After 20 years, image of Knight's chair toss still vivid

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. -- Those closest to Steve Reid know him as president of a trucking company, a former teammate, and a dad.

Some even remember him as a color commentator on Purdue basketball broadcasts.

However, most others know Reid as the answer to a trivia question.

For 20 years, his life has been defined by one enduring image -- Indiana coach Bob Knight hurling a red, plastic chair across the basketball court as the 5-foot-9 Reid stood at the free throw line for Purdue.

"There are times I walk into a meeting or a friend calls to say, 'I saw you on TV last night,'" he said from his Georgia home. "I know what they're talking about."

Like other famous trivia answers, Wally Pipp, Mookie Wilson and Al Downing, Reid's name will forever be linked to the question: "Who was the guy?"

The chair toss also remains a defining moment in the Indiana-Purdue rivalry. The teams will meet up again Tuesday, one day short of the 20th anniversary of Knight's throw.

Bob Knight hurls a chair across the floor during Indiana's 72-63 loss to Purdue on Feb. 23, 1985. (AP)

Two decades ago, Keady walked into the postgame news conference after a 72-63 win and insisted the important thing was that Purdue won.

He was wrong.

In Reid's mind, the red speck he noticed out of the corner of his eye never faded. Nor did the ensuing collapse -- he missed three of six free throws as Knight was tossed from the game and was promptly scolded on the sideline by Keady.

Knight, fired by Indiana in 2000, didn't return phone messages left for him by the Associated Press at Texas Tech where he now coaches.

He's coped with it, though, by poking fun at himself over the years. During speeches, Knight sometimes recounts a tale of spotting an old woman behind the basket who needed a chair, so he tossed one to her.