of Fighters''), a video game character *Ron Douglas, the protagonist in '' Lucky Stiff'' played by Joe ...

, knocking him unconscious. What followed was an extended brawl. Witte's teammate, Dave Merchant, attempted to come to his aid, but was struck in the face several times by Gopher

Jim Brewer Jim or JIM may refer to: * Jim (given name), a given name * Jim, a diminutive form of the given name James * Jim, a short form of the given name Jimmy * OPCW-UN Joint Investigative Mechanism * ''Jim'' (comics), a series by Jim Woodring * ''Jim ...

. Another Buckeye, Mark Wagar (currently the president of Empire BlueCross BlueShield in New York), was attacked from behind by Minnesota player—and future

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...

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—

Dave Winfield David Mark Winfield (born October 3, 1951) is an American former Major League Baseball (MLB) right fielder. He is the special assistant to the executive director of the Major League Baseball Players Association. Over his 22-year career, he playe ...

, who landed four or five punches to Wagar's head. When order was restored, Minnesota Athletic Director

Paul Giel Paul Robert Giel (February 29, 1932 – May 22, 2002) was an American college football and professional baseball player from Winona, Minnesota. He was an All-American in both sports at the University of Minnesota. Collegiate career Giel att ...

announced the game was over and the Buckeyes were a 50-44 victor, prompting Minnesota fans to boo and throw objects as Witte was carried from the floor. Hospitalized for several days, including 24 hours in

intensive care Intensive care medicine, also called critical care medicine, is a medical specialty that deals with seriously or critically ill patients who have, are at risk of, or are recovering from conditions that may be life-threatening. It includes pro ...

, Witte's injuries included 29 facial stitches and a scarred

cornea The cornea is the transparent front part of the eye that covers the iris, pupil, and anterior chamber. Along with the anterior chamber and lens, the cornea refracts light, accounting for approximately two-thirds of the eye's total optical power ...

. In all, three Ohio State players were taken to hospitals.

Aftermath

The

Big Ten Conference The Big Ten Conference (stylized B1G, formerly the Western Conference and the Big Nine Conference) is the oldest Division I collegiate athletic conference in the United States. Founded as the Intercollegiate Conference of Faculty Representati ...

suspended Taylor and Behagen for the rest of the season. Ohio State

head coach A head coach, senior coach or manager is a professional at training and developing athletes. They typically hold a more public profile and are paid more than other coaches. In some sports, the head coach is instead called the "manager", as in assoc ...

Fred Taylor was angered that the universities (including his own), the

NCAA The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges an ...

, and the Big Ten Conference refused to pursue sanctions against the Minnesota program, and said later that his enthusiasm for the game was lost as a result; he retired early, in 1976. The Minnesota coach,

Bill Musselman William Clifford Musselman (August 13, 1940 – May 5, 2000) was an American basketball coach in the NCAA, the ABA, the WBA, the CBA, and the NBA. He was known for his trademark intensity, once being quoted as saying, "Defeat is worse than death ...

, was blamed for fostering a thuggish Gopher atmosphere—for instance, he had his team perform dunks and slams during pre-game workouts. Musselman denied that he ordered his team to play dirty or to initiate fights. Despite losing two of its key players, Minnesota went on to win the Big Ten championship with an 11-3 record. Following the incident, the NCAA banned the practice of players performing dunks and slams during pre-game warm-ups when officials are not present. Witte chose not to pursue legal or any other avenue of retribution against his attackers. Instead, he has extended forgiveness and tried to achieve reconciliation.Forgiveness helps Witte heal after 1972 brawl

Pro career

Witte was selected in the fourth round of the

1973 NBA Draft The 1973 NBA draft was the 27th annual draft of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The draft was held on April 24 and May 5, 1973, before the 1973–74 season. In this draft, 17 NBA teams took turns selecting amateur U.S. college baske ...

by the

, who also had fellow Buckeyes Hornyak and

. Minnesota fight participant,

was on the team as well. Witte saw part-time action over three seasons; his body spread over was not mobile enough for an NBA then stocked with very good centers. He still suffered from vision impairment as well.

After basketball

Following his career in professional basketball, Luke Witte established his own sporting store in Alliance, Ohio which he operated for more than five years before becoming a minister. Luke Witte is now the Carolinas Division Director with Marketplace Chaplains in

Charlotte, North Carolina Charlotte ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of North Carolina. Located in the Piedmont region, it is the county seat of Mecklenburg County. The population was 874,579 at the 2020 census, making Charlotte the 16th-most populo ...

References

External links

*
Luke Witte career statistics at basketball-reference.com

Luke Witte stats page at NBA.com

Sources

* ttp://www.capitalcitychristian.org/Sermons/2005_Sermons/Authentic_Faith/Forgiveness "Forgiveness," by Dr. Stephen Pattison, Capital City Christian Church Sermons: April 16-17, 2005
"Parshat Vayechi," by Rabbi Jessica Spitalnic Brockman, Temple Beth El of Boca Paton: December 21, 2002
{{DEFAULTSORT:Witte, Luke 1950 births Living people American Presbyterian ministers Basketball players at the 1971 Pan American Games Basketball players from Ohio Centers (basketball) Cleveland Cavaliers draft picks Cleveland Cavaliers players Ohio State Buckeyes men's basketball players People from Alliance, Ohio Basketball players from Charlotte, North Carolina American men's basketball players Pan American Games competitors for the United States Basketball players from Philadelphia