Joseph Franklin "Jumping Joe" Fulks (October 26, 1921 – March 21, 1976) was an American professional basketball player, sometimes called "the first of the high-scoring forwards". He was posthumously enshrined in the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 1978. Early life Fulks was born in Birmingham, Kentucky, a small town in the state's far-western Purchase region that was inundated in the 1940s after the Tennessee Valley Authority dammed the Tennessee River to create Kentucky Lake. College career He played college ball at Murray State University (then known as Murray State Teachers College) for two years before leaving school to join the Marines in May 1942. He served with 3rd Battalion, 9th Marines during World War II, and was discharged as a corporal in May 1946. His number 26 hangs in the rafters at Murray State's CFSB Center. Professional career Fulks joined the BAA's Philadelphia Warriors in 1946, at age 25, and as a rookie won the league's first scoring title with a 23.2 points per game average as the Warriors won the BAA title. Fulks again led the league's in scoring average during the 1947–48 season at 22.1 points per game, but lost the scoring title to Max Zaslofsky, who had more total points. Fulks had a career best 26.0 points per game average in the 1948–49 season. Fulks led the NBA in free throw percentage during the 1950–51 season. Fulks set the BAA/NBA single game scoring record four different times. On December 3, 1946, in just his eighth game as a professional, Fulks became the league's record holder for most points scored in a single game when he scored 37 points, making 16 field goals and five free throws, in Philadelphia's 76–68 win over the Providence Steam Rollers. Just 20 games later on January 14, 1947, Fulks set a new single game scoring record when he scored 41 points, making 15 field goals and 11 free throws, in Philadelphia's 104–74 win over the Toronto Huskies. In the 1946–47 season, Fulks also led the league in scoring for its inaugural season, scoring 23.2 points per game. Two seasons later, on December 18, 1948, Fulks tied Carl Braun's single game scoring record when he scored 47 points, making 18 field goals and 11 free throws, in Philadelphia's 94–90 win against the Providence Steamrollers. For the fourth and final time, Fulks set a new single-game scoring record when he scored 63