Earl Manigault

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Earl Manigault (September 7, 1944 – May 15, 1998) was an American basketball player famous under his nickname of "The Goat."

[edit] Life

Earl Manigault was born in Charleston, South Carolina and raised in Harlem, New York. He grew up playing basketball and practiced constantly. He attached weights to his ankles in order to make himself stronger and so he could jump higher. Earl's eagerness in the end of his life to help people overcome the same struggles he did was tremendous. The nickname "Goat" has several proposed origins. One theory states that by the time Manigault was in high school, he was known as "The Goat" because of his quiet demeanor. Another states that the nickname started by confusion over Manigault's last name; people thought Manigault referred to himself as Earl Nanny Goat, so he became "The Goat". Goat also is an acronym for Greatest Of All Time.

He was mentored by Holcombe Rucker.[1]Maniigault was particularly famous for his leaping abilities on the basketball court, including his signature move - the double dunk. He would dunk the ball and catch it with the other hand while still in the air and dunk it again. He was said to be able to touch the top of the backboard to retrieve quarters and dollar bills, although it's likely he would've had to jump over 60 inches to do so, making the story hard to believe. He was only 6'1" but the ankle weights he wore as a child helped him to build up tremendous jumping ability. He once reverse dunked 36 times in a row to win a $60 bet.[1]

But to prove dunking wasn't his only skill, he would practice hundreds of shots each day, making him a deadly long-range shooter as well. Earl played with some of the best players of his day, such as Earl Monroe, Connie Hawkins and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, who went as far as calling Earl the greatest player he had ever seen. When Kareem finished his career with the Los Angeles Lakers and had his number retired at the Los Angeles Forum, he was asked who was the greatest player he had played with or against. After a long silence, Kareem answered 'It would have to be Earl "The Goat" Manigault,' much to the amazement of many. A video of this statement can be seen here: Video

Earl set the NYC junior high school record by scoring 57 points in a game in the late 1950s. While attending Benjamin Franklin High School, Earl's life took a fateful turn when he began associating with the wrong crowd. He started using drugs and skipping classes. He was the star of his high school team and seemed destined for greatness in the National Basketball Association. Earl was eventually kicked out of school after being caught smoking marijuana. He finished high school at a private academy, Laurinburg Institute North Carolina. This is where he met the mother of his first child. Before attending high school in North Carolina, Earl did not know how to read.[citation needed]

After high school, Earl was courted by at least 75 colleges offering scholarships, including North Carolina, Duke and Indiana. Earl chose Johnson C. Smith University. He only lasted one semester as his grades were not very good and because of that, he had to fight with the coach for playing time.

Earl returned to Harlem and developed a heroin addiction. Earl served 16 months in 1969 and 1970 in prison for drug possession and another term of 2 years from 1977 to 1979 for a failed robbery attempt so he could buy heroin. After this prison term, Earl quit heroin and started the "Walk Away From Drugs" tournament for kids in Harlem. He worked at this tournament until his death from heart failure in 1998.[2]

In 1996 a TV movie was made about his life called Rebound: The Legend of Earl 'The Goat' Manigault[3].

[edit] References

  1. ^ McShane, Larry 1998. Cager Legend, 'The Goat,' Dead. Sentinel, May 28, http://www.proquest.com/ (accessed December 22, 2007). http://www.press.uchicago.edu/Misc/Chicago/cmosfaq/cmosfaq.html)

[edit] External links


McShane, Larry (1998, May 28). Cager Legend, 'The Goat,' Dead. Sentinel,p. B1. Retrieved December 22, 2007, from Ethnic NewsWatch (ENW) database. (Document ID: 625331081). l:Earl Manigault