Junior Bridgeman enrolled at the University of Louisville in 1972 as one of Coach Denny Crum’s prized basketball recruits. He would far exceed Denny’s expectations, becoming a guiding force in leading UofL to a memorable Final Four experience. But that was only the beginning of what would become a lifelong commitment to the university.
For the long-term diehard basketball fans, Bridgeman is remembered as one of the leaders of one of the all-time favorite UofL teams. He, along with Allen Murphy, Phil Bond, Bill Bunton, Rick Wilson and Terry Howard would take Louisville into the Final Four before losing to UCLA in overtime during the 1974-75 season. That team was 28-3 and Bridgeman was the most valuable player in the Missouri Valley Conference.
For UofL administrators and trustees, Bridgeman provided the steady hand of leadership as Chairman of the Board from 2003 through the 2005 academic year. He returned a decade later for a couple of years before demands of newly-acquired Coca-Cola bottling company pulled him away from the university.
Over a dozen seasons with Milwaukee Bucks, Bridgeman scored 11,517 points, crediting the coaching he received from Crum and his staff for his success.
This Observer always felt that it was unfortunate that Bridgeman was not elected Chairman again when Governor Matt Bevin reconstituted the UofL Board of Trustees in 2016. That position went to local financier G. David Grissom, who with assistance of individuals like Papa John’s founder John Schnatter and Governor Bevin, were responsible for the departures of Athletic Director Tom Jurich and Basketball Coach Rick Pitino, later exonerated by other governing entities.
The university’s athletic department was doing extremely well, a prime example of how successful UofL would be in other endeavors. The school was just two years from having been invited to the prestigious Atlantic Coast Conference. The heavy-handed moves Grissom, Schnatter and Bevin showed little understanding of that significance.
One couldn’t conceive of Bridgeman making such a mistake, knowing that UofL’s entry into the ACC could never have happened without Jurich. At one point, UofL was threatened with the loss of its accreditation by key governing bodies. No one could ever convince this Observer that that would have happened under the leadership of Junior Bridgeman.
Junior remained faithful to the school long after the misguided and narrow-minded interlopers had departed, continuing to invest in the school.
For many professional basketball players, he set an example of how players could contribute to their communities by saving and investing their money wisely. He would become one of the most successful businessmen to ever play in the National Basketball Association.
As Forbes noted:
Throughout his 12-year career, his top salary was $350,000, but after retiring in 1987 he made smart investments, acquiring more than 450 fast-food franchises, including Wendy’s, Chili’s, and Pizza Hut, before acquiring a Coca-Cola bottling company in 2016 and selling nearly half of his restaurant holdings. In September, Bridgeman’s story came full circle when he acquired a 10% stake in the Milwaukee Bucks.”
He also served on the board of the Louisville Arena Authority, which helped to secure the financing for what would become the KFC Yum! Center, opening for the 2011-12 season. He never missed a meeting despite his pressing business obligations and the arena would not be as comprehensive without his involvement.
In another local endeavor, Bridgeman was part of a group of four longtime Valhalla Golf Club members — along with Jimmy Kirchdorfer, David Novak and Ches Musselman — who purchased the club from the PGA of America in 2022. He also served on the boards of the WHAS Crusade for Children, the Louisville Free Public Library and numerous other local organizations.
One of this final acts was serving as a guest speaker at a meeting of the Lincoln Heritage Council of the Boy Scouts of America, collapsing while making his remarks.
He was a genuine and caring individual, devoted to making Louisville and his university the best that they could be. All UofL supporters and fans, along with the entire community, owe him a tremendous debt of gratitude for his sacrifices, his time and his investments in the city he loved so much.
