The reason that players like James Worthy and Michael Jordan were able to leave college “early” and enter the NBA draft or later, Kobe Bryant and Lebron James could do the same from highschool was because Spencer Haywood challenged the system and won.
50 years ago, the concept of “one-and-done” or “early entry” was born after a landmark Supreme Court ruling and the landscape of pro basketball seismically shifted.
Today, Haywood, an Olympic gold medallist (1968), NBA Champion (1980) Hall of Fame Inductee (2015) and former star power forward in the ABA and NBA still wants the league to put some respect on his name – officially.
It is why his biography is titled - The Spencer Haywood Rule: Battles, Basketball and the making of an American Iconoclast.
Released last fall, it covers a life that began in the Jim Crow South, weaved through the Pacific Northwest, Broadway, Hollywood and Europe.
Along the way, Haywood built up the emotional baggage that followed blazing a trail. Creating upheaval came with a cost and his legacy paid a price in the delay of his due respect.
SportsLit (Season 8, Episode 7) - Mary Ormsby (Journalist / Author) - World’s Fastest Man*: The Life of Ben Johnson
SportsLit (Season 8, Episode 6) - Ken Dryden (Hockey Hall of Fame Goalie 1983 / Author) - The Class
SportsLit (Season 8, Episode 5) - Keith O'Brien (New York Times Best Selling Author) - Charlie Hustle: The Rise and Fall of Pete Rose, and the Last Glory Days of Baseball
SportsLit (Season 8, Episode 4) - Jack McCallum (Sports Illustrated) - The Real Hoosiers
SportsLit (Season 8, Episode 3) - Morgan Campbell (CBC Sports Sr. Contributor) - My Fighting Family: Borders and Bloodlines and the Battles That Made Us"
SportsLit (Season 8, Episode 2) - Jacob Pomrenke (SABR) - Joe Jackson vs. Chicago American League Baseball Club
SportsLit (Season 8, Episode 1) - Erik Kramer (Former NFL Quarterback) w/ William Croyle - The Ultimate Comeback
SportsLit (Season 7, Episode 8) - Rich Cohen (Rolling Stone, Co-creator - HBOs Vinyl) - When the Game Was War: The NBA’s Greatest Season
SportsLit (Season 7, Episode 7) - Ted Nolan (NHL Coach of the Year - 1997) with Meg Masters - Life in Two Worlds
SportsLit (Season 7, Episode 6) - Doug MacLean with Scott Morrison - Draft Day
SportsLit (Season 7, Episode 5) - Jonathon Jackson - The Making of Slap Shot (Revised 46th Anniversary Edition)
SportsLit (Season 7, Episode 4) - Donovan Bailey (World and Olympic 100 metre gold medallist) - Undisputed: A Champions Life
SportsLit (Season 7, Episode 3) - Dave Hill (Comedian/Musician/Writer) -The Awesome Game - One Man’s Incredible, Globe-Crushing Hockey Odyssey
SportsLit (Season 7, Episode 2) - Justin Davis (NHL Draft choice & Memorial Cup champion) - Conflicted Scars: An Average Player’s Journey to the NHL
SportsLit (Season 7, Episode 1) - John Gibbons (Blue Jays Manager - ’04-’08 / ’13-’18) - Gibby: Tales of a Baseball Lifer
SportsLit (Season 6, Episode 14) - Suzanne (Suzy) Wrack (The Guardian) - A Woman’s Game
SportsLit (Season 6, Episode 13) - Dwayne De Rosario (2011 MLS MVP) & Brendan Dunlop (Broadcaster) - DeRo - My Life
SportsLit (Season 6, Episode 12) - Steve Simmons (Toronto Sun Columnist) - A Lucky Life
SportsLit (Season 6, Episode 11) - John Shannon (Hockey Night in Canada / Analyst and Insider) -Evolve or Die
SportsLit (Season 6, Episode 10) - Bryan Trottier (Hockey Hall of Fame - 1997) - All Roads Home
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