Streetball Giant---"The Destroyer" Joe Hammond
(1) Introduction
One afternoon in October 1994, New York Ha Forest area. On a street opposite the gloomy and dilapidated Paul Building, a slightly hunched old man was staggering into the basketball court, wearing a baseball cap, a dirty turtleneck sweater, and a pair of tattered blue jeans. Obviously, he now looks more like an old beggar than a streetball king.
"Hey, old gentleman! Are you blind or something?" The question came from a somewhat angry young man. He put the basketball under his armpit, pointed to the clear sky above his head and said, "We are here. You're playing ball! Move your poor ass away from me!"
Several other young people came up and looked at this stranger - a tall, thin black man with light skin. , short beard. I saw him walking to the sideline of the field, gently putting down the plastic garbage bag on his back, turning around and walking back to the center of the field, looking at the empty bleachers on both sides, as if absorbing some kind of power - in his memories, fanaticism The fans are shouting over and over again: "We want Joe! We want Joe!"...
The street heroes of the past are now hard to see the spirit of dominance
"I'm short of a few dollars." He said softly, "Which of you will fight with me?"
"Don't waste our time." A young man said. "Go play somewhere else," another young man shouted.
The stranger's tired eyes surveyed the court ground. "No one wants my money?" he asked.
"Then show your money!" said a young man.
"Only the loser gets the money." said the stranger.
"Stop talking nonsense." The young man holding the ball said, "If you don't want the money, just give it to me."
"Twenty yuan, how about it?" asked the stranger.
"Okay, let's start."
"Your ball." The stranger said, took the ball from the young man's hand, grabbed it with one hand, and shook it a few times. Then he stuffed it back into his chest, "Believe me, little brother, this is my home court."
"Go on, Robert, do it!" Several other young people shouted.
"Yes, Robert, let me see what you are capable of." The stranger said, leaning forward slightly across the free throw line and sticking to his opponent.
The people on the edge stood together, the trash talk started, and the game started. The young man pretended to shoot a jump shot and quickly rushed to the basket. It looked like a sure-fire layup. But at the moment of taking the shot, the stranger reached out and touched the basketball, then jumped high, grabbed the ball, and landed near the right baseline for a moment. He still has his pompadour, exactly the same as when he fought Dr. J more than 20 years ago. On the first offensive opportunity, the stranger put his head forward as if to initiate a layup. The young man moved his feet and lost his defensive position. The stranger looked at his opponent, smiled softly, and raised his hand to shoot. The basketball drew a perfect arc and seemed to have been suspended in the air for decades before it passed through the net, "Whoosh——".
"Fuck!" shouted a young man on the sidelines.
The game continued, and the strangers gradually opened up the score. A reverse layup, a small hook, a left-hand pick, and then three consecutive free throw line jumpers. A moment later, 12 to 0. The young people watching the game seemed to smell a musty smell in one of the apartments, and their expressions were very embarrassing. In the end, the Strangers only had one point left to end the game. When he jumped up to shoot the winning shot, a voice roared from outside the courtside fence: "Hey! Joe Hammond! Don't give that kid a hard time, don't take his money."
"The Destroyer" at Rock Arena
The young man stayed for a moment and realized that he had just been played by a basketball ghost. He lowered his head and put his hands on his knees. "Are you Joe Hammond?" the kid asked. He put his hand into his right sock and took out a crumpled 20-yuan bill, "You won this, I don't mean to look down on you."
On the streets of New York, mentioning Joe - The name Hammond, or the old man who often walked around the old territory with a garbage bag on his back, will bring a smile to many people's faces---people who saw him play in the 1970s... flying dunks, accurate ’s long-range shots and those incredible scoring records.
At that time, he was selling all kinds of white powder and was rich, putting aside the 50,000 annual salary and purple and gold jersey that the Lakers sent to his door.
"Those were my good days." Hammond walked over and picked up his garbage bag. "I had everything and could do anything. I thought I could do that for the rest of my life... ...Uh, I should go see my daughter today..." Hammond looked a little dazed as he recalled his past.
(2) Becoming famous as a teenager
In January 1963, a heavy snowfall in winter covered the entire city of New York. The streets were empty and there were no games.
