Ricky Byrdsong is Dead at the Age of 43
7/15/1999 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
July 3, 1999
SKOKIE, Ill. (AP) - Former Northwestern coach Ricky Byrdsong died today, the victim of one of three drive-by shootings in suburban Chicago.
Byrdsong was shot in the lower back while jogging with his children near their home Friday night. He died at Evanston Hospital after surgery.
Six Orthodox Jews walking home from Sabbath services were wounded in separate drive-by shootings that might have been the work of the same person or group, said Chicago police spokesman Pat Camden.
Night nursing staff at Illinois Masonic Hospital in Chicago said two 31-year-old men were treated and released, while another 31-year-old man and a 34-year-old man were in fair condition early today.
A 15-year-old boy was taken to Children's Memorial Hospital, where he was in serious condition, a hospital spokeswoman said.
The other victim, a 40-year-old man, was taken to Saint Francis Hospital in Evanston, where he was listed in serious but stable condition.
Shots also were fired into a car carrying two Asian-American men in nearby Northbrook, police said. They were not hurt.
A recorded message from Northbrook police said the shots came from a light blue vehicle. The driver was said to be a white man in his 30s.
"He was going pretty slow, it looked like he was going to shoot people," a man named Michael told the Chicago Sun-Times about the shooting of the Jews. The man said he saw the man shoot his neighbor and drive off. He said he didn't want his last name used.
There were no immediate arrests. The shootings were all within approximately 12 miles of each other. They began in the northern Chicago neighborhood of Rogers Park and ended in the suburbs of Skokie and Northbrook.
Skokie Police Lieutenant Barry Silverberg said Byrdsong, a black, was jogging about a block from his home, when someone in a car fired at least seven shots at him, apparently with a .22-caliber handgun. The children were not hurt.
"We're all getting the same vehicle description," said Silverberg, who described the car as a light blue Ford Taurus with a large scratch on rear driver's side door.
Camden described the car today as a light blue Ford Taurus or Mercury Sable with the passenger side window shot out. The offender was described as a white man, 25-30 years old, about 6 feet tall and of medium build, Camden said.
Byrdsong, 43, was let go after four unsuccessful and occasionally odd seasons with the Wildcats. During a 1994 game at Minnesota, Byrdsong roamed the stands, chatting with fans and waving to the crowd while an assistant led the team. He was kicked out of a seat as the crowd chanted "Byrdsong's nuts."
He took a 12-day leave after that game, consulting doctors about his mental and physical health.
Byrdsong's four-year record at Northwestern was 34-78, including 10-62 in the Big Ten Conference. His 1995 team was linked to a point-shaving scandal. Government prosecutors said he was ignorant of the scheme.
Byrdsong took Northwestern to the NIT in 1994, his first season. Player defections and injuries prevented the Wildcats from continuing their success.
Byrdsong spent 10 seasons as an assistant at Arizona, Eastern Illinois, Western Michigan and Iowa State, where he played college basketball for the Cyclones. He later coached at Detroit Mercy.
