He played for the Denver Rockets during the 1969-70 season (with Spencer Haywood).
During a home game played at the old Denver Civic Auditorium Jeff Congdon made what is likely the longest shot ever made in pro hoops.
The opposing team had the ball with time running out for the quarter. The team shot and missed.
Jeff Congdon got the rebound off to one side of the backboard one or two feet away from the out of bounds line. He saw the clock running out and knew he had no time to do anything except throw the ball as far as he could.
He shot (threw) the red, white and blue ABA ball towards the Rocket's basket, about 90' away......... and.....
....... Swish.
Three points, from around 90' (I do not remember the exact distance, though a precise measurement was made after the game and publicized).
The Rockets marked the spot on the Auditorium basketball court that Congdon shot from. Two shoe prints were painted on the floor to mark the spot.
When I played varsity high school basketball in the Denver Public Schools league (DPL) in 1972-73 and 1973-74, the Friday night games were played in the Denver Civic Auditorium.
The high school players who played on that floor always saw Jeff Congdon's painted footprints and many tried (but failed) to replicate his amazing shot.
I tried a few times myself and never came close.
Today the Denver Civic Auditorium exists only in memory and historical photos.
I wonder what happened to the part of the basketball court floor that had Jeff Congdon's painted footprints (it would be great if that part of the floor was cut out, framed and given to him or to the basketball hall of fame).
So the above is the Jeff Congdon trivia I am aware of. The number of people who know about same are small in number and getting smaller as time goes by.
With this post to this thread, this little bit of trivia is now documented at least one place.
Pretty good story IMHO, and a fond memory from my younger days.
Ice Man. Can never believe just how skinny he was.
#LetsGoSwitzerlandThe Man Who Does Not Read Has No Advantage Over the Man Who Cannot Read. The biggest obstacle to progress is a habit of “buying what we want and begging for what we need.”You get the Freedom you fight for and get the Oppression you deserve.
Baron Davis holds the record for longest NBA shot at 89 feet. made in 2001.
Jerry Harkness holds the record for the longest ABA shot at 88 feet (his shot was also a buzzer beater) made in 1967.
How the distance of these two shots was determined and how they compare to the shot made by Jeff Congdon is unclear, but Congdon's shot is up there with these other two shots.
P.S. Great phot of "Iceman" George Gervin. He was rail thin when he played and he could score at will from anywhere.
Lance Armstrong and the mussette bag incident. He got up and pummeled the competition to win the stage in anger....... Beloki went down too. Ullrich stayed up. Epic.
#LetsGoSwitzerlandThe Man Who Does Not Read Has No Advantage Over the Man Who Cannot Read. The biggest obstacle to progress is a habit of “buying what we want and begging for what we need.”You get the Freedom you fight for and get the Oppression you deserve.
How about Dieter Brock? After playing 10 years in the CFL he joined the Rams in 1985 as the oldest rookie in NFL history at 34. He had a decent year in 85 only to be knocked into retirement from an injury in a 1986 preseason game.
@Steven59 said:
One of my favorite pitchers back in the day..........
The birdman!
I believe he was just "the Bird." The Birdman is:
Christopher “Birdman” Claus Andersen[1] (born July 7, 1978) is an American former professional basketball player. Nicknamed "Birdman",[2] Andersen was born in Long Beach, California, grew up in Iola, Texas, and played one year at Blinn College.[3] Andersen began his professional career in the Chinese Basketball Association and the American minor leagues. He then played in the NBA for the Denver Nuggets and the New Orleans Hornets. He received a two-year ban from the NBA in 2006 for violating the league's drug policy,[4] but was reinstated on March 4, 2008, and re-signed with the Hornets the next day. He returned to Denver later in 2008, and remained with the team until 2012. He signed with the Miami Heat in January 2013 and won a championship with them that same year. He and Oliver Lafayette are the only Blinn students to ever play in the NBA.[5] He now plays for Power in the Big3 league.
Kurt Sohn. Had about a 5 year run with the Jets in the mid 80's. Always remember him because my girlfriend in high school was convinced I was his twin! lol
Comments
No one has a guess?
I so am disappointed in the Sports Forum crowd (that you collectively do not have instant recall of late 1960's - early 1970's ABA hoops trivia).
