Harthorne Wingo

Harthorne Wingo
Wingo with the Allentown Jets in 1971
Personal information
Born(1947-10-09)October 9, 1947
Tryon, North Carolina, U.S.
DiedJanuary 23, 2021(2021-01-23) (aged 73)
New York City, New York, U.S.
Listed height6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)
Listed weight210 lb (95 kg)
Career information
High school
  • Edmund Embry
    (Tryon, North Carolina)
  • Tryon (Tryon, North Carolina)
CollegeFriendship JC (1965–1966)
NBA draft1969: undrafted
Playing career1968–1980
PositionPower forward
Number43
Career history
1968–1969New Haven Elms
1970–1973Allentown Jets
1973–1976New York Knicks
1976–1978Pallacanestro Cantu
1978–1980Superga Mestre
Career highlights
Stats at NBA.com 
Stats at Basketball Reference 

Harthorne Nathaniel Wingo (October 9, 1947 – January 23, 2021) was an American professional basketball player.[1]

Early life

Wingo was raised in Tryon, North Carolina, as one of 14 children.[2] He was named after his father, Nathaniel Harthorne Wingo,[2] who was named after the writer Nathaniel Hawthorne.[3] His family's house was too small for all of the children so Wingo lived with his grandmother across the street while some of his other siblings lived with a neighbor.[2] Wingo attended Edmund Embry High School for three years and then became one of the 15 black students who integrated Tryon High School during his senior year.[2]

Wingo was recruited by Bones McKinney to play basketball for Wake Forest but his grades were not sufficient.[2] He instead attended Friendship Junior College but did not receive any financial aid and only stayed for a year.[2]

Wingo worked as a soft-drink cooler assembler while he played for a steel mill team based in Spartanburg, South Carolina.[2] He was told about playground basketball in New York and decided to move there in 1968.[2] Wingo lived with an aunt and worked a job pushing clothes racks.[2] He played basketball in Greenwich Village near where he worked and developed his basketball skills.[2]

Professional career

Harthorne played for the New Haven Elms in the Eastern Professional Basketball League (EPBL) during the 1968–69 season.[4] He played for the Allentown Jets from 1970 to 1973.[4] He won an EBA championship with the Jets in 1972.[5] Wingo was selected as the EBA Most Valuable Player and a member of the All-EBA First Team in 1972.[4]

On February 2, 1973, Wingo was signed by the New York Knicks of the National Basketball Association (NBA).[6] He played four seasons (1973–1976) in the NBA as a member of the Knicks. He averaged 4.8 points and 3.5 rebounds in his career and won a league championship in 1973.

After the 1975–76 season he moved to Italy and played with Pallacanestro Cantu (1976–1978), with whom he won the European Cup Winner's Cup twice, and Superga Mestre (1978–1980).[7]

Personal life and death

After his playing career ended, Wingo had financial trouble and developed a cocaine addiction.[8] The National Basketball Retired Players Association (NBRPA) helped him overcome his addiction by paying for his rehabilitation.[8] Wingo took out his entire pension from the NBRPA when he was aged 45 which he spent on buying a house for his family in North Carolina, a car and "having a good time."[8] In 2004, Wingo lived in a one-bedroom apartment in Brooklyn.[8] He had arthritis, high blood pressure, liver problems and neuropathy in his feet, and required a right hip replacement.[8]

Wingo died in New York City in 2021 at the age of 73.[9][10]

Career statistics

Legend
  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
 †  Won an NBA championship

NBA

Source[11]

Regular season

Year Team GP GS MPG FG% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
1972–73† New York 1304.5.409.3331.2.11.5
1973–74 New York 6008.9.477.6322.8.4.1.23.5
1974–75 New York 821020.6.460.7545.61.0.6.47.4
1975–76 New York 5709.4.442.6671.9.3.3.13.2
Career 2121013.3.459.7023.5.6.4.34.8

Playoffs

Year Team GP MPG FG% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
1973† New York 34.0.385.5002.3.03.7
1974 New York 53.2.545–.6.2.2.02.4
1975 New York 325.3.435.7007.32.31.3.09.0
Career 119.5.447.6672.9.7.6.04.5

Notes

  1. ↑ "Harthorne Nathaniel Wingo". Ulysses D. Miller Funeral Service, Inc. Retrieved May 28, 2021.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Anderson, Dave (March 28, 1973). "Harthorne Wingo: Really Popular With Knicks' Fans". Post-Bulletin. p. 52. Retrieved June 14, 2026 – via Newspapers.com.
  3. ↑ O'Day, Joe (April 11, 1973). "People's Choice Wingo–Loves Those Knick Fans". Daily News. p. 320. Retrieved June 14, 2026 – via Newspapers.com.
  4. 1 2 3 "Harthorne Wingo minor league basketball statistics". Stats Crew. Retrieved February 10, 2025.
  5. ↑ "1971-72 Allentown Jets Statistics". Stats Crew. Retrieved March 5, 2025.
  6. ↑ "Knicks Purchase Allentown Center". The Times. February 2, 1973. p. 27. Retrieved June 14, 2026 – via Newspapers.com.
  7. ↑ "Lega A Basket". Archived from the original on September 30, 2007. Retrieved September 1, 2007.
  8. 1 2 3 4 5 Wise, Mike (July 1, 2004). "NBA retirees look for assist". The Capital Times. p. 24. Retrieved June 14, 2026 – via Newspapers.com.
  9. ↑ Sandomir, Richard (January 26, 2021). "Harthorne Wingo, 1970s Knick With Much-Chanted Name, Dies at 73". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved February 14, 2021.
  10. ↑ Harthorne Wingo, Polk County's only NBA player, passes away at 73
  11. ↑ "Harthorne Wingo NBA stats". Basketball Reference. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved January 13, 2025.
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