Reggie Harding

Reginald Hezeriah Harding (May 4, 1942 – September 2, 1972) was an American professional basketball player.[1] He starred while playing at Eastern High School in his hometown of Detroit, Michigan, and entered the 1962 NBA draft without playing college basketball due to eligibility issues. Harding was selected by the Detroit Pistons as the first player drafted into the National Basketball Association (NBA) without having played in college.[2] He played his first professional season in the Midwest Professional Basketball League (MPBL) before he joined the Pistons in 1964. Harding spent parts of four seasons in the NBA with the Pistons and the Chicago Bulls during which he was the subject of team misconduct, criminal activity and a season-long league suspension. After his NBA career ended, he played briefly in the Continental Basketball Association (CBA) for the Trenton Colonials and the American Basketball Association (ABA) for the Indiana Pacers.

Reggie Harding
Harding with the Chicago Bulls in 1967
Personal information
Born(1942-05-04)May 4, 1942
Detroit, Michigan
DiedSeptember 2, 1972(1972-09-02) (aged 30)
Detroit, Michigan
NationalityAmerican
Listed height7 ft 0 in (2.13 m)
Listed weight249 lb (113 kg)
Career information
High school
NBA draft1963 / Round: 6 / Pick: 48th overall
Selected by the Detroit Pistons
Playing career1962–1968
PositionCenter
Number
  • 19
  • 17
  • 32
Career history
1962Toledo Tartans
1962–1963Holland Oilers
1964–1967Detroit Pistons
1967Chicago Bulls
1967Trenton Colonials
1968Indiana Pacers
Career highlights and awards
Career NBA and ABA statistics
Points2,175 (9.5 ppg)
Rebounds2,199 (9.6 rpg)
Assists396 (1.7 apg)
Stats at Basketball-Reference.com

Harding was imprisoned from 1969 to 1971 and attempted to pursue a professional comeback after his release. He was fatally shot in 1972.

Early life

Harding was adopted when he was a baby and raised by foster parents.[3] His birth mother, Lillie Mae Thomas, developed a relationship with Harding during his adult life. Thomas told relatives that Harding's father was a married man living in Detroit but never disclosed his identity.[4]

High school career

Harding attended Eastern High School in his hometown of Detroit, Michigan. He led Eastern to three straight city championships from 1959 to 1961.[5] Standing 7 ft 0 in (2.13 m), Harding was considered to be the first player of his size in Michigan high school basketball and was highly regarded for his rebounding abilities.[6][7] When his playing eligibility finished in March 1961, Harding was not expected to graduate until January 1962.[5] He estimated that he had received "135 college offers" but wanted to play for the Niagara Purple Eagles.[5]

After leaving Eastern, Harding attended the Nashville Christian Institute, a college-preparatory school in Nashville, Tennessee, and played basketball there until it was found out that his high school eligibility had expired.[8][9]

Professional career

Harding was selected by his hometown Detroit Pistons in the 1962 NBA draft as the 29th overall pick and became the first NBA player to be drafted without playing in college. The legality of the selection was challenged immediately as the NBA rules stated a player could be drafted if they did not plan to enter college but needed to have been out of school for a full year. Harding's prep school stint in Tennessee brought this into question and he was ultimately unable to sign with the team due to the technicality in his eligibility.[9][10] Pistons Director of Staff Fran Smith knew of the issue but stated that the team utilised the advantage of draft protection as several other teams had shown an interest in signing Harding.[9] In July 1962, National Basketball Association Board of Governors ruled that the Pistons could retain his player rights but he could not be signed until the 1963–64 NBA season.[11] Harding instead began his professional career in the Midwest Professional Basketball League (MPBL) with the Toledo Tartans and Cook's/Holland Oilers during the 1962–63 season.[12] He was selected by the Detroit Pistons again in the 1963 NBA draft as the 48th overall pick. Harding was signed by the Pistons, but was kept off the roster for disciplinary reasons as he was involved in a police investigation.[13]

On January 18, 1964, the NBA authorized the Pistons to allow Harding to join their roster, who had been touring with the exhibitional Harlem Road Kings.[13] He became the Pistons' starting center four games into his NBA career and stayed in that position for the rest of the season.[10] He averaged 11 points per game and played so well that Boston Celtics head coach Red Auerbach remarked about Harding before the 1964 NBA draft: "Say what they want to about all the fine, big fellows coming out of college in 1964, but the Pistons already have a guy who probably will outshine them all."[10] Harding had high expectations entering the 1964–65 NBA season and he was considered to potentially "be a match for the NBA's top pivotmen".[14]

During his stint with the Pistons, Harding was notorious for his casual attitude and misbehavior. He slept through practice sessions and missed a flight for a game against the Baltimore Bullets.[15] In August 1965, Harding was charged with assault and battery against a Detroit policeman while contesting a parking ticket.[16][17] Harding was suspended indefinitely by the NBA for "conduct detrimental to professional basketball" in September 1965.[18] He was found guilty of the assault and battery charge in October 1965 and fined $2,000 by the Pistons, which was the highest fine in professional basketball history at the time.[17] Harding ultimately missed the entirety of the 1965–66 NBA season.

