Wendell Ladner (October 6, 1948 – June 24, 1975) was an American professional

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 most notable for his playing time in the

American Basketball Association The American Basketball Association (ABA) was a major men's professional basketball league from 1967 to 1976. The ABA ceased to exist with the ABA–NBA merger, American Basketball Association–National Basketball Association merger in 1976, ...

(ABA) from 1970 to 1975. Ladner was born in Necaise Crossing,

Hancock County, Mississippi Hancock County is the southernmost county of the U.S. state of Mississippi and is named for Founding Father John Hancock. As of the 2010 census, the population was 43,929. Its county seat is Bay St. Louis. Hancock County is part of the Gulfp ...

and played high school ball at Hancock North Central High School in

Kiln, Mississippi Kiln (pronounced "Kill") is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) in Hancock County, Mississippi, United States. The town is located about northeast of New Orleans, Louisiana. It is part of the Gulfport-Biloxi Metropolit ...

. After attending the

University of Southern Mississippi The University of Southern Mississippi (Southern Miss or USM) is a public research university with its main campus located in Hattiesburg, Mississippi. It is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools to award bachelor's, ma ...

, Ladner went undrafted in the 1970 ABA draft where he played five seasons with five different teams in the ABA, from

1970 Events January * January 1 – Unix time epoch reached at 00:00:00 UTC. * January 5 – The 7.1 Tonghai earthquake shakes Tonghai County, Yunnan province, China, with a maximum Mercalli intensity scale, Mercalli intensity of X (''Extrem ...

1975 It was also declared the ''International Women's Year'' by the United Nations and the European Architectural Heritage Year by the Council of Europe. Events January * January 1 - Watergate scandal (United States): John N. Mitchell, H. R. ...

. A and

forward Forward is a relative direction, the opposite of backward. Forward may also refer to: People * Forward (surname) Sports * Forward (association football) * Forward (basketball), including: ** Point forward ** Power forward (basketball) ** Sm ...

, Ladner was one of the great "enforcers" of the

, protecting

Dan Issel Daniel Paul Issel (born October 25, 1948) is an American former professional basketball player and coach. An outstanding collegian at the University of Kentucky, Issel was twice named an All-American en route to a school-record 25.7 points per ...

of the

Kentucky Colonels The Kentucky Colonels were a member of the American Basketball Association for all of the league's nine years. The name is derived from the historic Kentucky colonels. The Colonels won the most games and had the highest winning percentage of ...

and

Julius Erving Julius Winfield Erving II (born February 22, 1950), commonly known by the nickname Dr. J, is an American former professional basketball player. Erving helped legitimize the American Basketball Association (ABA), and he was the best-known player ...

of the

New York Nets New is an adjective referring to something recently made, discovered, or created. New or NEW may refer to: Music * New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz Albums and EPs * ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013 * ''New'' (EP), by Regurgitator, ...

. Ladner regularly squared off with arguably the fiercest player in the ABA, Pittsburgh's

John Brisker John Brisker (June 15, 1947 – disappeared April 11, 1978, declared dead May 29, 1985) was an American professional basketball player from Detroit, Michigan who disappeared in Uganda in April 1978. Career A 6'5" forward/guard who played for the ...

, once marching into the Condors' locker room and yelling, "Hey, John, you wanna fight right now or wait for the game?" (It was not unusual for Brisker and Ladner to beat each other bloody on the court, only to hang out together at a local bar afterwards.) Ladner was named to the 1971 ABA All-Rookie team, and selected to the ABA all-star game his rookie season. That year, on January 24, he set a career-high points total of 34 in a Memphis win over

The Floridians ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...

. He was also an all-star the following season. Ladner died at the age of 26 in the June 24, 1975, crash of

Eastern Air Lines Flight 66 Eastern Air Lines Flight 66 was a regularly scheduled flight from New Orleans to New York City that crashed on June 24, 1975 while on approach to New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport, killing 113 of the 124 people on board. The cras ...

. He was identified by medical examiners because he was wearing his ABA championship ring. For many years, the Nets included his name and number in their list of retired numbers, though Ladner's no. 4 did not hang in the rafters with the other retired numbers. His number was also given to

Rick Mahorn Derrick Allen Mahorn (born September 21, 1958) is an American former professional basketball player who played power forward and center for the Washington Bullets, Detroit Pistons, Philadelphia 76ers, and the New Jersey Nets of the National Basket ...

during his tenure with the Nets. In October 2013, a ''

New York Daily News The New York ''Daily News'', officially titled the ''Daily News'', is an American newspaper based in Jersey City, NJ. It was founded in 1919 by Joseph Medill Patterson as the ''Illustrated Daily News''. It was the first U.S. daily printed in ta ...

'' article explained that the number was never formally retired. However, out of respect to Ladner, Nets trainer Fritz Massmann had not issued No. 4 to other players for 17 years after Ladner's death. Erving called Ladner his wackiest teammate because he wanted to be

Burt Reynolds Burton Leon Reynolds Jr. (February 11, 1936 – September 6, 2018) was an American actor, considered a sex symbol and icon of 1970s American popular culture. Reynolds first rose to prominence when he starred in television series such as ' ...

with a basketball. ''

Semi-Pro ''Semi-Pro'' is a 2008 American sports comedy film. The film was directed by Kent Alterman in his directorial debut, written by Scot Armstrong, and produced by Jimmy Miller. It stars Will Ferrell, Woody Harrelson, André Benjamin and Maura Tier ...

'', a basketball comedy set in the 1970s and starring

Will Ferrell John William Ferrell (; born July 16, 1967) is an American actor, comedian, and producer. He first established himself in the mid-1990s as a cast member on the NBC sketch comedy show ''Saturday Night Live'', where he performed from 1995 to 200 ...

, spoofs Ladner's Burt Reynolds persona in its trailer. Ladner also has a road in

Perkinston, Mississippi Perkinston is an unincorporated community in central Stone County, Mississippi, United States. It is situated along U.S. Highway 49, approximately five miles south of Wiggins. The community is part of the Gulfport–Biloxi, Mississippi Met ...

, named after him in his honor.

References

External links

*ABA statistics a
Basketball Reference
* * Jim O'Brien

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ladner, Wendell 1948 births 1975 deaths Accidental deaths in New York (state) American men's basketball players Basketball players from Mississippi Carolina Cougars players Kentucky Colonels players Memphis Pros players Memphis Tams players New York Nets players People from Hancock County, Mississippi Small forwards Southern Miss Golden Eagles basketball players Victims of aviation accidents or incidents in 1975 Victims of aviation accidents or incidents in the United States

See also

References

External links