In Cooper Junior High School located at the junction of 120th Street and Madison Avenue, teacher and basketball coach Donald Adams is sitting behind his desk, watching the students nervously taking exams. There is only rustling in the classroom. The sound of pencil scraping against paper. Suddenly, there was a strange noise downstairs.
"Sip...sip...sip..."
Adams stood up and told the students to continue the exam and go to the window to take a look.
“I looked down from the window, and it was him again.” Adams recalled, “shoveling the snow out of the court one by one.”
That was already 13-year-old Joe Hammond dropped out of school. His mother passed away very early, and his father traveled around trying to make a living. Every night, he slept in the hall of his grandmother's house with his many cousins. During the day, he sneaked from one court to another, playing whenever there was a game. His hands were covered with blisters, and the Pro Keds sneakers on his feet (a cheap basketball shoe popular among black people in the 1960s and 1970s) were wrapped with tape. together. Every day, Hammond played basketball until long after the sun went down before returning home. When God tries to cover the court with heavy snow, he takes up a broom or a shovel and fights against him.
"Joe only stayed in the first grade of 7th grade for 27 days. He was almost a homeless kid." At that time, the athletic director of the Wagner Center in Harlem and the mentor of "The Destroyer" , Howie Evans, now the sports editor of the Amsterdam News, said, "When he was eleven or twelve years old, he was obsessed with basketball and hung out on those courts all day long. As long as there was a place, he began to practice shooting. A few hours. While watching adults play and training on his own, Joe quickly learned a lot."
"Thirteen-year-old Joe already understands the game better than most adults. I've trained thousands of kids before, and I've never seen anyone play like him," Evans recalled. "He had extraordinary ball-handling skills and he quickly separated himself from other kids his age. The gap. It's hard to see a kid being able to direct four other teammates on the court, especially when he doesn't have the ball, but Joe can do that sometimes because he gets angry when his teammates should pass or not. , I had to pull him aside and tell him that those kids couldn't understand what he already understood." Evans and other neighbors took turns taking Hammond home. Giving him food, clothes, etc., Hammond never forgot this kindness. Later Hammond found a way to make a living. One night after playing ball, he saw a bunch of people throwing skulls and gambling under the street lights... Soon he became obsessed and soon became a street gambler, making a lot of money, and even started to help him grandmother pays rent.
“You can start with a few dozen dollars,” Hammond said. “If you’re lucky, you can turn it into thousands of dollars in one night. I’ve done it several times.” Every day, I either play ball or play ball. Squatting on the ground and gambling with others, Joe Hammond's hands were always black, which is where his other nickname "Dirty Hands Joe" came from.
19-year-old Joe Hammond
At the age of 16, Hammond was already competing with top college players and professional masters on the street courts in New York, and never fell behind. He has won various street championships including Rock League and MVP. Scoring 50 or 60 points in a single game is normal for him. The opponents he singled out include Cass Russell, Dave Stowarts, Connie Hawkins and other NBA stars.
“My grandmother’s house used to have a room dedicated to trophies,” Hammond said. “There were hundreds of various trophies in it, some more than 2 meters high. Everyone called that room 'Hammond Memorial Hall.'" In the same room, Hammond hid thousands of dollars he had won from street gambling -- in socks, in pillows, and in folders with textbooks he had never read. page.
His reputation in gambling spread far and wide, and many gamblers from other parts of New York came to gamble with him. Just like on the basketball court, Hammond won more than he lost.
Hammond began to think about how to invest the money. In the casino and on the court, his skills improved by leaps and bounds, and fewer and fewer people called him "Dirty Joe". He had a new nickname--"The Destroyer."
"The nickname suits him well because this kid can really destroy anyone," Evans said. "He's cool, like ice. His moves are all calculated in advance." Not based on what he can do, but based on what his opponents can't do... He never sweats, no matter how hot he is. I think it's because he's too hot when he's playing. To relax."
Hammond is like the head of an old coach placed on the body of a young athlete. No one can guard against his ability to leap high and hit the ball accurately from any angle and any distance. "That was the most beautiful shot I've ever seen," said New York Post senior reporter Pete Vesey. "Every rebound seemed like a relative of his. He could shoot from anywhere, dribble past people, and in your presence Head dunks. Now you see guys like Del Cre and Glen Rice, they are all good shooters, but they generally can't do both. Joe can do both. Everyone can do better. No one can shoot as accurately as Joe on an outdoor court, especially when the wind blows.”
