John Carl Ridd (17 August 1929 – 29 March 2003) was a Canadian scholar of religion, basketball player, and activist.
[1] He began playing basketball at Westminster United Church and then for Gordon Bell High School.
[2] Ridd went on to play for the University of Manitoba from 1947 to 1951 where he was the leading scorer in North America College Basketball, averaging 25 points a game.
In 1952 the National Basketball Association's Milwaukee Hawks offered Ridd a contract.
[2] Ridd was a starting member of the Canadian basketball team for the 1952 Summer Olympics in Helsinki, Finland.