RETURN OF THE DESTROYER
"Despite the shortage of pros, thousands still flocked to the park that summer, and were treated to an added bonus when
The Destroyer, now 26, surfaced from a 3-year absence to tear up the competition.
With each passing game that summer, Hammond's scoring totals rose like the scorching temperature: 29 points in his first game back, 36 the next, then 59, which broke the outdoor league record. By game four of The Destroyer's comeback, even the basketball was sweating.
Pro scouts were back in the bleachers to watch him explode for 73 points in a single contest,
a Rucker record that would still be standing had The Destroyer not come along later to break it himself.
Incredibly,
Hammond's 73 points rampage had come at the expense of Mike Riordan, who had been voted by NBA coaches as one of the top defensive players of their league.
"One by one, NBA players would come to the park to try to shut down Joe, but no one could do it," said Howie Evans of the Amsterdam News. "
Cazzie Russell went up there talking all this smack about how he was going to lock up Joe. Well, they met in a game and Joe had 30 on him at halftime and the crowd was going wild.
By the end of the game, Joe had 56 and Cazzie left the park real mad, and he never came back."