TROY GREAT DIES
Luther Rackley Jr. led Troy’s undefeated 1965 team in points and rebounds
Luther Rackley Jr., a 1965 Troy High School graduate and member of the school’s undefeated basketball team, died Nov. 19 in Harlem, N.Y., at the age of 71. Funeral services are scheduled for Saturday, Dec. 2 at 11 a.m. in Cairo, Ga.
Rackley was born in Bainbridge, Ga., but grew up in Troy. He was the starting center on the 1964- 65 Flying Horses squad that stands as a candidate for the best in the Capital Region’s history. Coach Clem Zotto’s team finished the season 22- 0 and won their games by an average of 25.2 points. The 6-foot-10 Rackley led the team in scoring and rebounds.
After the season, a scout for the University of Kentucky ranked Troy as the No. 1 team in the nation. That included a Power Memorial team from New York City that was led by Kareem Abdul Jabbar, who at the time was named Lou Alcindor.
In the days before state play there was no postseason tournament for both teams to make their case on the court. A proposed game never happened, possibly because the New York State Athletic commission had a 22 game maximum for high school teams at the time.
Whenthe 1965 team was inducted to the Capital District Hall of Fame, Zotto talked about his starting center.
“Luther was a dominant player, a strong kid,” Zotto said in March of 2011. “He could score, rebound, run the floor, block shots. He was the one player who everyone remembers because he played in the NBA. But he had a darn good supporting cast.”
Zotto died in November of 2011. Other star members of the team are Roosevelt Phillips, Jerry Guter, Perry Ashley, Hubert Terry and Bobby Wood
Six members of the team went on to play Division I basketball — including Rackley who played at Xavier from 1966- 69 and was later inducted to the college’s athletic Hall of Fame.
After college, Rackley was selected by the Cincinnati Royals with the 37th overall pick in the 1969 NBA Draft.
He went on to play six seasons in the NBA with the Royals, Cleveland Cavaliers, New York Knicks and Philadelphia 76ers. He spent one year in the ABA with the Memphis Tams.
In 278 professional games Rackley averaged 6.3 points and 4.6 rebounds per game.
With the Knicks Rackley helped the team to the 1973 NBA finals. New York upset the Boston Celtics in the Eastern Conference finals but ran into a Los Angeles Lakers team that won 69 games in the regular season. The Lakers won the finals series 4-1.
Rackley worked in his post-NBA career as Vice President of Walt Frazier enterprises. He also put together teams consisting of NBA players — Julius Erving, Moses Malone and John Willamson — to play all over the world.
Rackley also acted in two movies, “The Last Dinosaur” and “The Fish That Saved Pittsburgh.” Rackley also appeared in shaving cream commercials for Proctor and Gamble as well as a commercial for the New York State lottery.