Jerry Harkness

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jerald B. "Jerry" Harkness (born May 7, 1940 in Harlem, New York) is an American former basketball player.

Before playing in the professional leagues, the 6'3" Harkness was a star at DeWitt Clinton High School and Loyola University Chicago. At Loyola, he served as captain on the team that upset the University of Cincinnati to win the 1963 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Championship. He then moved on to the professional leagues, playing one season (1963–64) with the NBA's New York Knicks and two seasons (1967–1969) with the ABA's Indiana Pacers.

Though his professional career was relatively short, he left his mark in the record books on November 13, 1967, when he hit a 92 foot-long game-winning buzzer beater to lead the Pacers past the Dallas Chaparrals. This is still the longest shot ever made in any American professional basketball game (see[1]).

Harkness became a Indianapolis sportscaster when his playing career ended in 1969. He has also devoted much of his time to civil rights issues. He worked with the Southern Christian Leadership Conference in the early 1970s, and he currently serves as director of the Indianapolis Chapter of 100 Black Men, a national organization dedicated to supporting and training young African American males.