Joe Ruklick

Joseph Wayne Ruklick ( ; August 3, 1938 – September 17, 2020) was an American professional basketball player for the Philadelphia Warriors of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played college basketball for the Northwestern Wildcats and was an All-American in 1959. Ruklick was selected by Philadelphia in the second round of the 1959 NBA draft. He was known for passing the ball for the assist on Warriors teammate Wilt Chamberlain's final score en route to his NBA record 100-point game.

Early life Ruklick was born in Chicago, but he moved to an orphanage in Princeton, Illinois, after his mother was diagnosed with tuberculosis when he was 11.

College career Ruklick attended Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois. Ruklick averaged 23 points and 13 rebounds as a senior in 1958–59, He finished with career averages of 19.9 points and 13.2 rebounds per game. Chamberlain had 52 points and 31 rebounds, and his scoring total remains a Kansas single-game record. Ruklick countered with 22 points but fouled out with 9:30 remaining in the game. stating afterwards that he intentionally missed the second in hopes that Chamberlain might rebound it and get 102 points.

After Ruklick's third season with the Warriors, the team moved to San Francisco.

Later years After his NBA career, Ruklick worked in investment banking. He received a graduate degree from Northwestern University's Medill School of Journalism at the age of 50. where he was the only white among the African-American newspaper's 22-person editorial staff.