The city of Louisville has lost an icon.
Junior Bridgeman, a former University of Louisville basketball star who parlayed a 12-year NBA career into an even more successful run in the business world, died Tuesday. He was 71-years-old.
Bridgeman was being interviewed by WLKY’s Kent Taylor during an event at the Galt House when he stated that he believed he was having a heart attack. He then collapsed and was eventually taken away in an ambulance.
“Junior Bridgeman was an incredible family man, community leader, business executive and tremendous representative and supporter of the University of Louisville,” U of L athletic director Josh Heird said. “But more than that, he embodied the kindness and humanity that we should all seek in ourselves. Junior used his immense talents and successes in both business and sport to ensure that his life had a positive impact. He cared deeply about making the world a better place for all of us. His life is woven into the fabric of the University of Louisville’s history and story, as a player, as a leader and as a generous supporter of Louisville Athletics and the University. We will be forever indebted to him for all that he did for our student-athletes, our campus, and most importantly, the Louisville community. Words cannot fully express our enormous sense of loss today. Our thoughts and prayers are with his entire family, friends, colleagues, and former teammates during this difficult time.”
Bridgeman scored 1,348 points over three seasons at U of L (freshmen were ineligible to play varsity at the time). He was named the Missouri Valley Conference Player of the Year in 1975, the same year he led the Cardinals to their third Final Four appearance.
The 8th pick in the 1975 NBA Draft, Bridgeman played 12 seasons in the league, nine with the Milwaukee Bucks. He ranks seventh in Bucks history in field goals made (4,142), ninth in points (9,892) and 10th in minutes (18,054).
After retiring from basketball, Bridgeman began investing in restaurants, eventually owning and operating more than 450 Wendy’s and Chili’s restaurants. Among many other endeavors, Bridgeman also became a part-owner of the Milwaukee Bucks after buying a 10% stake in his former team.
Earlier this year, Bridgeman graced the cover of Forbes Magazine, which estimated his net worth to be $1.4 billion.
He was a philanthropist, a local icon, an unmatched story of success, and he will be greatly missed. A sad, sad day for the city.