Archie Aldridge (born 1954) is an American former professional

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...

player. He played

college basketball College basketball is basketball that is played by teams of Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. In the Higher education in the United States, United States, colleges and universities are governed by collegiate athle ...

for the

Florida State Seminoles The Florida State Seminoles are the athletic teams representing Florida State University (FSU) located in Tallahassee, Florida. They compete as a member of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) NCAA Division I, Division I, prima ...

and

Miami RedHawks The Miami RedHawks are the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) NCAA Division I, Division I intercollegiate athletic teams that represent Miami University in Oxford, Ohio, United States. Miami is a member of the Mid-American Conference ...

. Aldridge was awarded as the Mid-American Conference Player of the Year in 1978 and was a three-time all-conference selection with the RedHawks. He was selected in the

1978 NBA draft The 1978 NBA draft was the 32nd annual NBA draft, draft of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The draft was held on June 9, 1978, at the Plaza Hotel in New York City, New York, before the 1978–79 NBA season, 1978–79 season. In this dr ...

by the

Washington Bullets The Washington Wizards are an American professional basketball team based in Washington, D.C. The Wizards compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Southeast Division of the Eastern Conference. The team plays i ...

and played professionally overseas for two seasons.

High school career

Aldridge is a native of

Middletown, Ohio Middletown is a city in Butler County, Ohio, Butler and Warren County, Ohio, Warren counties in the U.S. state of Ohio. The population was 50,987 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. It is part of the Cincinnati metropolitan area in sou ...

, and attended Middletown High School where he was named the best player in the state in 1973. As a senior, he averaged a nation-best 35.2 points, 17 rebounds and 10 blocks per game. Aldridge's 1,514 career points rank second in school history after

Jerry Lucas Jerry Ray Lucas (born March 30, 1940) is an American former basketball player. He was a nationally awarded high school player, national college star at Ohio State University, and 1960 Olympic medal, gold medal Olympian and international player be ...

. His number 51 jersey was retired by the school in 2013.

College career

Aldridge received many college scholarship offers and chose to play for the

which he later considered a mistake. He only lasted one season with the Seminoles before he transferred to the

in his home state of Ohio due to homesickness. Aldridge was forced to sit out during the 1974–75 season due to

National Collegiate Athletic Association The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates College athletics in the United States, student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, and Simon Fraser University, 1 in Canada. ...

(NCAA) transfer rules and experienced depression that he persevered through. Aldridge returned for his sophomore season in 1975–76 and was selected to the All-

Mid-American Conference The Mid-American Conference (MAC) is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference with a membership base in the Great Lakes region (North America), Great Lakes region that stretches from Western New York to Illinois. Its members co ...

(MAC) second-team. He was selected to the first-team in 1977 as the RedHawks finished with a 20–6 record but were not invited to the NCAA tournament or

National Invitation Tournament The National Invitation Tournament (NIT) is an annual men's college basketball tournament operated by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). Since 2023, all rounds of the tournament are played at various sites across the country whi ...

. Aldridge was selected as the MAC Player of the Year during his senior season in 1977–78. He led the RedHawks to an upset victory over the defending national champion Marquette Warriors in the first round of the 1978 NCAA tournament. Aldridge left the RedHawks as their all-time leading scorer with 1,490 points and held the record until it was surpassed by

Ron Harper Ronald Harper Sr. (born January 20, 1964) is an American former professional basketball player. He played for four teams in the National Basketball Association (NBA) between 1986 and 2001 and is a five-time NBA champion. Early life Ronald Har ...

. Aldridge was inducted into the Miami Athletic Hall of Fame in 1989.

Professional career

Aldridge was selected in the sixth round of the

by the

. He joined the Bullets for their rookie camp in 1979 but was cut before the season began. Aldridge played basketball overseas for two seasons. He decided to return home after a phone call with his grandmother where she told him to "leave that ball alone."

Post-playing career

Aldridge worked for 31 years as a substitute teacher throughout school districts in

Ohio Ohio ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Erie to the north, Pennsylvania to the east, West Virginia to the southeast, Kentucky to the southwest, Indiana to the ...

. He also worked as a corrections officer at the

Lebanon Correctional Institution The Lebanon Correctional Institution is a prison in the United States operated by the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction in Warren County, Ohio, Warren County's Turtlecreek Township, Warren County, Ohio, Turtlecreek Township, about ...

Personal life

Aldridge is divorced and has four children. He writes poetry, enjoys reading and considered a career as a motivational speaker. Aldridge had heart issues and both hips replaced but stated his health was "very well" in a 2020 interview. He is permanently disabled due to his hip replacements and uses a cane or walker to move.

References

External links

College statistics
{{DEFAULTSORT:Aldridge, Archie Year of birth missing (living people) Living people American men's basketball players Basketball players from Ohio Florida State Seminoles men's basketball players Forwards (basketball) Miami RedHawks men's basketball players Sportspeople from Middletown, Ohio Washington Bullets draft picks Middletown High School (Ohio) alumni