Joe Caldwell

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Joe Caldwell
Position Guard/Forward
Height ft 5 in (1.96 m)
Weight 195 lb (88 kg)
League NBA/ABA
Born November 1, 1941 (1941-11-01) (age 66)
Texas City, Texas
Nationality USA
High school John C. Fremont
College Arizona State (1961-1964)
Draft 2nd, 1964
Detroit Pistons
Pro career 1964–1975
Former teams Detroit Pistons
St. Louis Hawks/Atlanta Hawks
Carolina Cougars
Spirits of St. Louis
Olympic medal record
Men's Basketball
Gold 1964 Tokyo United States

Joe Louis Caldwell (born November 1, 1941 in Texas City, Texas) is a retired American professional basketball player. He spent 6 seasons (19641970) in the NBA and 5 seasons (1970-1975) in the now-defunct ABA, and he was one of the few players to be an All-Star in both leagues. He was also a member of the United States Olympic basketball team that won the gold at the 1964 Summer Olympics.

Nicknamed "Pogo Joe" or "Jumping Joe" for his leaping abilities, Caldwell was a 6'5" guard/forward from Arizona State University. Though drafted by the Detroit Pistons in 1964, he spent the majority of his NBA career with the St. Louis/Atlanta Hawks franchise. After averaging 21.1 points per game during the 1969-70 NBA season, Caldwell jumped to the rival ABA, playing for the Carolina Cougars from 1970 to 1974. More than just a high-flying scorer, Caldwell was also a tenacious defender, and basketball legend Julius Erving once said that Caldwell guarded him better than any player in the ABA. During the 1974-75 season, St. Louis management blamed Caldwell for influencing team star Marvin Barnes to briefly leave the team. Caldwell denied doing this but he was suspended for "activities detrimental to the best interests of professional basketball." Caldwell never played another pro basketball game and has filed various lawsuits because he believes that he was wrongly blacklisted by the ABA and later the NBA. He scored 12,619 combined NBA/ABA career points.

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