On the streets, Hammond found a way to make a fortune investing. "I started selling drugs," Hammond said. "I made a name for myself, and people wanted to buy from me because they wanted to be around me. I made a lot of money."
< p>Having made a fortune, Hammond not only upgraded his Pro Keds wrapped with tape into brand-new Converse, but also often bought new pairs of sneakers for street children: "This is my way of giving back to society."< /p>(3) Myth---4 hours/two MVPs/101 points
On a rainy Saturday, Hammond put on his Converse and stepped into Fordham Gymnasium at MU. On this day, "The Destroyer" will create a myth in the history of New York streetball.
What we are going to play today are two back-to-back games. The first game is a game between Rock University stars, and the second highlight is the famous "New York-Philadelphia Game" in which only professional players participate.
Hammond played in the first game. Against future NBA stars such as "Super Micro" Nate Azibald and Dean Memingo, Hammond scored 51 points and won the MVP title. There were a few minutes in this game when Hammond hit six consecutive long-distance shots (there was no three-point line back then), and if you think that's not unusual, consider this - all six of them were Hit the board into the basket.
Hammond, who was about to change and leave, was stopped by New York coach Teddy Jones.
There is a famous saying in the NBA: "God dare not single out the 'Black Pearl'"
Jones is very worried about the Philadelphia team's strong star lineup: Earl - "Black Pearl" - Munro , Azzi Clark, and a group of young and capable benches, such as Joe "Jelly Bean" Bryant (Kobe's father) and so on. Although the New York team also had good players such as Freddy Crawford and Connie Hawkins of the Knicks, in order to ensure victory in the game, Jones illegally invited the "Destroyer".
"Hey, Joe, do me a favor," Jones said, "We might be able to use you for another game." Jones handed over the only blue jersey he could find. Gave it to Hammond.
The game started with Hammond sitting on the bench. "Black Pearl" Munro began to slaughter the New York backcourt. "Monro put his back to the basket every time, pushed New York's Pablo to the basket, and scored easily." Hammond said, "Then, the coach let me play."
" Destroyer” was clearly identifiable on the court as Philadelphia wore white, New York red, and only Hammond wore a basketball jersey. "The first time I came on the field, I got the ball on the left side," Hammond recalled. "I lobbed it to Connie --- you know he rarely returns the ball. But that time he still passed the ball back. Give it to me, shouting: 'Young man, give me something you're good at!'"
"The Destroyer" listened to Hawkins' words and faked past Munro and Luke Jackson, who was assisting in defense. It looked like a slam dunk. However, the "Destroyer" just wanted to score two points. He gently let the ball roll down from his fingertips, fall past his elbow, and slide into the hoop.
"All of a sudden," Hammond said, "these big NBA stars started feeding me the ball."
Hammond jumped high from time to time, one after another. Hit his trademark rebound goal. New York started to pull away. An angry Munro and Clark began to double-team "The Destroyer" in the backcourt. On a ball in the second half of the third quarter, Munro and Clark approached Hammond from both sides. Hammond turned toward the sideline as if he was about to go out of bounds, then immediately turned back and whipped the ball behind his back with his arm like a whip. , transported from under the bridge to the front of the body. The whole movement was done in one go, sending Munro and Clark spinning in circles like two bowling pins. Then Hammond broke through the defense and advanced quickly. Munro and Clark turned at the same time to reach for the ball, but their heads collided and they fell to the floor. The two were so awkward that the game was even interrupted for a few minutes.
At the end of the game, Hammond scored 50 points and another MVP trophy. In one afternoon and four hours, the "Destroyer" faced the best players on the planet and scored 101 points.
He still didn't sweat.
(4) Locke's strongest battle in history
Street-NBA amphibious superstar Carl Ramsey once said: "The two greatest players in Locke's history are 'Dr. J' 'Julius Erving and Joe Hammond"
In the summer of 1970, Hammond's Milbank team faced Dr. J's West Side team. Milbank is a street team, in addition to Hammond, there are street stars such as Pee Wee Kirkland. The leader of the West Side team is "Dr. J" Julius Erving, and there are many NBA players such as Knicks guard Mike Riordan.
