- Name
- Jack Tucker
- Position
- Forward
- Class
- Senior
- Hometown (Last School)
- Cynthiana, KY
- Ht
- 6'0"
- Seasons
- 1932-33, 1933-34, 1934-35
- Birthday
- September 13, 1911
Jack Tucker was born Jack Grady Tucker in Cynthiana, Kentucky, on September 13, 1911, to Wrayburn Boyer Tucker and Ina Dell Clifford Tucker. Tucker was a member of the Kentucky men’s basketball program during the mid-1930s, a time when the Wildcats were solidifying their dominance under the direction of Hall of Fame head coach Adolph Rupp.
Tucker attended Cynthiana High School in Harrison County, Kentucky, where he captained the basketball team as a senior in 1930-31.
Tucker enrolled for the summer semester at Kentucky in 1931. He graduated from Kentucky in June 1935, where he played basketball under Coach Rupp from 1931-35. Tucker was a member of Rupp’s first freshman squad at Kentucky. As a sophomore, he played a reserve role on the 1932-33 Southeastern Conference tournament championship team. Members of that team were anointed Kentucky Colonels by then-Governor A. B. “Happy” Chandler. As a junior, he started every game and scored a team-high fourteen points against Sewanee on January 12, 1934. He was named team co-captain along with Dave Lawrence for his senior season in 1934-35. Tucker broke a bone in his right hand on February 13, 1935, against Michigan State and did not play for the remainder of the season. While at Kentucky, he was also a member of Pi Kappa Alpha, a social fraternity, and SuKy, a pep organization interested in the development of school spirit. He was also a member of Omicron Delta Kappa, an honorary leadership fraternity.
He was a farmer, a retired training supervisor for the Department of Agriculture, Tobacco Division, and a former principal and basketball coach in Butler.
Tucker passed away on January 5, 1997 at the age of 85.
