Maurice Stokes dies at 36
On April 6, 1970 – 1970: Former Royals star Maurice Stokes, whose promising career was cut short by a brain injury which left him paralyzed for the last 12 years, dies at age 36 of a heart attack in Cincinnati.
Stokes was stricken with encephalitis following an injury in a game. While it left him bedridden most of the time, he managed to regain the ability to feed himself, write and type.
“You’ll never know, meet or read about anybody as courageous as Maurice,” says Jack Twyman, Stokes’ guardian and former teammate. “I never heard the man complain in 12 years of lying on his back.”
At 6-foot-7 and 240 pounds, Stokes was the NBA’s Rookie of the Year with Rochester in 1955-56. In his three seasons with the Royals, Stokes averaged 16.4 points and 17.3 rebounds. He was second-team all-league each year and played in three All-Star Games.
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