Joseph Franklin "Jumping Joe" Fulks (October 26, 1921 – March 21, 1976) was an American professional basketball player.

Fulks was born on a farm outside of Birmingham, Kentucky, a small town in the state's far-western Purchase region.

Due to his family's low income, Fulks did not own a real basketball in his youth, instead practicing with a tin can or a stuffed sock until a local high school coach gifted him a used ball.

Kuttawa was accused of recruiting Fulks to their basketball team by securing his father a job at the local prison, but an investigation by the Kentucky High School Association Board of Control did not find enough evidence to punish the school.

On December 3, 1946, in just his eighth game as a professional, Fulks became the league's record holder for most points scored in a single game when he scored 37 points, making 16 field goals and five free throws, in Philadelphia's 76–68 win over the Providence Steam Rollers.

Two seasons after his 63-point game, on January 4, 1951, Fulks grabbed a career-high 16 rebounds, alongside scoring 20 points, in a 92–69 win over the Baltimore Bullets.

[10] Upon his retirement, Fulks returned to Marshall County, Kentucky, where he lived the remainder of his life.

A jury found Bannister guilty of reckless homicide and he was sentenced to four and a half years in prison.