He was traded to the Chicago Bulls on October 2, 1967, for a third round pick in the 1968 NBA draft.[19] He was waived by the Bulls in December 1967 after he was suspended for overstaying a leave granted to him to attend his mother's funeral.[20]

In January 1968, Harding signed with the Indiana Pacers of the American Basketball Association (ABA). He was regarded for his physical play and was once chased off the court during a game by Denver Nuggets player Byron Beck after he elbowed Beck in the mouth.[21] Harding was fined by the Pacers on multiple occasions for misconduct and was ultimately suspended throughout the playoffs after he stopped attending practice.[22] He was waived by the Pacers at the end of the season.[23]

Personal issues and death

Harding's basketball career was cut short by a number of personal problems. Harding was arrested 11 times, often struggled with drug addictions, and was rumored to carry a pistol in his gym bag.[24][25] As a high school student, Harding allegedly raped Florence Ballard, a member of The Supremes, at knifepoint outside a Detroit ballroom in 1960.[26][27] During a television interview, Harding threatened to shoot the Indiana Pacers' general manager, Mike Storen. Harding also reportedly threatened to shoot teammate Jimmy Rayl while the two were rooming together.[28] In June 1968, Harding was a police prisoner at Detroit General Hospital for an investigation of armed robbery. He returned to the hospital the following week with gunshot wounds to both legs in a separate incident.[22] In 1969, he was sentenced to 2 and a half years in prison for a concealed weapons charge and served his sentence in Southern Michigan Prison.[29] After his release in June 1971, he attempted to make an NBA comeback but never signed with a team.[29]

Two weeks before Harding's death, his birth mother, Lillie Mae Thomas, was shot to death in an argument with her husband. At her funeral, Harding stood over her coffin for 15 minutes and instructed the funeral director on how he would want his own funeral.[3]

On September 1, 1972, Harding was shot twice in the head by Carl Scott, who had been involved in an argument with Harding 20 minutes earlier. Harding was taken to Detroit General Hospital where he died at 1:30pm EST the following day.[30] Scott had not been arrested as of October 1972.[3]

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See also

References
  1. "Over Before He Started". The Detroit News. September 3, 2012. Retrieved June 5, 2020.
  2. Dupree, David (12 June 1977). "Even Without College Experience Play of Dawkins May Someday Match His Ego and Personality". The Washington Post.
  3. Ricke, Tom (November 12, 1972). "Reggie Harding, 1942–1972". Detroit Free Press. p. 110. Retrieved July 4, 2020.
  4. "Reggie Harding, in Memoriam". Detroit Free Press. November 12, 1972. p. 119. Retrieved July 4, 2020.
  5. "Eastern Pushed, but Nips CC, 56-53". Detroit Free Press. March 4, 1961. p. 11. Retrieved June 5, 2020.
  6. "PSL Prep All-Americans". Detroit PSL Basketball. Retrieved June 5, 2020.
  7. "Michigan's Mr. Basketball Award". Michigan High School Basketball Record Book. Retrieved June 5, 2020.
  8. Organ, Mike (March 12, 2018). "Top all-time Nashville area boys high school basketball players selected". The Tennessean. Retrieved June 5, 2020.
  9. "Pistons Draft Dave". Detroit Free Press. March 27, 1962. p. 25. Retrieved June 5, 2020.
  10. "Harding At Center Key For Pistons". Detroit Tribune. September 12, 1964. p. 7. Retrieved June 5, 2020.
  11. "Pistons Get Harding". Michigan Daily. July 3, 1962. p. 4. Retrieved June 5, 2020.
  12. "Reggie Harding". NASL Jerseys. Retrieved June 5, 2020.
  13. "7‐Foot Ex‐Scholastic Star To Play Center for Pistons". The New York Times. January 19, 1964. p. 2. Retrieved June 5, 2020.
  14. "The Pack Closes on Boston". Sports Illustrated. October 26, 1964. Retrieved June 5, 2020.
  15. "A Young Man With Three Heads". Sports Illustrated. March 1, 1965. Retrieved June 5, 2020.
  16. "Cage Star Reggie Harding Fined $2,000 On Charges". Indianapolis Recorder. October 2, 1965. p. 8. Retrieved June 5, 2020.
  17. "Harding Is Handed Huge Fine". Benton Harbor News Palladium. September 11, 1965. p. 14. Retrieved June 5, 2020.
  18. "N.B.A. Suspends Harding For 'Detrimental' Conduct". September 14, 1965. p. 35. Retrieved June 5, 2020.
  19. "Reggie Harding". Basketball Reference. Retrieved June 5, 2020.
  20. "Chicago Bulls Ask Waivers on Center Reggie Harding". Indianapolis Recorder. December 9, 1967. p. 8. Retrieved June 5, 2020.
  21. Montieth, Mark (January 28, 2018). "Kokomo's influence was key to Pacers' early success". Kokomo Tribune. Retrieved June 5, 2020.
  22. "Reggie Harding, ex-Pacer, in trouble again with law". Indianapolis Recorder. June 29, 1968. p. 16. Retrieved June 5, 2020.
  23. "On Waiver List". Indianapolis Recorder. July 6, 1968. p. 11. Retrieved June 5, 2020.
  24. "Shotgun Blast Fatal to Reggie Harding". Bakersfield Californian. September 3, 1972. p. 28. Retrieved June 5, 2020.
  25. Sachare, Alex. The Chicago Bulls Encyclopedia. Chicago: Contemporary, 1999
  26. Benjaminson, Peter. The Lost Supreme: the Life of Dreamgirl Florence Ballard. Chicago: Lawrence Hill Books, 2008. 22-23.
  27. PopGates - The Devil And Reggie Harding - May 9, 2017
  28. Pluto, Terry (2007) [originally published 1990]. Loose Balls: The Short, Wild Life of the American Basketball Association (paperback ed.). New York: Simon & Schuster. pp. 139–142. ISBN 978-1-4165-4061-8. OCLC 153578380.
  29. Falls, Joe (June 9, 1971). "Reggie Wants Another Chance". Detroit Free Press. p. 47. Retrieved June 5, 2020.
  30. "Ex-Pacer center Reggie Harding victim of Detroit street slaying". Indianapolis Recorder. September 9, 1972. p. 8. Retrieved July 4, 2020.
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