When Mike Monagan received a phone call informing him that Junior Bridgeman was gone, he wept uncontrollably.

“There were just no words,” Monagan said.

Bridgeman was fit, trim, and active. So the news that he died unexpectedly in Louisville on March 11 was shocking. He was 71.

Bridgeman’s life had so many layers that it’s hard to know where to start.

If your life is one continuous exam, then Bridgeman aced it. He was basketball royalty, a hall-of-fame businessman, and a world-class father and husband.

When people talked about Bridgeman, they didn’t just say nice things about him.

They gushed about his work ethic and humility. Bridgeman was a steady, unsung sixth man for the Milwaukee Bucks, averaging 13.6 points over 12 years.

Basketball, however, was an afterthought for him when he retired after the 1987 season.In September, Bridgeman bought a 10% stake in the Bucks. Forbes reported that Bridgeman was worth $1.4 billion.

Bridgeman started his business empire by opening a string of fast-food restaurants, mostly Wendy’s. He owned more than 450 fast-food franchises at one time, according to ESPN.com. He also owned a network of Coca-Cola bottling distributors. Recently, he bought Ebony and Jet Magazine. Bridgeman is one of four NBA players who are billionaires. The other three are Michael Jordan, LeBron James and Magic Johnson. Bridgeman made his fortune without ever making more than $350,000 in one NBA season. James is being paid over $48 million this season.

Bridgeman was an unofficial spokesperson for financial literacy for NBA players.

For a generation of people who grew up in East Chicago, Bridgeman was a real-life hero.

He learned how to run his Wendy’s franchise by working in them. Bridgeman would often stop at one of his stores, and dish out fries and burgers from the drive-thru and ask customers what they liked and didn’t like.

Bridgeman always wanted to do good and be better.

One of the stories he told was about how he wanted to be a Boy Scout when he was a kid but his parents couldn’t afford the $1.25 fee. He never forgot it.

Sadiqa Reynolds, the former CEO of the Louisville Urban League, thinks that experience may have fueled Bridgeman’s many philanthropic endeavors.

“I think it’s interesting that what he could not do as a child influenced his desire to give back,” Reynolds said. “How many children have had their lives changed because he existed?”

Reynolds pointed to the creation of the Norton Healthcare Sports and Learning Center, which is located in one of Louisville’s most economically disadvantaged neighborhoods.

“He was one of the earliest supporters of the project, and he loved it,” Reynolds said.

He stayed involved with the project, attracting investors and hosting fundraisers, and his son Ryan Bridgeman served on the planning committee.

“We’d all have to get so many people together for them to explain all that he did because he just refused to make his efforts public,” Reynolds said.

Growing up in the Harbor

His quiet rise to the top started in the Indiana Harbor.

Monagan was Bridgeman’s teammate on the legendary 1971 East Chicago Washington team. The Senators (29-0) averaged 91.5 points per game in their state championship, with an average margin of victory nearly 30 points.

It was a team for the ages.

Tim Stoddard, their center, played basketball and baseball at North Carolina State. Stoddard spent 14 seasons in Major League Baseball, most of them with the Orioles.

Pete Trgovich, the leading scorer for the Senators, played at UCLA for legendary coach John Wooden.

The top seven players from that team played Division I basketball. Trgovich averaged 22 points, Bridgeman 17, Stoddard 13 and guards Darnell Adell and Ruben Bailey each averaged 14 points

Monagan, who was a year younger than Bridgeman, had the unfortunate task of trying to guard him in practice during the state championship season.

“It was difficult,” Monagan said. “He was very methodical. He was hard to block out. He was well-rounded. He was just a great high school basketball player.”

Pete Auksel, who was an assistant coach for the 1971 team, said Bridgeman, who was 6-foot-5, developed into a polished player. Auksel said Bridgeman was unsure of himself as a freshman.

“He was so nervous,” Auksel said. “His nervousness hindered him from being on the varsity. I told him, ‘Relax. You’re playing basketball’.”

By the time Bridgemen was a senior, he was outstanding. Many of Bridgeman’s points came from offensive rebounds. He had a knack for finding the ball. Bridgeman’s improvement was so dramatic that Auksel almost couldn’t believe it.

“He was a garbage man,” Auksel said.

Stoddard said he was “shocked” to hear of Bridgeman’s death.

“He was just in tremendous shape,” Stoddard said. “He took good care of himself.”

Back then, the EC Washington team was like the League of Nations. A generation of immigrants and transplants had settled there because of the mills. Inland Steel, which employed 25,000 people at one time, was in East Chicago.

Bridgeman’s father worked in the mill. There were Greeks, Hispanics, Blacks, Croatians and Serbians who all played for ECW. It was a melting pot of nationalities.

Bridgeman, reserved and quiet, never drew attention to himself. He just wanted to fit in and contribute.

“He just had a great attitude,” Auksel said.

While Trgovich went to UCLA, Bridgeman was one of Denny Crum’s first recruits at the University of Louisville. Crum, who was an assistant to Wooden, had seen Bridgeman play while he was at UCLA recruiting Trgovich.

Bridgeman averaged 15.4 points at Louisville. He helped them get to the Final Four in 1975, where they lost to UCLA, 75-74.

‘A polished diamond’

Bridgeman was originally drafted by the Los Angeles Lakers with the eighth pick in the 1975 draft, but he was then traded to Milwaukee in a trade that brought Kareem Abdul-Jabbar to the Lakers. He played for the Bucks and Los Angeles Clippers between 1975 and 1987.

His death was felt around the NBA.

NBA Commissioner Adam Silver said of Bridgman, “I am devastated to learn of the sudden passing of Junior Bridgeman. Junior was the ultimate entrepreneur who built on his impactful 12-year NBA playing career by becoming a highly respected and successful business leader.”

On Instagram, Magic Johnson wrote: “I’m saddened to hear of the passing of my friend Junior Bridgeman. I had the privilege of playing against him, and I’ll never forget how he had one of the sweetest jump shots in the NBA. But it was his character, his kindness, and his gentle soul that truly left a lasting impression on me. He was one of the nicest guys you would ever want to meet.”

It seems unreal that a humble, quiet kid from the Harbor could grow up to be a billionaire.

To those who knew him, though, it wasn’t a surprise.

“He wasn’t a diamond in the rough but a polished diamond when he passed away,” Auksel said. “I felt so bad about it (his death). I love all those players.”

Bridgeman is survived by his wife, Doris, and children Eden, Justin and Ryan.

A public Celebration of Life will take place for Bridgeman at 11 a.m. Eastern time Saturday at Southeast Christian Church, located at 920 Blankenbaker Pkwy., in Louisville.

Michael Hutton is a freelance columnist for the Post-Tribune.