That day, thousands of fans flocked to Rucker Park to see the long-awaited battle. Some fans who couldn't find seats climbed up the iron fence, some sat on branches, and some simply stood on top of their cars.
According to legend, Hammond was nowhere to be seen while the players were warming up. The Milbank team delayed again and again, but the referee still blew the whistle for kick-off, even though shouts of "We want Joe!" could be heard on the fence and on the branches. Without Hammond, the Milbank team was beaten by the Westside team in the first half and was unable to fight back. Both offense and defense collapsed. Dr. J not only moved gracefully, but also repeatedly tore through Milbank's defense. West Side led by more than 10 points in the first half and fans wanted their own street hero, but it looked like the Irving vs. Hammond battle was going to be in vain.
Kuku was only 8 years old at the time, and his father took him to watch the game: "Suddenly, just before the start of the second half, you heard people in the stands start roaring, clapping, stamping their feet... ...It seems like an earthquake or something."
Over on 8th Street, Joe Hammond got out of a limousine and was surrounded by a crowd before his feet even touched the ground. Kids asking for autographs, friends saying hello, women ogling and reporters asking why they were absent from the first half. The police fended off the crowd, and Hammond looked more like a big-name movie star attending an Oscar ceremony than a player late for halftime of a street ball game.
Amidst the deafening shouts of the fans, Hammond ran to the bench and took off his coat: "Coach, I'm here."
In the second half, the Westside team sent in ABA players Charlie Scott tags Hammond. On Milbank's first offense, the ball came to Hammond's hands, and "swish" --- a two-point jump shot. The West Side team attacked. Kirkland stole the ball and passed it to Hammond. "Bang" --- Hammond dunked so hard that the fans started dancing in the stands, and some even poured into the stadium. Next was Dr. J. He caught the ball at the top of the key, strode into the paint, swung his long arm, and smashed the ball into the hoop, as if to say to the Hammond fans: "Look at me!"
The Westside team's lead gradually disappeared. They changed players to guard Hammond again and again. Finally, Dr. J was sent in, and the fans entered the ultimate madness. "When Dr. J was guarding Joe, things were a little different," Kuku recalled. "Believe me, Dr. J had it open and Joe couldn't guard him. But when Joe got the ball, Dr. J couldn't do anything." ...
The Locke "Twin Stars" are now in very different situations
According to Hammond, he scored 50 points in the half and Dr. J scored 39 points. Hammond got the MVP trophy, but West Side won after two overtimes. Although he lost the game, Hammond's story will forever be engraved in the most prominent place in Locke's legendary history. Decades later, the game remains the greatest ever witnessed on the streets of New York.
The scores scored by Hammond and Dr. J in that game became an unsolved case on the streets of New York.
Hammond said he scored 50 points and Julius scored 39 points.
West Side coach Pete Vesey said the two scored about 40 points each.
Locke historian Ernie Morris, who watched the game live, said: "Both guys played great, Joe was outstanding in that game. He was indeed late, but 50 points is nonsense ."
" Joe can't talk nonsense anymore," Pee Wee Kirkland said, " Joe is a great player, 50, 60 points is not difficult for him, but he didn't score that day. So many points, not on Dr. J's head. I remember clearly that Joe scored 43 points when Julius guarded him for a few rounds, but in the main time, he guarded him. It's not Julius. This story does more harm than good to Joe's reputation. He is already one of the greatest players in Locke's history." "Whether Dr. J or anyone else remembers it or not," Hammond said, "I still won the MVP of that game. They gave me the MVP because I was the best on the court, I scored a lot of points, and I did what I did. I was better than them at more things."
"Not true, absolutely not true," Dr. J said. "Charlie Scott guarded him the whole game and we won the game. De is a good player, he plays smoothly, shoots accurately, and is very smart. He is the best on their team, I can see it. He is a real legend in Locke, but 30 points is not a big deal in Locke. 50 points?"
Pete Vesey said: "Julius is one of the 50 superstars in the NBA, and his reputation and strength are real. However, in that summer, Joe did have the ability to be on top of Dr. J. Score 40-plus points. Julius's defense isn't that good... He doesn't get happy when people say Michael Jordan is better than him, so we'd better not ask him about Joe."< /p>
......
