Junior Bridgeman, a former NBA pro who served on the PGA of America board and was an owner in Valhalla Golf Club, died Tuesday in Louisville, Kentucky. He was 71.
“The PGA of America mourns the passing of Junior Bridgeman,” said Don Rea Jr., the president of the PGA. “Junior was a staple in the Louisville community and a true lover of golf. This all came together with his involvement with Valhalla Golf Club where he helped to raise the property to new heights culminating in last year’s PGA Championship. Additionally, his love for our sport was on display during the time he spent as an independent board member where he provided incredible insights and guidance. Our thoughts and prayers go out to all of his family and friends.”
A native of East Chicago, Indiana, Bridgeman became an All-American at Louisville, reaching the 1975 Final Four. The Los Angeles Lakers drafted the 6-foot-5 wing at No. 8 in 1975 then traded him to Milwaukee as part of a blockbuster deal for Bucks star Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. Bridgeman played 12 seasons in the NBA, mostly as a sixth man. He made about $2.95 million in his NBA career while never earning more than $350,000 in a season.
He became one of the most successful post-playing businessmen of any professional athlete. Bridgeman became a fast-food restaurant magnate, operating numerous restaurants, including many Wendy’s locations. He also purchased Ebony and Jet magazines. He reportedly was a billionaire and last year became a minority owner of the Milwaukee Bucks, a team for which he once played.
He was also part of a group of local business leaders who purchased Valhalla Golf Club from the PGA in 2022. The course hosted the PGA Championship last year.
According to ESPN, multiple Louisville television stations reported that Bridgeman grabbed his chest at one point during a fundraising luncheon, expressing that he believed he was suffering a heart attack. The stations, including WLKY and WAVE, reported that emergency medical personnel were called.
Current Bucks head coach Doc Rivers opened his pregame press conference in Indianapolis with a statement at Gainbridge Fieldhouse.
“Just really a dark day, a tough day, losing Junior,” Rivers began, before pausing to compose himself after getting emotional.
“I’ve known Junior for probably, what am I, 60, I’ve known him since I was in college. He was one of the guys, him and Quinn Buckner, that would call me at Marquette to get me to go play with the Bucks of all places. When you think about Junior’s life, you know, I keep thinking about LeBron and Magic and how influential they are to our league – and they are – and what they’ve done off the court is amazing. But the role model we should have is Junior Bridgeman when you think about it.
“Here’s a guy that I think the most he made was what, $350,000 in his career? And he’s an owner. Think about that kid growing up, wanting to be an NBA player was probably his dream and he turned that dream into being an NBA owner. And if that’s not what every kid should aspire to do. I was even reflecting on my career as a coach and I won titles; and all that stuff and you should really want to be like Junior.
“I mean when you think about it, he is the exact model that the league should use every day when they’re talking to our young players. Tough day. Just really a tough day.”
Bridgeman was the No. 8 pick of the 1975 NBA draft out of the University of Louisville by the Los Angeles Lakers, but was traded to the Bucks as part of the deal that sent Kareem Abdul-Jabbar to L.A.
“Junior Bridgeman was an integral part of our community. From his athletic impact to his philanthropic efforts, he will be deeply missed,” said Lance George, chief marketing officer of the Al J. Schneider Company, which owns the Galt House. “Our thoughts and prayers go out to the Bridgeman family during this time.”
Though he played 12 years in the NBA (10 with Milwaukee), Bridgeman became more well-known for his success in retirement and a standard-bearer for off-court success for former athletes. Bridgeman, who purchased a 10% minority share of the Bucks in February, became a billionaire in September.
Doc Rivers emotional about an unassuming star
“On a day like this, I just reflect on me a lot too,” Rivers said before the Bucks played the Pacers on Tuesday night. “I’m just so blessed. There’s a lot of benefits for me coming back to Milwaukee that I didn’t anticipate. I had no idea that Junior was going to get back into the Bucks and be an owner and then we restarted a relationship. We stayed in contact still throughout the years. He flew me down to go to the Kentucky Derby with him. So, we had a relationship, but I didn’t talk to him a lot and then all of a sudden he’s back in.
“And you know when you tell people, seize the day and all this stuff – the last conversation I had with Junior was about using him to mentor the young players and try to figure out a way of doing that and we never got to it because you thought there was time. The second side of Junior was the first side though. When he was an NBA player, if you would have just met him on the street, you wouldn’t have known. He wouldn’t have told you and he didn’t act like it.
