Wendell Ladner--1972
Tucked away in my box of old football
cards, I found this card of Wendell
Ladner with the attached newspaper
clipping on his death. A passenger
on Eastern Airlines Flight 66, which
at the time was the deadliest airplane
crash in the United States history;
Ladner’s death captured my attention
at age 14. Even then I was looking to
save snippets on my Cardboard
Gods.
Now, courtesy of the Internet, I am
able to gather a more complete
picture of Ladner. What an
interesting guy.
A muscle man in the renegade ABA,
during his 5-year career Ladner
bounced from the Memphis Pros to
the Carolina Cougars, back to
Memphis (who was then the Tams),
to the Kentucky Colonels and finally
the New Jersey Nets. He was an All-
ABA Rookie Star and a two-time ABA
All-Star. Recognized as an enforcer,
Ladner twice led the ABA in personal
fouls as he helped protect future Hall
of Famers Dr. J and Dan Issel.
Stories abound about the simple
Mississippi boy.
He played the game with reckless
abandon, crashing the boards hard
and diving for balls on the floor
without thought of his own well-being.
He once crashed into a glass water
cooler, opening a gash in his arm
that would require 48 stitches to
close. He would return to the
hardcourt the next night to help the
Kentucky Colonels win game seven
of a divisional playoff against the
Carolina Cougars. Another time he
crashed into the tables with the radio
announcers, only to take out their
equipment causing the end of their
broadcast.
A hunk, Ladner was a reputed ladies
man off the court. The Kentucky
Colonels tried to capitalize on his
good looks distributing their own Bert
Reynolds version of sex in the ABA.
In an article comparing Will Farrell’s
"Semi-Pro" to the real ABA, Denver
Post writer Woody Paige reflected on
Ladner from his time covering the
Memphis club.
Woody Paige remembers Wendell
Ladner
While Ladner’s 11-line newspaper
clipping from his 1975 passing doesn’
t do justice to his career, it did serve
as the impetus to search for more
information on the very interesting
life of Wendell Ladner.
cards, I found this card of Wendell
Ladner with the attached newspaper
clipping on his death. A passenger
on Eastern Airlines Flight 66, which
at the time was the deadliest airplane
crash in the United States history;
Ladner’s death captured my attention
at age 14. Even then I was looking to
save snippets on my Cardboard
Gods.
Now, courtesy of the Internet, I am
able to gather a more complete
picture of Ladner. What an
interesting guy.
A muscle man in the renegade ABA,
during his 5-year career Ladner
bounced from the Memphis Pros to
the Carolina Cougars, back to
Memphis (who was then the Tams),
to the Kentucky Colonels and finally
the New Jersey Nets. He was an All-
ABA Rookie Star and a two-time ABA
All-Star. Recognized as an enforcer,
Ladner twice led the ABA in personal
fouls as he helped protect future Hall
of Famers Dr. J and Dan Issel.
Stories abound about the simple
Mississippi boy.
He played the game with reckless
abandon, crashing the boards hard
and diving for balls on the floor
without thought of his own well-being.
He once crashed into a glass water
cooler, opening a gash in his arm
that would require 48 stitches to
close. He would return to the
hardcourt the next night to help the
Kentucky Colonels win game seven
of a divisional playoff against the
Carolina Cougars. Another time he
crashed into the tables with the radio
announcers, only to take out their
equipment causing the end of their
broadcast.
A hunk, Ladner was a reputed ladies
man off the court. The Kentucky
Colonels tried to capitalize on his
good looks distributing their own Bert
Reynolds version of sex in the ABA.
In an article comparing Will Farrell’s
"Semi-Pro" to the real ABA, Denver
Post writer Woody Paige reflected on
Ladner from his time covering the
Memphis club.
Woody Paige remembers Wendell
Ladner
While Ladner’s 11-line newspaper
clipping from his 1975 passing doesn’
t do justice to his career, it did serve
as the impetus to search for more
information on the very interesting
life of Wendell Ladner.
Editor's Note: The Tams???? When purchased by Charles
O. Finley, the ABA Memphis franchise was re-named the
Tams... since the club's fans came from Tennessee,
Arkansas and Mississippi.
For more interesting reading on the old ABA, check out this
site: Remembering the ABA
O. Finley, the ABA Memphis franchise was re-named the
Tams... since the club's fans came from Tennessee,
Arkansas and Mississippi.
For more interesting reading on the old ABA, check out this
site: Remembering the ABA
