In a cold in Minneapolis, Minnesota, 6'7" inch, 235 pound, Maurice Stokes, who was on the verge of becoming the National Basketball Association's first black American super star.
Stokes and Minneapolis Laker star, Vern Mikkelsen, 6'7" 230 pounds collided under the basket as Stokes drove in for a layup. Stokes was knocked unconscious when his head struck the court. He was revived with smelling salts. There were no concussion protocols on March 12, 1958 the night of the collision. It was the last day of the regular season and the newly relocated Cincinnati Royals qualified for the playoffs.
Stokes scored 12 points and collected 15 rebounds just slightly below his season average.
According to teammate Dave Piontek, a Xavier University, graduate, his teammates didn't think a lot of the injury until he collapsed on the flight back to Cincinnati.
“After the game,” Piontek said, “Mo said he didn’t feel well. Still, none of us thought too much about it.”
Stokes had a late snack across the street from the Sheraton-Cadillac, and, like most of his teammates, had a couple of beers with his meal. On the bus ride to the airport, though, he again complained of feeling ill.
“We opened the window for him so he could get some air,” Piontek said, “and we didn’t have time to do anything. Rickie Regan and Dick Ricketts and I literally carried Mo onto the plane.”
Stokes was settled in a seat in the rear of the plane. “Some of the fellows thought maybe he had a little too much beer,” Piontek said. “You know, the last game of the season and all that. And they were staying away from him so he wouldn’t be too conspicuous. You know, the owners of the team (the Harrison brothers, Jack and Les) were on the plane. And so was Maurice Podoloff, the president of the league.”
It wasn’t long after the take-off that Stokes again vomited. His breathing became labored. “I knew then that it was more than an upset stomach,” Miss Phillips recalls. That’s when she began giving him oxygen.
“By now,” she said, “we were too far away to return to Detroit. We knew, too, that there was a hospital near the Greater Cincinnati airport. So we radioed ahead to have an ambulance waiting.“
Stokes was carried off the plane to the waiting ambulance, which rushed him to St. Elizabeth’s Hospital in Covington, Ky., just across the river from Cincinnati. “I’ll never forget that sight,” Piontek said. “Mo was dripping perspiration. It had soaked all the way through his suit.”
Later, as many as 15 ice packs were applied to Stokes’ body in an effort to reduce his temperature. Pepper Wilson will never forget Stokes’ early days in St. Elizabeth’s. “It really shook you up,” he said, “to see a fellow like Stokes lying there helpless, not being able to even talk or move. He wanted to ‘get to you’ but he couldn’t. And when he realized this, tears came into his eyes. It really shook a guy up.”
During those early days, Stokes was fed with tubes leading into each nostril. There was another tube in his mouth to handle the saliva. And a fourth tube was placed in his neck to enable him to breathe. His weight dipped below 200 pounds.
A flight attended probably preserved Stoke's life by administering oxygen. When the plane landed in Northern Kentucky, Stokes was rushed to St. Elizabeth Hospital until he could be moved to Good Samaratin Hospital in Clifton.
This is where former Bearcat, Jack Twyman, entered the picture. Twyman looked after Stokes, who could not talk or raise his arms. Twyman became his legal guardian with the permission of Stokes family in Pennsylvania. Twyman was also a native of the Pittsburgh area.
Twyman raised money for Stokes and eventually organized an NBA all-star game for Stokes' benefit. A pro-am golf tournament including NBA players was also organized to help Stokes. Even today the event goes to help other NBA players in need.
Twyman helped Stokes obtain workers compensation benefits and taught him how to communicate by blinking his eyes. Later, when Stokes had advanced enough to type, his first message was, "Dear Jack, How can I ever thank you?"
Twyman played 11 years in the NBA. He and Wilt Chamberlain were the first two players to average 20-points a game. His number 27 has been retired by both the University of Cincinnati and the Sacramento Kings, who is the same franchise as the Rochester/Cincinnati Royals.
Stokes died in 1970, spending 12 years as a quadriplegic.
Twyman accepted on Stokes' behalf when he was named to the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame in 2004.
"You made it big fella," Twyman said.
In 2013, the NBA announced the Twyman-Stokes Teammate of the Year award, one year after Twyman's death in 2012 at the age of 78 from blood cancer. The tribute also honors the Barett Cancer Center at UC.
"That's what friends are for," a humble Twyman once said about his caring for his teammate. "We learned a lot from him. We are honored to have the opportunity to be associated with him."
Twyman's son Jay and daughters Julie, Lisa and Michelle were present during halftime of the Bearcats 86-49 win over Nichols State.
Wes Miller, the Bearcats' head coach revealed that Jay Twyman addressed the team this week.
"I hope that someone in this room gets honored in the Naismith Hall of Fame like Jay's dad was but all of us should aspire to be the teammate his dad was. That's even greater."
Miller learned the story since he took over the job at UC four years ago.
"I wasn't familiar at all when I got the job here," Miller said. "I heard of the Twyman-Stokes award and probably heard of the Stokes' Twyman name but I didn't understand the story or know anything about it. I was fortunate and learned a lot about Cincinnati and Cincinnati basketball since I've been here. I was fortunate to learn that story. I thought it was incredibly touching. I was shocked that someone that is passionate about basketball, that I didn't know. If I didn't know, I don't know how many people have heard of it or was unaware of it. This is a great step in the right direction. It's a story that's well beyond basketball, right? It is a story of real friendship; being a great teammate, taking that to the ultimate level. There's a lot more to it."
"It is something regardless of whether you love basketball or sports, any one can relate to this story of humanity. We will continue to try to bring light to that. One of the main characters of this story happens to have his jersey retired here. We talk about being great teammates. That's the example right there of being what a great teammate is."
