![]() Godfrey, c. 1968 | |
Personal information | |
---|---|
Born | Aspermont, Texas, U.S. | September 21, 1944
Died | November 17, 2024 80) Hamlin, Texas, U.S. | (aged
Listed height | 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) |
Career information | |
High school | Aspermont (Aspermont, Texas) |
College | Abilene Christian (1964–1968) |
NBA draft | 1968: 14th round, 178th overall pick |
Selected by the Los Angeles Lakers | |
Position | Shooting guard |
Coaching career | 1974–1993 |
Career history | |
As coach: | |
1974–1991 | Iraan HS (girls') |
1991–1993 | Hawley HS (girls') |
Career highlights and awards | |
| |
Stats at Basketball Reference |
John Ray Godfrey (September 21, 1944 – November 17, 2024) was an American basketball player. He played college basketball for the Abilene Christian Wildcats and was selected as the Southland Conference Player of the Year in 1968. Godfrey's number 14 was the first jersey number retired by the Wildcats. He did not play professionally and instead worked as a high school coach and administrator.
Godfrey was born in Aspermont, Texas, on September 21, 1944, to parents Olen Byron and Ina Mae (née McNutt) Godfrey. [1] He lived on a farm where he began playing basketball as a child by using a goal erected on his family's garage. [2]
Godfrey attended Aspermont High School in Aspermont. [3] [4] He played on the basketball team where he was coached by his brother-in-law, William Teel. [2] Godfrey also participated in track. [2]
Godfrey played for the Abilene Christian Wildcats from 1964 to 1968 as a shooting guard. [5] Godfrey was selected as a member of the second-team Division II All-American team in 1967 and the third-team in 1968. [6] He was awarded as the Southland Player of the Year in 1968 and was a three-time member of the All-Southland Conference team. [4] Godfrey scored 1,467 points during his Wildcats career and ranks 11th in program history. [7]
Godfrey was selected as the 178th overall pick of the 1968 NBA draft by the Los Angeles Lakers. [8] He was also selected by the Houston Mavericks in the first round of the 1968 American Basketball Association (ABA) draft. [9] [10] On July 3, 1968, Godfrey signed with the Mavericks, [11] but he returned home to become a teacher. [12] He was invited to a tryout with the United States basketball team for the 1968 Summer Olympics. [13]
Godfrey was inducted into the Abilene Christian University Sports Hall of Fame in 1989 and the Big Country Athletic Hall of Fame in 2011. [4] [14] His number 14 was retired by the Wildcats men's basketball team in 2018 as the first jersey number retirement by the program. [7]
Godfrey worked as a high school coach and administrator for 35 years. [5]
Godfrey was the head coach of the girls' basketball team at Iraan High School for 17 years and compiled a record of 364–185. [15] In 1991, he was appointed as head coach of the girls' team at Hawley High School. [15] Godfrey was named as principal of Hawley Elementary School in 1993 and then promoted to superintendent in 1995. [16] He left the position in 2002 to become an elementary principal in the Aspermont Independent School District. [17] Godfrey was promoted to district superintendent in 2003. [18]
Godfrey married his high school classmate, Barbara Smith, in 1962. [1] They had two children. [1]
Godfrey died in Hamlin, Texas, on November 17, 2024, at the age of 80. [19] He was predeceased by his daughter. [1]
GP | Games played | GS | Games started | MPG | Minutes per game |
FG% | Field goal percentage | 3P% | 3-point field goal percentage | FT% | Free throw percentage |
RPG | Rebounds per game | APG | Assists per game | SPG | Steals per game |
BPG | Blocks per game | PPG | Points per game | Bold | Career high |
Year | Team | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1964–65 | Abilene Christian | 19 | – | – | .635 | – | .813 | 1.7 | – | – | – | 9.2 |
1965–66 | Abilene Christian | 28 | – | – | .496 | – | .697 | 3.4 | – | – | – | 12.1 |
1966–67 | Abilene Christian | 22 | – | – | .463 | – | .797 | 4.5 | – | – | – | 17.5 |
1967–68 | Abilene Christian | 24 | – | – | .515 | – | .685 | 4.7 | – | – | – | 23.8 |
Career | 93 | – | – | .506 | – | .733 | 3.6 | – | – | – | 15.8 |
Wallace Bullington, known as Coach Bully, was an American football player, coach, and college athletics administrator. He served Abilene Christian University in Abilene, Texas for 39 years as football player, assistant football coach, head football coach and athletic director before he retired from the university's athletic staff in 1988, but not before leading the school to its first national championship in 1973.
Abilene Christian University (ACU) is a private Christian university in Abilene, Texas. It was founded in 1906 as Childers Classical Institute. It is affiliated with Churches of Christ.
Abilene Christian Wildcats refers to the sports teams of Abilene Christian University located in Abilene, Texas. The Wildcats joined the Western Athletic Conference (WAC) on July 1, 2021, after having spent the previous eight years in the Southland Conference. The nickname "Wildcat" is derived from the mascot of the team.
The Abilene Christian Wildcats men's basketball team represents Abilene Christian University (ACU) in Abilene, Texas, United States. The Wildcats joined the Western Athletic Conference (WAC) on July 1, 2021, after having spent the previous eight years in the Southland Conference. Before this move, ACU's most recent conference change was in the 2013 offseason, when the Wildcats made the jump to NCAA Division I and rejoined the Southland Conference after a 40-year absence. They are led by head coach Brette Tanner and play their home games at Moody Coliseum.