In this way, to this day, no one knows exactly how many points the "Destroyer" scored in that half.
(5) Rubbing shoulders with the "Big Three"
"The Knicks players often talk about Hammond, and he has begun to become famous in the NBA." That year, the ABA Nets "People talk about him like he's some kind of god," coach Lou Carniceca said. "I swear, Joe's so famous. Sometimes," Evans said. Some professional players drive to the arena to play. They will stop and ask people outside if Joe is inside. If they say yes, they will jump back in the car and go to play somewhere else."
A few months after the battle with Dr. J, Hammond participated in the Eastern Basketball League All-Star Game. Joe "The Destroyer" Hammond's reputation for destroying any defense has traveled across the continent to the Los Angeles Lakers. They selected Hammond in the 1971 NBA "Treatment Draft", and boss Cook offered $50,000 a year to invite Hammond to join. Lakers coach Bill Sherman took advantage of the team's away game against the Knicks to gather all the players on the off day for a workout with Hammond. The Lakers, who have the "Big Three" of Chamberlain, West, and Baylor, arranged a special training for Hammond through Howie Evans at Pace University.
Hammond was brought into the team's shooting practice by Sherman and general manager Fred Swartz. Sherman always separates the big players and the small players in practice, and the two sides compete to shoot. The team with the most consecutive shots wins. Obviously, the smaller team always wins.
On this day Hammond was assigned to the big team. "Joe hit 18 shots in a row," Evans said. "Wilt (Chamberlain) got a little excited and started yelling, 'Shoot, kid, two more!' Sherman pretended to be cool. Walk around and try not to look in Joe's direction." Regrouping, Hammond hit 14 more shots in a row.
"After practice, Joe was left behind by Coach Sherman," Evans said. "He asked everyone else to get dressed and leave, leaving Joe and another player to practice a pair. 1. ”
“Joe ate the guy and it was so humiliating,” Evans said. “The guy finally couldn’t stand it anymore and he pulled Joe to the ground. Sherman walked up and said, 'Forget it, you can't beat this kid.
'"
The guy who dragged Hammond to the ground is called Pat Riley.
If Hammond joins the "Big Three", he may be able to help Old Baylor Fulfilling the championship dream
Chamberlain and several other players peeked through a window with expressions of disbelief on their faces. What made them even more disbelieving was that for several months. Later, Hammond actually refused the Lakers' contract.
After Hammond refused to join, the Lakers still offered him $300 a game to participate in the Los Angeles Summer League and also provided him with a temporary house. A car and a driver. Hammond asked Laker if he could bring a few of his friends with him. Laker said no, and Hammond’s response was: “Fuck you. "
"I told the Lakers that I had to be paid as much as 'those guys' because I was better than most of them, and they didn't want to. "I then asked for a no-fire, guaranteed contract," Hammond said. They refused again. They couldn't figure out why this kid from the ghetto was bargaining with them, and I certainly couldn't tell them why. "
Why? ---"The Destroyer" was already very rich selling drugs at that time and bought two new racing cars, but he didn't even have a driver's license.
After Hammond's contract with the Lakers fell through, ABA New York Nets coach Lou Caniseca came to Hammond: "Joe's skills are so good, he has learned a lot from the streets, and he has a bright future. "Caniseca said, "He is simply the pioneer of the Magicians. I gave him a three-year contract that guaranteed no layoffs, but he still refused to sign. "
As a result, the "Destroyer" game never went out on the streets, but bold NBA stars came to the streets one after another to challenge him for duels. "But no one won him," Ivan Si said, "Cass Russell (the 1966 NBA No. 1 pick) talked a lot about how he was going to teach Joe a lesson. Then they met in a game and Joe scored 30 points in the first half. In the end, Joe scored 56 points. Cass was angry that day and never played at Rock again. ”
(6) 73 points and 500 cans
Between 1973 and 1976, Hammond did not appear much at Rock Stadium. In the summer of 1976, he returned to play in the Rock League. In 4 games, the scores were 29, 36, 59 and 73. The 73 points set a record for Locke, and no one can break it to this day. He was defended by Knicks guard Mike Riordan, a famous defensive expert in the NBA at the time. < /p>
In fact, during his time away from basketball, Hammond has been wandering the streets, gradually moving from the altar of the court to the sins of the underworld, making a lot of money and enjoying a decadent life. "They asked me how could I do that. Refuse to join forces with players like Chamberlain and West. "But at the time I had a nightclub, two apartments and a villa," Hammond said. Do you know how rich I was back then? I was selling drugs and gambling on the street when I was 10 years old. When I was 15, I saved $50,000 with my father. Before the Lakers gave me that contract, I had $200,000 in cash hidden in my apartment. Marijuana, heroin, I can make tens of thousands of dollars a year, what's the point of the Lakers contract? ”
Finally, Hammond became obsessed with the drugs he was selling and became an addict. In 1984, he was arrested by the police on suspicion of reselling ecstasy. Since then, he has been in prison After going in and out, he finally had no money left.
