By ERIC VICCARO

bnewssports@sbcglobal.net

Temple Tucker remembers a different era in the National Basketball Association.
Back in the late 1950s, the league was barely a blip on the map. There were only eight franchises. And the NBA Draft certainly wasn’t covered like it is today.
The Philadelphia Warriors drafted Tucker in the fourth round with the 29th pick in 1958. He didn’t see his selection on some television network or a social media service like he would have today.
Tucker said he didn’t know he was drafted until the Philadelphia Warriors gave him a call.
However, a professional basketball career wasn’t meant to be.
“I wasn’t real keen on pro ball,” Tucker said in an interview with The Bowie News on Thursday morning. “I was not excited at the prospects of income. I didn’t like the idea of playing two or three games of week.”
Tucker, who is a proud member of the Bowie Hall of Honor, said the top salary back in those days belonged to St. Louis Hawk Bob Pettit ($25,000).
The Warriors offered Tucker $8,000 per year to start. He was looking for more.
Constant travel didn’t appeal to Tucker, either. See more of this column in the weekend edition of The Bowie News.

Former Bowie High School basketball star Temple Tucker. (Photo courtesy Rice University sports information)