Judge in pivotal NBA case involving Spencer Haywood dies

LOS ANGELES – Warren Ferguson, a judge for more than four decades who helped pave the way for teenage basketball players to join the NBA, has died. He was 87.

Ferguson died June 25 of congestive heart failure, said his son, Peter.

Ferguson was a federal judge in 1971 when he ruled in an antitrust case brought by Spencer Haywood, who wanted to sign with the Seattle SuperSonics. Ferguson declared illegal an NBA rule that forbade the signing of players until four years after they had completed high school. The case went to the Supreme Court, which ruled in Haywood’s favor.