Signed
COMPLETED
Gail Goodrich
One collector is trying to find a single signature from every man who ever played for the Jazz — all 370 of them, from the 1974 New Orleans team to today. For many of them, this page is the only one on the internet. Here is Gail Goodrich: what he did on the floor, a few things most people never knew, and every card that carries his name. If you have a better example of his signature, or a story about it, the note at the foot of this page still stands.
A Hall of Famer whose resume runs through basketball royalty: Gail Goodrich scored a then-record 42 points in the 1965 NCAA final for John Wooden's UCLA, then led the 1971–72 Lakers in scoring as they won a still-record 33 straight games and the franchise's first Los Angeles championship. Nicknamed 'Stumpy' by Elgin Baylor, the 6-foot-1 lefty proved doubters wrong at every level.
His final playing seasons, 1976 to 1979, came in a Jazz uniform after stardom in Phoenix, where he still holds the franchise record for minutes per game. Goodrich entered the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 1996.
HOW HE CAME & WENTHe played out his option after a salary fight with the Lakers and signed with New Orleans on July 19, 1976 to pair with Pete Maravich. Los Angeles took three Jazz first-rounders as compensation — the 1979 pick became Magic Johnson. He retired in 1979.
- Full name
- Gail Charles Goodrich Jr.
- New Orleans Jazz tenure
- 1976–79
- Position
- Guard
- Born
- 1943, Los Angeles
- Height
- 6′1″ (185 cm)
- Weight
- 170 lb (77 kg)
- College
- UCLA
- Drafted
- 1965, 1st round, Los Angeles Lakers
With the Jazz
GAIL GOODRICH · 1976–79 · PER GAME| SEASON | TEAM | G | MPG | PPG | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1976–77 | NOJ | 27 | 22.6 | 12.6 | 2.3 | 2.7 | 0.8 | 0.1 | .446 | — | .800 |
| 1977–78 | NOJ | 81 | 31.5 | 16.1 | 2.2 | 4.8 | 1.0 | 0.3 | .495 | — | .795 |
| 1978–79 | NOJ | 74 | 28.8 | 12.7 | 2.5 | 4.8 | 1.2 | 0.2 | .449 | — | .853 |
| JAZZ TOTAL | 3 SEASONS | 182 | 29.1 | 14.2 | 2.3 | 4.5 | 1.1 | 0.2 | .471 | — | .815 |
Season by season, regular season, with this franchise only. More info: Basketball-Reference ↗ · Wikipedia ↗
Did you know
GAIL GOODRICH · 9 NOTES- The compensation for signing him sent New Orleans' 1979 first-round pick to the Lakers — it became the No. 1 pick and Magic Johnson.
- Broke his ankle in the third quarter of the Los Angeles city championship game and still finished with 29 points.
- He wanted to follow his father to USC, but at 5-foot-8 as a high school junior the Trojans thought him too small.
- His high school team was so devoted that the players bent a coat hanger into a key to sneak into the gym on weekends.
- He asked John Wooden to escort him at his Hall of Fame induction, saying Wooden and his dad taught him how to play.
- After basketball he ran golf companies, becoming president of National Fairways in Greenwich and buying a New Jersey country club.
- When the Lakers retired his No. 25 in 1996, Eddie Jones gave up the number and switched to 6.
- Goodrich in 1992: 'There was no trade at all as far as myself and the Jazz were concerned. The Jazz signed me, and then the league demanded compensation to the Lakers.'
- He came back from a torn Achilles to average 16.1 points in 1977-78 and retired at 36 with 19,181 career points.
All photographs
2 PHOTOS