“When he became a billionaire, you wouldn’t have known and he would not have told you and he didn’t act like it. The word gentleman is like gentle man and that is as good as you can get with Junior.”
“I am devastated to learn of the sudden passing of Junior Bridgeman,” NBA Commissioner Adam Silver said in a statement released by the league. “Junior was the ultimate entrepreneur who built on his impactful 12-year NBA playing career by becoming a highly respected and successful business leader. He served as a mentor to generations of NBA players and athletes across sports who were eager to learn from him about what it takes to thrive in the business world. Junior was a dedicated member of the NBA family for 50 years – most recently as a minority owner of the Milwaukee Bucks, an investor in NBA Africa and as a player who set the standard for representing the league and our game with class and dignity.
“We express our heartfelt condolences to Junior’s wife, Doris, their children, Eden, Justin and Ryan, the Bucks organization, and his many friends and admirers in the basketball community.”
Bridgeman came to Bucks in Abdul-Jabbar trade and became a fan favorite
Bridgeman first arrived in Milwaukee with a difficult task, partially responsible for plugging the hole poked into the hearts of Wisconsin sports fans after the Bucks had consummated a trade to send unhappy superstar Kareem Abdul-Jabbar to the Los Angeles Lakers.
The transaction, engineered in the shadow of Abdul-Jabbar’s dissatisfaction with the cultural offerings of Milwaukee, would be remembered forever as a dark chapter in Milwaukee sports history, but the return wasn’t bad. The Bucks received Elmore Smith, Brian Winters, Dave Meyers and Bridgeman for Abdul-Jabbar and Walt Wesley. Winters and Bridgeman both have jerseys hanging in the Fiserv Forum rafters next to Abdul-Jabbar’s.
Meyers and Bridgeman had just been taken top 10 in the NBA draft by the Lakers, meaning the 6-5 small forward from the University of Louisville would begin his career with the Bucks. He had a 43-inch vertical and a penchant for dunks.
Bucks coach Larry Costello intended to use Bridgeman primarily as a guard, but he frequently moved to forward when future Hall of Famer Bobby Dandridge was unavailable with injury, allowing Bridgeman to demonstrate that he could oscillate between the two roles.
“He has all the tools,” Knicks star Earl Monroe said during February of that 1975-76 season. “Mostly all it takes for a kid like him is playing time. Most rookies don’t get anywhere near the playing time he is now. So he will come along a lot sooner than ordinarily.
“Most of the guys he takes on are just his size or smaller. Most of his points come from post position. He’s going to outjump most guards who get isolated on him, and he’ll get his shots.”
Bridgeman and Meyers were both named second-team All-Rookie, with Bridgeman scoring 8.6 points per game that first year. It was the last time he’d average fewer than double digits in his nine seasons with Milwaukee.
Though he became known throughout his career as Milwaukee’s Super Sub, he appeared in the starting lineup 46 times during his second season, playing under first-year Bucks coach Don Nelson. Bridgeman became more of a fixture as a reserve the following season.
“When I was younger, I used to think it was to my advantage to come off the bench,” Nelson said in 1977. “Usually, the other players who were already in the game were tired, and when you’re young, you need every break you can get.”
Bridgeman also won over his teammates in the process.
“When Junior comes into a room, it seems like all the light bulbs light up,” general manager Wayne Embry said of the second-year player in late 1976. “He’s just a fantastic person. Maybe he’s not as outgoing as he could be, but to know him is to really like him.”
Bridgeman ran an annual basketball camp in Milwaukee and became one of the first members on the board of directors for Milwaukee Athletes against Childhood Cancer, founded in 1976 and still in place today.
And if you looked for signs of the business-savvy and industriousness that eventually made Bridgeman a billionaire, you could find them.
The son of a steelworker played clarinet and was president of the school band at Washington High School. He once told a story that when he and his brother didn’t have enough money to buy a stereo system, they built their own out of old parts. He made the Dean’s List all eight semesters at Louisville, and once he came to Milwaukee, he enrolled in law school at the University of Wisconsin in Madison. He also had a shoe deal with Converse, seldom wearing the same pair of basketball kicks week-to-week.
Nelson once expressed that Bridgeman’s offseason commitment to law school jeopardized reaching his potential as a basketball player.
(Editor’s note: The Milwaukee Sentinel-Journal, part of the USA Today Network, contributed to this post.)
This article originally appeared on Golfweek: Bridgeman enjoyed a successful business careers and loved golf
