Cunningham, "Billy" (William J.)
Basketball
b. June 3, 1943, Brooklyn, NY
Known as the "Kangaroo Kid" because of his great jumping ability, Cunningham starred at the University of North Carolina and was named to a few All-American teams in 1965, though he was generally overshadowed by Bill Bradley and Rick Barry. He scored 1,709 points and had 1,062 rebounds in his college career.
The 6-foot-7, 220-pound forward was the first draft choice of the Philadelphia 76ers, who won the NBA championship in his second season, 1966-67. Cunningham jumped to the Carolina Cougars of the American Basketball Association in 1972 and was the league's player of the year in his first season there.
He returned to the 76ers in 1974 and was forced to retire after the 1975-76 season with a knee injury. He became coach of the team in 1977, remaining through 1984-85. In his 11 seasons as a player, he scored 16,310 points, averaging 21.2 a game, and had 7,981 rebounds. He was named a first-team all-star three years in a row, 1969-71.
As a coach, Cunningham had 454 regular season victories against only 196 losses. His teams won 66 playoff games and lost 29.