Mount Vernon, Texas is going to need a bigger city hall.
The tiny hamlet of 2,500 citizens has made national news by electing 7ft2in former NBA star Greg Ostertag as its new mayor, likely making him the tallest elected official in US history. The previous Guinness World Record holder was 6ft 11in North Dakota Insurance Commissioner Jon Godfread, a former center for the University of Northern Iowa, but the new mark is now believed to be Ostertag’s.
‘[My wife] says as soon as I get sworn in next week, she’s going to call Guinness [Book of World Records] and see,’ Ostertag told the Kansas City Star after his win.
Not only is Ostertag taller than Godfred, but he has better basketball credentials as well.
He’s best known as the burly Utah Jazz center who spent the late 1990s and early 2000s battling the likes of Shaquille O’Neal and David Robinson in the post. Ostertag was famously a starter on two Jazz teams that reached the NBA Finals, only to lose to Michael Jordan’s Chicago Bulls, and he played for two Hall-of-Fame coaches in Utah’s Jerry Sloan and Kansas’ Roy Williams.
A resident of Mount Vernon for the last 11 years, Ostertag owns farm land in the area as well as a sports bar, Tag’s Hometown Bar and Grill. More recently, he said, he’s been urged to run for mayor.
Former member of the Utah Jazz, Greg Ostertag is honored during halftime of the New York Knicks game against the Utah Jazz at vivint.SmartHome Arena in 2017 in Salt Lake City
Ostertag is seen battling for position with then-Lakers star Shaquille O’Neal in 1997
‘I stand out like a sore thumb here. People would see me and say, “Hey, run for mayor. We’d love to see you in there,”‘ Ostertag told the Star. ‘People wanted us to run. They seemed excited and we got to where we thought we could get some excitement back in the town. We felt things had maybe stalled a little bit.’
This year, he finally went for it by running as a nonpartisan candidate and ultimately beating incumbent Brad Hyman.
And Ostertag isn’t the only NBA center from that era entering politics.
Former Portland Trail Blazers and New York Knicks center Chris Dudley is running for governor in Oregon as a Republican. The 6ft 11in former Yale star pledged to ‘stand tall’ for Oregonians in his campaign-launch clip back in January.
‘The empty promises, the name calling, the finger pointing and fear mongering that has solved nothing must stop,’ Dudley said in announcing his campaign. ‘There are real solutions, and I have a plan.’
Orlando Magic center Shaquille O’Neal backs down the Portland Trail Blazers’ Chris Dudley
Dudley faces an uphill battle in left-leaning Oregon, where he hopes to become the state’s first Republican Governor since Victor Atiyeh from 1979 until 1987.
However, he did come within two points of beating Democratic candidate John Kitzhaber for the job in 2010, so there is some hope for his latest campaign at age 60.
Sportsbooks geared up for his run by asking gamblers if Dudley’s share of the primary vote will be higher or lower than his dismal 45.8 career free-throw percentage.
Initially, BetOnline had Dudley’s free-throw percentage as a -170 favorite, meaning a $170 winning bet would pay $100. The underdog was Dudley’s share of the GOP primary at +130, so a $100 winning wager would pay out $130 in that scenario.
If Dudley does win the primary, he will square off with incumbent Tina Kotek in the general election. in April, BetOnline listed Dudley as a +1600 longshot to become Oregon’s next governor.
The primary takes place on May 19.
