The Mysterious Disappearance of Basketball Player Brisker
The story of John Brisker, one of the ABA and NBA's toughest players, whose life ended in mystery in Uganda, also touches Croatia through his teammate Rudy Tomjanovich.
The story of John Brisker, one of the ABA and NBA's toughest players, whose life ended in mystery in Uganda, also touches Croatia through his teammate Rudy Tomjanovich.
Forty-eight years ago, Khalilah Rashad, mother of John Brisker's youngest child, made her last phone call to him. It was April 11, 1978, and the last time anyone heard the voice of the brilliant basketball player from the sixties and seventies. His disappearance is one of the most mysterious in American history, and all evidence points to him having perished under the regime of the notorious Ugandan dictator Idi Amin, reports Index.hr in its Retrosportiva section.
Born in 1947 in Detroit, Brisker grew up in extreme poverty. His father left when he was five, and his mother, Ernestine, supported the family alone by selling used clothes. When he was eight, his mother suffered a stroke and was left partially paralyzed. The family moved 15 or 20 times because they couldn't pay rent. "I had a lot of reasons to be frustrated, so I'd go outside and shoot the ball to let it out. I tried to forget life in that place through basketball," Brisker said. By age 11, he was working eight-hour shifts, lying to employers about his age, and basketball was his escape from the harsh reality.
In high school at Hamtramck, his teammate was Rudy Tomjanovich, a child of Croatian immigrants and future Houston Rockets legend. Together they dominated the court, and Brisker averaged 24 points and 20 rebounds in his senior year. He also played with Spencer Haywood, a future ABA and NBA star. After high school, he enrolled at the University of Toledo, where the team posted a 23-2 record and made the NCAA tournament. However, he clashed with coach Bob Nichols over what he claimed was racial discrimination. "When I arrived, I saw that some people were against me because of the color of my skin. That changed me. I became hostile," Brisker said. He also led a protest over the poor treatment of Black teammate Bob Miller. In December 1968, during his senior season, he was suspended after just six games and declared academically ineligible. He returned home without a degree but with a stomach ulcer. "If I had stayed there, I would have hurt someone, and then myself," he said.
After going undrafted in the NBA draft in April 1969, he continued his career in the ABA, signing with the Pittsburgh Pipers. He turned down an initial offer of $10,000 a year until they offered $12,500, the league minimum at the time. In his first start, after 15 games off the bench, he scored 42 points. He finished his rookie season averaging 21 points and six rebounds and was named to the All-Rookie Team. He quickly earned the nickname "ABA's Heavyweight Champion." In one of many fights, against Sam Smith of the Kentucky Colonels, Brisker knocked him out with a single punch, and Smith ended up with ten stitches and two fewer teeth. Brisker joked that in his first year, he was in ten or fifteen fights and won them all. "Whenever you defend yourself, someone will call you a bully or a brawler," he said.
Despite his reputation, Brisker shone on the court. In November 1970, he broke the Pittsburgh Civic Arena record with 53 points against the Indiana Pacers, and the very next night added 50 against Texas, totaling 103 points in two games. Although he was only 196 centimeters tall, his combination of aggression and positioning always put him in the right situations. His obsession with money was legendary. When he was selected for the All-Star Game, he chased the league commissioner down the hallway demanding his $300 bonus on the spot. In college, he also played American football and was the team's best tight end, claiming that three NFL teams had contacted him. He also turned down a lucrative offer from Naples to play in Europe because he wanted to compete in America.
After his career ended, Brisker decided in 1978 to start a new life in Africa. His former teammate and friend Spencer Haywood tried to talk him out of it, but Brisker ignored the advice and traveled to Africa in March 1978. According to his brother, he had first visited Africa in 1975.
The last time he spoke with Khalilah Rashad was on April 11, 1978, from Kampala, the capital of Uganda. At that time, the country was ruled by Idi Amin, whose regime fell in April 1979. According to Index, there are several theories about Brisker's fate. Some sources claim he was Amin's bodyguard, mercenary, or boxing partner, while others suggest he changed his identity to escape legal troubles. There is also a version that he survived until the fall of the regime, after which he was executed by the new forces. He was officially declared dead in 1985.
The story of Brisker also has a Croatian dimension through his high school teammate Rudy Tomjanovich, the son of Croatian immigrants. Tomjanovich later became one of the best players for the Houston Rockets and the coach who led them to their only two NBA titles in the mid-nineties.
