John Brisker (June 15, 1947 – disappeared April 11, 1978, declared dead May 29, 1985) 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 from

Detroit Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at th ...

Michigan Michigan () is a state in the Great Lakes region of the upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the 10th-largest state by population, the 11th-largest by area, and the ...

who

disappeared An enforced disappearance (or forced disappearance) is the secret abduction or imprisonment of a person by a state or political organization, or by a third party with the authorization, support, or acquiescence of a state or political organi ...

Uganda }), is a landlocked country in East Africa East Africa, Eastern Africa, or East of Africa, is the eastern subregion of the African continent. In the United Nations Statistics Division scheme of geographic regions, 10-11-(16*) territor ...

in April 1978.

Career

A 6'5"

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 ...

guard Guard or guards may refer to: Professional occupations * Bodyguard, who protects an individual from personal assault * Crossing guard, who stops traffic so pedestrians can cross the street * Lifeguard, who rescues people from drowning * Prison ...

who played for the Toledo Rockets basketball team of the

University of Toledo The University of Toledo (UToledo or UT) is a public research university in Toledo, Ohio. It is the northernmost campus of the University System of Ohio. The university also operates a Health Science campus, which includes the University of T ...

, Brisker played six seasons in the ABA and

NBA The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America. The league is composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada) and is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United St ...

as a member of the

Pittsburgh Pipers Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Western Pennsylvania, the second-most populous city in Pennsylv ...

(1969–1970),

Pittsburgh Condors The Pittsburgh Condors were a professional basketball team in the original American Basketball Association (ABA). Originally called the Pittsburgh Pipers, they were a charter franchise of the ABA and captured the first league title. The team pla ...

(1970–1972) and

Seattle SuperSonics The Seattle SuperSonics (commonly known as the Seattle Sonics) were an American professional basketball team based in Seattle. The SuperSonics competed in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member club of the league's Western Confe ...

(1972–1975). He averaged 20.7 points per game over the course of his ABA/NBA career (26.1 points per game in the ABA, and 11.9 points per game in the NBA). Brisker developed a reputation as one of the most volatile players in basketball. According to his Condors teammate Charlie Williams, "He was an excellent player, but say something wrong to the guy and you had this feeling he would reach into his bag, take out a gun and shoot you." He was ejected so often for fighting that he was nicknamed "the heavyweight champion of the ABA." The Condors made much of Brisker's reputation as an enforcer; their media guide portrayed him wearing a pair of six-shooters. In a 1971 game against the

Denver Rockets Denver () is a consolidated city and county, the capital, and most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Its population was 715,522 at the 2020 census, a 19.22% increase since 2010. It is the 19th-most populous city in the United ...

, Brisker was ejected two minutes into the game for an elbow on the Rockets' Art Becker. Brisker charged back onto the court three times in order to go after Becker. A group of police officers threatened to arrest Brisker and finally persuaded him to return to the locker room.

Disappearance

In March 1978, Brisker travelled to

to launch an "import-export business". The last confirmed communication from Brisker was on April 11, 1978, when he called his girlfriend in Seattle. It is unknown what happened to Brisker. His former SuperSonics teammates have speculated that he was killed while fighting as a mercenary or shot in an argument with Ugandan royalty. He was

declared death in absentia A presumption of death occurs when a person is thought to be dead by a group of people despite the absence of direct proof of the person's death, such as the finding of remains (e.g., a corpse or skeleton) attributable to that person. Such a pre ...

in May 1985 by the

medical examiner The medical examiner is an appointed official in some American jurisdictions who is trained in pathology that investigates deaths that occur under unusual or suspicious circumstances, to perform post-mortem examinations, and in some jurisdictio ...

of King County for the purpose of settling his estate. However, the

State Department The United States Department of State (DOS), or State Department, is an United States federal executive departments, executive department of the Federal government of the United States, U.S. federal government responsible for the country's fore ...

could not confirm that Brisker had travelled to Africa; a spokesperson stated that "essentially, we don't consider him dead."

Notes

External links

Detroit Mercy: The Hard Life and Mysterious Death of John Brisker
{{DEFAULTSORT:Brisker, John 1947 births 1970s missing person cases 1978 deaths 20th-century African-American sportspeople African-American basketball players American expatriates in Uganda American men's basketball players Basketball players from Detroit Missing people Missing person cases in Uganda People declared dead in absentia People from Hamtramck, Michigan Pittsburgh Condors players Pittsburgh Pipers players Seattle SuperSonics players Shooting guards Small forwards Sportspeople from Wayne County, Michigan Toledo Rockets men's basketball players Undrafted National Basketball Association players

Career

Disappearance

See also

Notes

External links