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Wayman passed away Friday, May 15th after a two-year battle with cancer. Tisdale was diagnosed with bone cancer in March 2007 and had part of his right leg amputated due to the cancer in August 2008, causing him to wear a prosthetic. Living with the struggles of being an amputee first hand, Tisdale was set to launch the Wayman Tisdale Foundation as a means to help amputees cope both emotionally and financially with their new lifestyle.
Tisdale played in the NBA for 12 years with the Indiana Pacers, Sacramento Kings and Phoenix Suns and recently received the Legends Award from the NBA Retired Players Association. The 6-foot-9 forward averaged 15.3 points for his professional career and was on the 1984 U.S. Olympic gold medal winning team. Tisdale still holds Oklahoma’s career scoring and rebounding records with 2,661 points and 1,048 rebounds. In 1997, Tisdale became the first OklahomaUniversity player in any sport to have his jersey number retired.
After basketball, Tisdale became an award-winning jazz musician, with several albums making the top 10 on the Billboard charts. As a bass guitarist, he released 12 studio albums starting with Power Forward in 1995 and most recently Rebound in 2008. In 2002, he was awarded the Legacy Tribute Award by the Oklahoma Jazz Hall of Fame. Most recently, Tisdale had been preparing for a series of jazz festival tour dates. He will still be inducted into the Oklahoma Hall of Fame on November 12th, 2009.
“Wayman’s personality and smile are already missed in the music community,” states Denny Stilwell, President, Mack Avenue Records. “He was an inspiration, a hero. We are all shaken and deeply saddened by his loss and our hearts and prayers go out to his wife and family.”
Tisdale is survived by his wife Regina, four children Tiffany, Danielle, Gabrielle and Wayman II and his granddaughter Bailey. Known for his smile and empowering persona, this legend will be missed.
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