Bridgeman played in 711 games as a Buck, more than any other player in franchise history. (Getty)

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February 8, 2008

MILWAUKEE -- “The torch has been lit!”

In the vast majority of the team-record 711 games Junior Bridgeman played for the Milwaukee Bucks, it usually took legendary play-by-play man Eddie Doucette only a minute or so to utter those words once Bridgeman had peeled off his warm-ups and set foot on the court.

The catch phrase was Doucette’s inimitable way of saying that the sharp-shooting swingman had come off the bench and ignited the Bucks yet again.

The Bucks organization will rededicate Bridgeman’s retired No. 2 jersey at halftime of the team’s Saturday, Feb. 9 game against the New York Knicks at the Bradley Center. The tribute is the third of the franchise’s 40th anniversary season, following those to Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Sidney Moncrief.

Bridgeman was a torch-bearer in more ways than one.

The University of Louisville All-American was selected in the first round of the 1975 National Basketball Association Draft by the Los Angeles Lakers and then traded to Milwaukee on June 16 of that year along with center Elmore Smith, guard Brian Winters and forward David Meyers – a fellow 1975 draft pick – in exchange for Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Walt Wesley.

Those four new Bucks, along with such fixtures as Bob Dandridge and Jon McGlocklin and the products of the next two drafts, became jointly responsible for the future of the Milwaukee franchise. The Bucks had gone from expansion status to the world championship more rapidly than any team in professional sports history, but they were at a crossroads, having lost one of the game’s all-time greats in Abdul-Jabbar.

Bridgeman didn’t completely fathom the enormity of the challenge that faced him and his teammates at the time.

“When we came, being a rookie, I know I really didn’t understand the magnitude of the trade – being part of a trade for Kareem, who would go on to play a total of 20 years, and is arguably one of the best players of all time,” he said. “I don’t think any of us comprehended that at the time, and in some ways that was good, because I don’t think we really had the pressure that could have brought.

“All we wanted to do was just play in the league and do the best we could. I think we were fortunate that it wasn’t just Brian Winters, Elmore Smith, Dave Meyers and myself, but all the players there were here and those that were added over the years.”

The Bucks went about their reconstruction with their priorities in order. The players they selected to hold the franchise’s future in their hands took that challenge seriously, and they did it together.

“Most importantly, they formed a nucleus consisting not only of good players and a good team, but good people,” Bridgeman said. “I think that’s really what brought about the connection between the community and the team.

“Everybody we had gave their all every time they went on the floor, and I’m one that believes that if Dave Meyers had not gotten hurt and retired, we would have won a championship or two or three. I thought that with him and the people we had, we would have had a team that would have been able to compete with anyone in the league.”

To this day, Bridgeman’s original Bucks teammates are special to him. And those who came aboard as the years went by helped build a tradition that is now turning 40 years old.

“I was very fortunate to play back then,” Bridgeman said. “I came in with people like Brian Winters and Dave Meyers and Elmore Smith, and we came to a team that had guys like Jon McGlocklin and Bobby Dandridge – great players in their own right. And then over the years they added Marques Johnson, Quinn Buckner, Sidney Moncrief, Bob Lanier, and even Dave Cowens. If Dave Cowens hadn’t hurt his knee, there’s no telling what we might have been able to accomplish that year.”

Milwaukee’s teams were more than just a galaxy of stars.

“We had other guys, like Harvey Catchings, who were real good basketball players who just did what they were asked to do,” Bridgeman said. “That’s what really made it a team. Sure, we had the All-Stars like Sidney and Brian and Marques and Lanier, but we also added Quinn, Mickey Johnson, Harvey Catchings, Ernie Grunfeld and so many others – guys who filled a role.”

Those roles were designed by Head Coach Don Nelson.

“Some of those guys might have been able to do more individually on other teams,” Bridgeman said, “but I think that was the magic of it all … whenever anyone came here, Nellie just had a way of getting people to fit in and do what he wanted them to do for the betterment of the team.

“I think that was his tremendous strength as a coach, and I think a lot of people overlook that. He was so innovative. He brought in Paul Pressey as a point forward. When they changed the rules, he’d put two people at half-court and play a three-on-three game. Over the years, I think it’s kind of gotten lost, but Nellie was a great innovator.”

Bridgeman played 10 seasons in Milwaukee (1975-84, ’86-87) and participated in the playoffs in eight of those campaigns. He started in only 105 of the team-record 711 games he played in a Bucks uniform, but he scored in double figures for eight straight seasons, consistently appearing atop the list of the NBA’s highest scoring non-starters.

He was the league’s top-scoring sixth man in 1978-79, averaging 15.5 points per game, and established a career high in points the following year by posting a 17.6 scoring average. In the 1980-81 season, Bridgeman tallied 16.8 points as Milwaukee reached the 60-win plateau for the fourth time in team history.

Bridgeman had the skills to start for virtually any team in the NBA, but he bought into his sixth-man role and excelled at it.

“A lot of it had to do with Don Nelson,” he said. “There aren’t many guys who come into the league saying, ‘I want to come off the bench.’ They all have aspirations of starting. But ‘Nellie’ -- and a lot of this comes from the role he played with the Celtics -- really knew how to use that sixth- or seventh-man position. They weren’t viewed as starters and subs; they were all equally important to the team.