The 2013 Abilene Christian Wildcats football team represented Abilene Christian University in the 2013 NCAA Division I FCS football season. Led by second-year head coach Ken Collums, the Wildcats compiled a record of 6–5. Abilene Christian played their home games at Shotwell Stadium in Abilene, Texas.
The Abilene Christian Wildcats women's basketball team represents Abilene Christian University (ACU) in Abilene, Texas. ACU joined the Western Athletic Conference on July 1, 2021, after eight seasons in the Southland Conference. The Wildcats are currently coached by Julie Goodenough.
Joseph Charles Golding is an American basketball coach and former player. He is currently the head men's basketball coach at the University of Texas at El Paso, having previously served in the same capacity at Abilene Christian University, where he played point guard from 1994 to 1998.
Britt Bonneau is an American college baseball coach who had been the head coach at Abilene Christian (ACU) from 1997 to the competition of the 2018 season. Under Bonneau, ACU played in nine NCAA Tournaments. Previously, he was an assistant at UTSA, Lubbock Christian, and Abilene Christian. Bonneau played professional baseball in the mid-1990s after playing college baseball at Lubbock Christian and Oklahoma.
The 2014–15 Abilene Christian Wildcats men's basketball team represented Abilene Christian University during the 2014–15 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Wildcats were led by fourth year head coach Joe Golding and played their home games at the Moody Coliseum. They are members of the Southland Conference. Abilene Christian, in their second year of DII to DI transition, was not eligible for the Southland Tournament, but was a counter for scheduling purposes and was also considered as a DI RPI member.
The 2014–15 Abilene Christian Wildcats women's basketball team represented Abilene Christian University during the 2014–15 NCAA Division I women's basketball season. The Wildcats were led by third year head coach Julie Goodenough and played their home games at the Moody Coliseum. This was the second year of a 4-year transition phase from D2 to D1, In the second year of transition, Abilene Christian could not participate in the Southland Tournament, but will be a Division I counter and will be part of the Division I rpi calculation. The Wildcats will play a full conference schedule in 2014–15. Although not eligible for the Southland Conference and NCAA tournament, the Wildcats were able to participate in the WNIT or WBI tournaments if invited.
James Ellis Lindsey was an American college and professional football quarterback. He played college football at Abilene Christian College, where he broke the NCAA career records for both passing yards and total offense. He later played professional football in the Canadian Football League (CFL) from 1971 to 1974 and helped lead the 1971 Calgary Stampeders to the Grey Cup championship.
The 2015–16 Abilene Christian Wildcats men's basketball team represented Abilene Christian University during the 2015–16 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Wildcats were led by fifth year head coach Joe Golding and played their home games at the Moody Coliseum. They were members of the Southland Conference. The Wildcats finished the season with a record of 13–18, 8–10 in Southland play to finish in seventh place.
The 2016–17 Abilene Christian Wildcats men's basketball team represented Abilene Christian University during the 2016–17 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Wildcats were led by sixth-year head coach Joe Golding and played their home games at the Moody Coliseum in Abilene, Texas as members of the Southland Conference. They finished the season 13–16, 7–11 in Southland play to finish in a five-way tie for eighth place.
The 2017–18 Abilene Christian Wildcats men's basketball team represented Abilene Christian University during the 2017–18 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Wildcats were led by seventh-year head coach Joe Golding and played their home games at the Moody Coliseum in Abilene, Texas as members of the Southland Conference. They finished the season 16–16, 8–10 in Southland play to finish in a three-way tie for eighth place. They failed to qualify for the Southland tournament. They received an invitation to the CollegeInsider.com Tournament where they lost in the first round to Drake.
The 2020–21 Abilene Christian Wildcats men's basketball team represented Abilene Christian University (ACU) in the 2020–21 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Wildcats, led by tenth-year head coach Joe Golding, were members of the Southland Conference. Due to renovations at their usual home arena of Moody Coliseum, they played their home games on temporary stands and court set up on the indoor tennis courts of the Teague Special Events Center.
Kolton Alan Kohl is an American basketball player. He played college basketball for the Abilene Christian Wildcats.
The 2021–22 Abilene Christian Wildcats men's basketball team represented Abilene Christian University (ACU) in the 2021–22 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Wildcats, led by first-year head coach Brette Tanner, were first-year members of the Western Athletic Conference. Due to renovations at their usual home arena of Moody Coliseum, they played their home games on temporary stands and court set up on the indoor tennis courts of the Teague Special Events Center.
The 1977 Abilene Christian Wildcats football team was an American football team that represented Abilene Christian University (ACU) as a member of the Lone Star Conference (LSC) during the 1977 NAIA Division I football season. In their first season under head coach DeWitt Jones, the Wildcats compiled an 11–1–1 record and tied for the LSC championship. They advanced to the NAIA playoff, defeating Wisconsin–Stevens Point (35–7) in the seminfinals and Southwestern Oklahoma State (24–7) in the Champion Bowl to win the 1977 NAIA Division I football national championship.
Gene Herbert "Chip" Bennett is a former American football linebacker. He played college football for Abilene Christian University where he was selected as a Little All-American in 1969.
The 1968 Abilene Christian Wildcats football team was an American football team that represented Abilene Christian College in the Southland Conference during the 1968 NCAA College Division football season. In their first year under head coach Wally Bullington, the team compiled a 4–5–1 record.