Jim Ligon
![]() Ligon, circa 1970 | |
Personal information | |
---|---|
Born | Kokomo, Indiana, U.S. | February 22, 1944
Died | April 17, 2004 | (aged 60)
Listed height | 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) |
Listed weight | 210 lb (95 kg) |
Career information | |
High school | Kokomo (Kokomo, Indiana) |
NBA draft | 1966: undrafted |
Playing career | 1967–1974 |
Position | Power forward / center |
Number | 22, 12 |
Career history | |
1967–1971 | Kentucky Colonels |
1971–1972 | Pittsburgh Condors |
1972–1974 | Virginia Squires |
Career highlights and awards | |
| |
Stats at Basketball Reference |
James Thomas "Goose" Ligon (February 22, 1944 – April 17, 2004[1]) was an American professional basketball player.
A 6'7" forward/center, Ligon starred at Kokomo High School in Indiana but never played in college due to legal issues. He played for the Harlem Magicians during the 1962–63 season and then spent the next three years imprisoned in the Indiana Reformatory after being convicted of "assault and battery with intent to gratify sexual desires."[2][3]
In 1967, he earned a spot with the Kentucky Colonels of the American Basketball Association and went on to have a seven-year ABA career with the Colonels, Pittsburgh Condors, and Virginia Squires. Ligon averaged 12.8 points per game and 10.9 rebounds per game in his ABA career and appeared in the 1969 ABA All-Star Game.
A ruptured Achilles’ tendon in the 1973-74 season ended Ligon's career. He worked 11 years with the Transit Authority of River City but was plagued by a cocaine addiction that went on for years. By 1997, it was reported that he was suffering from glaucoma. He died in 200r at the age of 60.
References
[edit]- ^ Known Deceased Basketball Individuals. Association for Professional Basketball Research. Retrieved on October 20, 2008.
- ^ "1966 Undrafted - Jim Ligon". The Draft Review. Retrieved April 9, 2025.
- ^ https://from-way-downtown.com/2021/07/07/fallen-star-goose-ligon-is-looking-for-a-miracle-1997/
External links
[edit]- Career statistics from Basketball Reference
- Kentucky Colonels Fan Memories at the Wayback Machine (archived September 1, 2003) at Remember the ABA
- 1944 births
- 2004 deaths
- ABA All-Stars
- American men's basketball players
- Basketball players from Indiana
- Centers (basketball)
- Kentucky Colonels players
- Parade High School All-Americans (boys' basketball)
- Pittsburgh Condors players
- Power forwards
- Sportspeople from Kokomo, Indiana
- Virginia Squires players
- American basketball biography, 1940s birth stubs
- Louisville, Kentucky stubs