When Hammond was in prison, he told the prison guards that he could organize a basketball league so that the prisoners would have some entertainment. The prison guards cautiously agreed. . As you can imagine, the whole day in the prison was "We want Joe!" "The cry. In his free time, Hammond competed with other prisoners in free throw shooting, using the tuna cans issued by the prison as gambling capital. During such gambling, once Joe made 93 consecutive free throws. "The 94th ball , there was a nasty bee flying around in front of my eyes," Hammond said. "The ball bounced a few times in the basket and came out. "
When Hammond was released from prison in 1988, guards found 500 cans of tuna under his bed.
"They asked me if I wanted to take them home," Hammond said, "I said I've had it all year and I'm tired of it. "
(7) Ending
"Beep——" A black broken jeep swayed and sped past, and the sharp horn pulled us back to 1994. .
Jo goes to the Wagner Apartments to visit her young sweetheart, Beverly Seabrook, and their daughter, Joy Hammond. Hammond has never married and has 4 children (from three different relationships) and 4 grandchildren. Still carrying his trash bag, Hammond walked across Joy Street and into the building's front entrance. Several people taking care of children recognized him immediately.
A father greeted his child, pushed him over to Hammond, and said, "Jamal, this is Joe Hammond. The one I always told you about. People used to Call him 'The Destroyer.' He scored 50 points on Dr. J." Jamal shook Hammond's hand: "I've heard a lot about you." "My father said you are the greatest." Hammond looked at the father and son, smiled sheepishly, said thank you, and slipped into the elevator.
“People always talked about things I had done before,” Hammond said. “I listened to them tell stories about my past, and after a while, it seemed to me that they were talking about a dead person. "
Seabrook and Hammond have known each other since they were teenagers. She ran into the bedroom and took out an old photo album, which was full of newspaper clippings and old photos. There is a photo of Joe and Arlington Jets teammate Wengel, before Wengel joined the Knicks, won a championship, and became addicted to drugs and faded away. There are also photos of him and Herman “Helicopter” Newins. Newins died in a car accident in 1980. "'Helicopters' can really fly..." Hammond said, "What a pity"
Turn over the page, that is "Flying" James Williams standing smiling Next to the "Terminator" Jean Mathes. There's a photo of Beverly hugging Joe after the Legardia Memorial Tournament. That memorial is on East 116th Street, where there's a huge gold Championship Hall of Fame plaque with Joe Hammond's name alongside Kevin Williams, Walter Barry, Malik Seeley and Chriss. - Mullin.
Seabrook smiled and turned over a photo of Earl "The Goat" Menigault, another street superstar whose NBA career was ruined because of drugs. The young Hammond once regarded "The Goat" as his idol.
"Earl often staggered to the court with his body sucked dry by white powder. I always saw Earl walk up to Joe and say: 'Don't fucking do it, Joe. Just like me. Just stay in the basketball court and you'll have money. '" Seabrook said, "But Joe didn't listen to him." Seabrook's voice was sobbed, and she took a deep breath. In one breath, "I was the beauty queen at school and he was the big star on the streets." She said, "It seems not so long ago that people regarded Joe as the king. I used to think our life would be like a fairy tale... ."
For decades, Joe Hammond dominated New York street ball, refused an NBA contract, made a fortune in drug trafficking, went to jail, and shot 50 points on Dr. J's head... "You tell me," Hammond shook his head, "that this is the 'legend' people want to hear?"