Tommy Woods (basketball)
James Thomas Woods, Jr. (born June 10, 1943) is a retired American professional basketball player.[1] He played for the Kentucky Colonels during the 1967–68 ABA season after a collegiate career at East Tennessee State University (ETSU).[1] He also played internationally for a time after his one season in the ABA.[2]
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Born | June 10, 1943 Blount County, Tennessee |
| Nationality | American |
| Listed height | 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) |
| Listed weight | 210 lb (95 kg) |
| Career information | |
| High school | Charles M. Hall (Alcoa, Tennessee) |
| College | East Tennessee State (1964–1967) |
| NBA draft | 1967 / Undrafted |
| Position | Power forward |
| Number | 54 |
| Career history | |
| 1967–1968 | Kentucky Colonels |
| Career highlights and awards | |
| |
| Stats at Basketball-Reference.com | |
Woods was a racial integration pioneer in college.[2] When he enrolled at ETSU as a freshman in 1963–64 to play basketball, he became the first African-American player in school history.[3] In a segregated southern United States, Woods was harshly booed early in his college career.[3] His final three seasons from 1964 to 1967, in which he was eligible to play for the varsity team, saw Woods have an ETSU Hall of Fame career.[4] He was a two-time All-Ohio Valley Conference Team selection and set still-unbroken school records for rebounds in a game (38), career (1,034) and career per-game average (16.2).[3] By the end of his career, the same fans who had been booing him as a freshman were giving him "loudest and longest" standing ovation on senior night that a local reporter had ever seen.[3]
After college, Woods played in the American Basketball Association for the Kentucky Colonels for one season.[1] After a brief stint playing internationally, he retired due to an injury.[3] Woods then served as a police officer in Louisville, Kentucky for the next 30-plus years.[3] In 1996, ETSU inducted him into their hall of fame.[4] On November 3, 2012, in a ceremony prior to the school's 2012–13 season, the men's basketball locker room was named in his honor.[3]
References
- "Tommy Woods ABA & NBA stats". basketball-reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved September 20, 2014.
- Albert, Linda Braden (July 20, 2013). "Tommy Woods named honorary chairman for Houston Charity Golf Classic". The Daily Times. Maryville, Tennessee: TownNews.com. Retrieved September 20, 2014.
- "ETSU athletics names locker room in honor of Woods". ETSUbucs.com. East Tennessee State University. November 3, 2012. Retrieved September 20, 2014.
- "Hall of Fame Members". ETSUbucs.com. East Tennessee State University. 2013. Retrieved September 20, 2014.