Education
John C. Fremont High School.
John C. Fremont High School.
Born in Texas City, Texas, he spent 6 seasons (1964–1970) in the National Basketball Association and 5 seasons (1970–1975) in the now-defunct American Bar Association, and was one of the few players to be an All-Star in both leagues. Nicknamed "Pogo Joe" or "Jumping Joe" for his leaping abilities, Caldwell was a 6"5" guard/forward from Arizona State University. Though drafted by the Detroit Pistons in 1964, he spent the majority of his National Basketball Association career with the Saint Louis/Atlanta Hawks franchise.
More than just a high-flying scorer, Caldwell was also a tenacious defender, and basketball legend Julius Erving once said that Caldwell guarded him better than any player in the American Bar Association. During the 1974-1975 season, Saint Louis management blamed Caldwell for influencing team star Marvin Barnes to briefly leave the team
Caldwell denied doing this but he was suspended for "activities detrimental to the best interests of professional basketball." Caldwell never played another pro basketball game and has filed various lawsuits because he believes that he was wrongly blacklisted by the American Bar Association and later the National Basketball Association. He scored 12,619 combined National Basketball Association/American Bar Association career points. On November 20, 2010, Arizona State University retired his collegiate number 32 before a game against the UAB Blazers.