“’Nellie’ did that here, and that made it a lot easier to accept that role. And then it was just mentally preparing yourself to go into the game. You couldn’t say, ‘Well, I need 3 for 4 minutes to warm up.’ What I tried to do was go in, get into the flow and run as hard as I could from the first time I set foot on the floor. That helped me a lot. More importantly, that was a role that was looked upon as being just as important in the success of the team as any other role.”

Bridgeman ranks as one of the most accurate jump-shooters and free-throw shooters in Bucks history, and his Milwaukee career intersected with those of a number of others. They learned how to complement each other.

“We would always play H-O-R-S-E and games like that after practice,” Bridgeman recalled. “I don’t remember a time when anyone ever challenged anyone else or thought they were a better shooter than anyone on the team, though.

“I would tell everybody, and still do to this day, that I believe that in terms of pure form in shooting the basketball, Jon McGlocklin was probably one of the best I’ve ever seen.

“For being able to just shoot the basketball during a game and the ability to score, I’d give it to Brian Winters. He could come off picks and square himself up, or shoot that runner. In my mind, he was a better shooter than I was, and he made me a better shooter just by talking about shooting during games, or talking about shooting form. It was never really a competition between us; it was always more how you could help the other person.”

Bridgeman and his teammates got additional help from other sources, too – over 11,000 of them every time the Bucks played at home.

“You always have to go back to the old Milwaukee Arena,” he said. “It only held a little over 11,000, and I don’t think there was a bad seat in the place. Even though it was an old venue and doesn’t compare to the modern-day arenas, it was a great place to play in.

“What made it great were the fans. I remember it becoming so loud during the playoffs that you couldn’t even hear yourself think in there. I remember the first row behind the bench was so close. ‘Nellie’ would call a timeout and the guys would be sitting on the bench, and as he got ready to talk, you’d see the fans in the front row leaning over to hear exactly what he was going to say.

“I remember the painting of the floor -- that unique design. Things like that were special and unique. If you really feel there’s such a thing as a home-court advantage in the pros, I always felt we had that at the Arena.”

During his playing career, Bridgeman also worked as a sales and public relations representative for Howard Johnson in Milwaukee. He held a position with Towers, Perrin, Crosby Insurance Consultants in Milwaukee. He served as a player representative with the NBA Players Association, was directly involved in arbitration proceedings and also assisted with the implementation of special programs such as career alternatives, fitness and wellness, and financial planning. During his time with the Players Association, he held the title of treasurer for three years and president for four years.

He has continued to apply his outstanding leadership skills ever since.

Bridgeman is the owner and President of Manna, Inc. and ERJ Inc., which oversees the administration and operation of 163 Wendy’s Old Fashioned Hamburger Restaurants in five states and 105 Chili’s Restaurants in seven states. The restaurants presently employ approximately 12,000 employees.

“We knew that at the end of our careers, whether we played five or 10 years or whatever, we’d have to continue to make a living,” Bridgeman said. “We were not going to be able to retire and say, ‘We’ll, I’ve got enough cash to live without doing anything.’ Basketball was obviously our No. 1 occupation, but we had to prepare yourself for life after the game.”

That life has rewarded Bridgeman.

“People think that the business world is different, or that the principles are different, but in a lot of ways, it’s really very similar to basketball,” he said. “We won as a team back then, and it’s the same way in the business world. Yeah, you can have a one-man shop where everything depends upon you, but I’ve kind of applied the same principles where it’s a team, and as we grow, everybody benefits as a team and uplifts their position in life. You just keep providing opportunities for other people.

“It’s just kind of amazing how it just continues to grow, to snowball. I’ve been very fortunate, very blessed, all these years, but it really does go back to those same principles from playing basketball.

“At the end of the game, we knew whether we did a good job by if we won or lost. In the restaurant business, you knew whether or not you did a good job by if the customer is happy or not happy. And if you had a bad day, tomorrow’s another day, so let’s do a better job tomorrow. That’s the same way it was in the sporting world.”

A family man through and through, Bridgeman has been married to his wife Doris for over 30 years.

“We’ve got three kids,” he said. “Our older son, Justin, probably had the best hand-eye coordination and quickness, but playing sports wasn’t something that excited him. The younger son, Ryan, played basketball in high school, but was a little better at track, and he ran track in college. He was a graduate assistant track coach at the University of Louisville. Eden, our daughter, is a senior in college and is into all the things most girls are into -- modeling and so forth.

“We’ve been very blessed, very fortunate.”

Bridgeman has the same sentiments when he reviews his years with the Bucks. He was humbled when his No. 2 jersey was retired on Jan. 17, 1988, and he will no doubt be humbled again by that jersey’s rededication this weekend.

“I’m sure it’ll bring back a lot of memories,” he said. “I’m sure it will be an exciting time, and a little emotional time, too.

“I’m so appreciative. It seems like that time frame of your life when you were playing went by overnight. I’m really proud to have been a part of what we achieved in Milwaukee.”