And you call yourselves "sports fans".
So sad. So very, very sad.
...
I actually didn't know who he was. But I did a little reading on him. My guesses would be .... influenced the NBA with his 3 pointers?
Thr trivia about Jeff Congdon is:
He played for the Denver Rockets during the 1969-70 season (with Spencer Haywood).
During a home game played at the old Denver Civic Auditorium Jeff Congdon made what is likely the longest shot ever made in pro hoops.
The opposing team had the ball with time running out for the quarter. The team shot and missed.
Jeff Congdon got the rebound off to one side of the backboard one or two feet away from the out of bounds line. He saw the clock running out and knew he had no time to do anything except throw the ball as far as he could.
He shot (threw) the red, white and blue ABA ball towards the Rocket's basket, about 90' away......... and.....
....... Swish.
Three points, from around 90' (I do not remember the exact distance, though a precise measurement was made after the game and publicized).
The Rockets marked the spot on the Auditorium basketball court that Congdon shot from. Two shoe prints were painted on the floor to mark the spot.
When I played varsity high school basketball in the Denver Public Schools league (DPL) in 1972-73 and 1973-74, the Friday night games were played in the Denver Civic Auditorium.
The high school players who played on that floor always saw Jeff Congdon's painted footprints and many tried (but failed) to replicate his amazing shot.
I tried a few times myself and never came close.
Today the Denver Civic Auditorium exists only in memory and historical photos.
I wonder what happened to the part of the basketball court floor that had Jeff Congdon's painted footprints (it would be great if that part of the floor was cut out, framed and given to him or to the basketball hall of fame).
So the above is the Jeff Congdon trivia I am aware of. The number of people who know about same are small in number and getting smaller as time goes by.
With this post to this thread, this little bit of trivia is now documented at least one place.
Pretty good story IMHO, and a fond memory from my younger days.
Carlos Baerga
Clyde “The Glide” Drexler
Ice Man. Can never believe just how skinny he was.
Did a little research after posting above.
Baron Davis holds the record for longest NBA shot at 89 feet. made in 2001.
Jerry Harkness holds the record for the longest ABA shot at 88 feet (his shot was also a buzzer beater) made in 1967.
How the distance of these two shots was determined and how they compare to the shot made by Jeff Congdon is unclear, but Congdon's shot is up there with these other two shots.
P.S. Great phot of "Iceman" George Gervin. He was rail thin when he played and he could score at will from anywhere.
Clyde Bio
Grew up just west of Hobby Airport in H-Town
Ex-UH Phi Slama Jama
Ex-Blazer, one of the all time greats of the franchise
Biggest smile you ever saw
Lance Armstrong and the mussette bag incident. He got up and pummeled the competition to win the stage in anger....... Beloki went down too. Ullrich stayed up. Epic.
2 of my favorite 1970s / 1980s hitters
How about Dieter Brock? After playing 10 years in the CFL he joined the Rams in 1985 as the oldest rookie in NFL history at 34. He had a decent year in 85 only to be knocked into retirement from an injury in a 1986 preseason game.
Was in the movie "The Natural".
Shawn Bradley.
..
If anyone doesn't know, he recently was involved in a terrible accident and is almost fully paralyzed
Yes. I read a SI story about his issues. I may have recently posted here about the article.
I believe he was just "the Bird." The Birdman is:
Christopher “Birdman” Claus Andersen[1] (born July 7, 1978) is an American former professional basketball player. Nicknamed "Birdman",[2] Andersen was born in Long Beach, California, grew up in Iola, Texas, and played one year at Blinn College.[3] Andersen began his professional career in the Chinese Basketball Association and the American minor leagues. He then played in the NBA for the Denver Nuggets and the New Orleans Hornets. He received a two-year ban from the NBA in 2006 for violating the league's drug policy,[4] but was reinstated on March 4, 2008, and re-signed with the Hornets the next day. He returned to Denver later in 2008, and remained with the team until 2012. He signed with the Miami Heat in January 2013 and won a championship with them that same year. He and Oliver Lafayette are the only Blinn students to ever play in the NBA.[5] He now plays for Power in the Big3 league.
Kurt Sohn. Had about a 5 year run with the Jets in the mid 80's. Always remember him because my girlfriend in high school was convinced I was his twin! lol