Bill Spivey

William Edwin Spivey (March 19, 1929 – May 8, 1995) was an American basketball player.

William Edwin Spivey was born in Lakeland, Florida, and had moved to Columbus, Georgia, by 1944, at which time he was 6ft 9in.

After taking up basketball, he played for his high school's team and had 18 points in his first half of game action.

The following year, he moved to Warner Robins, Georgia, which did not have a basketball team before he arrived.

The principal of Warner Robins' high school created a team, however, once Spivey came.

During one of his high school seasons, he was forced to play without shoes—since none of the school's shoes fit him—and wear three pairs of socks.

Spivey had over 1,800 points in his three-year high school career.

Several universities wanted to give Spivey a basketball scholarship in 1948.

The University of Kentucky first became aware of Spivey when a Georgia newspaper executive told Fred Wachs, whom writer Earl Cox said "pretty much ran Lexington", about him.

After hearing of Spivey from the executive, Wachs notified Kentucky's men's basketball coach, Adolph Rupp, who elected to have a former Wildcats player watch Spivey.

Following positive feedback from the player, Rupp invited Spivey to try out for a spot on the team against other leading high school players.

After the tryout, Spivey received a scholarship.

Even though he offered a scholarship to the seven-foot Spivey, Rupp was concerned about his weight, which was between 160 and 165 pounds.

Rupp told him that he would play only if he added 40 lb, and Spivey bulked up to 200 lb during the summer of 1948.

A 7ft center, he played college basketball for the National Collegiate Athletic Association's (NCAA) Kentucky Wildcats from 1949 to 1951.

After his high school career, Spivey was recruited by the University of Kentucky.

Spivey spent his first year at Kentucky on a freshman team, while the varsity team won its second consecutive NCAA Basketball Championship in 1949.

The U.S. Olympic team, which had six Wildcats players on it, practiced in Lexington, and Spivey gained knowledge and skills from team members Alex Groza, Vince Boryla and Bob Kurland.

Spivey also competed in games against other freshman teams, including one against Xavier in which he posted 31 points.

In 15 games, he averaged about 20 points per game.

In the 1949–50 season, the Wildcats lost several of the leading players from their championship-winning teams to graduation, including Ralph Beard and Groza.

In response, Rupp made Spivey the focal point of the team, and the team exceeded expectations.

Upset by the accusations against him in the early 1950s, he was reclusive in his final years.

In a February 18, 1950 game against Georgia Tech, which the Wildcats won 97–62, Spivey broke the team record for points in a game with 40, two more than Groza scored in a game the previous season.

Despite the Wildcats' record and SEC title, the NCAA Tournament selection committee did not give the team a berth in the 1950 tournament.

Kentucky did gain a berth to the National Invitation Tournament, but was eliminated in the quarterfinals by City College of New York (CCNY), 89–50.

In that game, Spivey was forced to the bench for the final nine minutes of the first half after accumulating four personal fouls.

At the end of the season, Spivey was named to the All-SEC team, and the Associated Press selected him for its 1950 All-American third team.

During his time with the Wildcats, he led the team to the 1951 NCAA tournament championship, and was voted Most Outstanding Player of the event.

When a point shaving scandal was revealed that year, Spivey was accused of being involved, which he denied.

He left the Wildcats in December 1951, and the university banned him from the squad in March 1952.

After he testified before a grand jury in New York, he was indicted on perjury charges.

Although Spivey was not convicted when the case went to trial in 1953, he was prevented from competing in the National Basketball Association (NBA) afterward.

Spivey instead played professionally for various minor league teams.

In 10 Eastern Basketball League (EBL) seasons, his teams won three championships.

Spivey retired in 1968 and became a businessman, working in sales and operating restaurants.

That record has since been broken, but his 42 field goal attempts remain a school record as of 2017.

Spivey tied another of Groza's point-scoring records on March 5 with a 37-point performance in a Southeastern Conference (SEC) men's basketball tournament game.

Kentucky won over Tennessee 95–58 to win the SEC Tournament for the seventh consecutive season.

Kentucky ended the regular season with a 25–4 record, and Spivey averaged 19.4 points a game.