Billy Joe Adcock

Billy Joe Adcock
Personal information
Born(1928-03-26)March 26, 1928
Evansville, Indiana, U.S.
DiedJuly 29, 2022(2022-07-29) (aged 94)
Kirkwood, Missouri, U.S.
Listed height
6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)
Career information
High schoolWest (Nashville, Tennessee)
CollegeVanderbilt (1947–1950)
1950: 8th round, 88th overall pick
Drafted byFort Wayne Pistons
PositionForward / guard
Career highlights
Stats at Basketball Reference Edit this at Wikidata

Billy Joe Adcock (March 26, 1928 – July 29, 2022) was a basketball player for the Vanderbilt Commodores.

Adcock was born in Evansville, Indiana, but his family soon moved to Jackson, Tennessee.

A prominent forward, he was the first player to be awarded a basketball scholarship by the school. He was also the school's first All-American basketball selection, by the Sporting News in 1950. Adcock retired as Vanderbilt's all-time leading scorer. He attended West High School in Nashville, where he was a three-year letterman in football and baseball as well as basketball.

He graduated with a degree in civil engineering. He was drafted by the Fort Wayne Pistons in the 1950 draft but elected to work with the Monsanto Chemical Company, where he worked for 36 years, where he retired as a director of national sales for the company.

For his play as a player, he was inducted into the Tennessee Sports Hall of Fame in 2002 and the Vanderbilt Athletics Hall of Fame in 2013. He died at the age of 94 on July 29, 2022; he was survived by his wife and three children.

References

  1. ↑ "William J. Adcock Obituary". Bopp Chapel. Retrieved September 26, 2026.
  2. 1 2 Bill Traughber (October 16, 2012). Vanderbilt Basketball: Tales of Commodore Hardwood History. ISBN 9781614237242.
  3. ↑ "Billy Joe Adcock Of Vanderbilt Is Leading Scorers". Times Daily. February 9, 1949.
  4. ↑ Huggins, Harold (February 9, 2011). "Extra efforts paid off in Hall of Fame career for former Vanderbilt great". Nashville City Paper. Archived from the original on October 3, 2015. Retrieved October 2, 2015.
  5. ↑ "2013-14 Vanderbilt Men's Basketball Fact Book by Vanderbilt Commodores". ISSUU. Retrieved October 2, 2015.
  6. ↑ "Retired Monsanto leader recalls years as Vanderbilt basketball standout". engineering.vanderbilt.edu. Vanderbilt School of Engineering. March 25, 2014. Retrieved October 2, 2015.
  7. ↑ "Retired Monsanto leader recalls years as Vanderbilt basketball standout". Vanderbilt University School of Engineering. Retrieved September 26, 2026.
  8. ↑ "Adcock, Billy Joe « Tennessee Sports Hall of Fame". Tennessee Sports Hall of Fame. Retrieved October 2, 2015.
  9. ↑ "2013 Vanderbilt Athletic Hall of Fame". Vanderbilt Commodores. Retrieved September 26, 2026.
  10. ↑ "Billy Joe Adcock, BE'50: 'Dores Basketball Hall of Famer". Vanderbilt News. November 4, 2022. Retrieved September 26, 2026.