RE: New article/Russell

["Odegaard, Greg M." <GMOdegaa@RMC.com>]

Bob forwards the links to his articles and they are all great and
appreciated (probably the true best writer on our list), but this one stands
out and should be read by us all.  Hate to harp on tradition but for all you
nasayers out there, the facts speak for themselves.   Read, and enjoy.

Greg

 

"Bill Russell: A Champion's Champion

by Bob George
5/26/99

Where is Bill Russell's proper place in the pantheon of greatest sports
icons?

When you talk about Russell, most people begin with the phrase "eleven NBA
titles in thirteen years". Some other folks bring up the 1956 Olympic Gold
Medal and the NCAA titles at the University of San Francisco to go along
with that.

You also have to point out what it was like to be a black athlete in the
1950s and 1960s. Comfort level. Vandalism. Discrimination. The "n"-word.
Jackie Robinson has his special legacy in the sports world, but one man can
only do so much. The only difference between playing when he did versus
baseball in the pre-Robinson era was that Russell was at least allowed to
play. There was still plenty of racist vermin out there to taunt Russell and
all other black athletes.

Then there's that select inner circle of men who were either teammates or
opponents of Russell. Wilt Chamberlain once said "Russell had to play
defense because he knew he couldn't score". That's about the only non-regal
statement made towards Number Six. When you ask a contemporary of Russell
about Russell, they will usually respond with the words "best ever".

Bill Russell is a man few people know. Besides the fact that he was his own
man to the end, one problem is that the passage of time has dulled the
senses of Russell's full impact on the Celtics and the NBA. Ask any NBA fan
nationwide who they think the greatest all time NBA player is, and they will
all answer Michael Jordan instantly. And you can't blame them. But it is a
shame.

Perhaps the worst thing to happen to Russell was the career of Larry Bird.

Russell and Chamberlain dominated the NBA during their careers much the same
way that Bird and Magic Johnson did in their era. While both pairs of men
defined the NBA during their time, Bird and Magic perhaps get more
recognition because they played against more teams, against more players
with advanced and varied skills, and with a great deal of media exposure.
Bird played to sellout after sellout at the Boston Garden, while Russell
often labored in front of half-sized crowds at the same arena.

And even though Russell won more championships than any other American
professional basketball player, most Celtic fans name Bird as their all time
favorite Celtic. It would not be stretching things to say that perhaps John
Havlicek, Dave Cowens and Bob Cousy have more votes for best-ever Celtic
than Russ.

Bird even won yours truly over. I referred to Bird as the best all-around
NBA player I ever saw. Living in Laker country, having Bird to brag on
really helps shut up Magic's crowd.

But tonight, as Russell's Number Six goes up to the rafters for the first
time in public, twenty-seven years after it went up in private, all these
tales about Russell are coming out. Tales of an NBA career that no human
being has ever been able to duplicate. Tales of a man who knew how to win
championships more than anyone not named Arnold Auerbach. Tales of a very
complex man who personifies the words "enigma" and "misunderstood".

Russell is having a second number retirement party tonight. Why should he
have needed this? Why not just make the original 1972 bash just as public as
all the others? Stories vary, but the common belief is that Russell never
really forgave Boston for being a city that treated black people very
poorly. He also felt a chip on his shoulder for the lack of fan support
during all the championship years. Russell thus insisted that the number be
retired only in front of his teammates in an empty Garden, and so it was.

This lack of connecting with the fans (which included refusing to sign
autographs) helps explain why Celtic fans side with Larry and national fans
side with Mikey. Nationally, Russell's accomplishments are all but forgotten
(Jordan would in all likelihood have tied the eight straight titles if he
hadn't dabbled in baseball). Locally, fans care more about the Curse of the
Bambino than the fact that Russell led the Celtics to two incredible NBA
Finals upsets of the Lakers in his last two years, all the while doubling as
player/coach.

Russell the man is hard to get to know. The outgoing, available superstars
always get the great press, while the George Hendrickses and the Steve
Carltons and the Ben Coateses are always viewed as "mysterious". You
remember all those Celtic championships when they were happening, but as the
years pass, you think more about Hondo and Heinsohn and Cooz more than Russ.
And you aren't sure why.

This writer had the pleasure of visiting with a fellow teammate of Russell's
on the 1956 Olympic team. This fellow teacher of mine (who was on the track
team, not the basketball team) knew both Russell and K.C. Jones well. I
asked him what his impressions of Russell were, and he replied, "Russell was
his own man, he had his own definite ideas on things in general, and he knew
exactly how to accomplish what he set out to do."

Being "his own man" forged his greatness as a player, as well as his
perception by his fans.

Russell and Auerbach formed the most successful player-coach tandem in
sports history. The men gave to each other, and produced winning results
unmatched anywhere. Reading the thoughts and reflections of the two men are
great lessons on how to be a leader that anyone, including yours truly,
learn and draw inspiration from.

Russell had superhuman pride, an incredible work ethic, and a dedication to
his team that guys like Shaquille O'Neal and Patrick Ewing will never
understand. Russell considers himself a Boston Celtic more than he considers
himself a Hall of Famer. Russell sits back and sings the praises of
Chamberlain the mighty scorer and rebounder, but dutifully points out that
he will take all his championships over Wilt's scoring titles anyday.

Still, if you look at the big picture, if you pressed today's NBA fan to
comment on all the championships Russell won in his career, they would still
come at you with this MJ take and that MJ take.

And many a fan would downplay Russell's era, saying that there were fewer
teams back then, fewer playoff rounds, less travel, and fewer players of
star quality. What MJ did in the 1990s blows Russell away, they will try and
tell you. What Russell did was tantamount to the Harlem Globetrotters
whipping tail on the Washington Generals.

Was Russell's personality the cause of this? Because if Babe Ruth is still
widely hailed as America's Greatest Athlete of this century despite having
retired from baseball 64 years ago, how can this incredible championship run
of Russell be so invisible in today's NBA annals? Is the fact that Russell
was so aloof and cold to the fans that everyone puts Bird in the spot that
Russell really deserves to be in?

First, let's go back and defend all his championships, as if anyone really
has to.

Was the NBA back then a one-sided league? Not on your Convention Halls and
your Kiel Auditoriums.

The Celtics' duels with the St. Louis Hawks, the Minneapolis/Los Angeles
Lakers, the Syracuse Nats/Philadelphia 76ers and the New York Knicks were
generally donniebrooks. The Hawks had Bob Pettit, Ed Macauley (who was
traded for the ability to draft Russell), Cliff Hagan, Slater Martin, Si
Green and Clyde Lovellette. The Lakers had Jerry West, Elgin Baylor, Frank
Selvy, Hot Rod Hundley, Gail Goodrich, and some big dude named Wilt. The
Nats/Sixers had Dolph Schayes, Chet Walker, Hal Greer, Billy Cunningham,
Luke Jackson, and some big dude named Wilt. The Knicks had Willis Reed, Dave
DeBusschere, Bill Bradley, Jerry Lucas, Walt Frazier, Dick Barnett, Cazzie
Russell and Walt Bellamy.

These are teams that the Celtics beat, and beat with regularity. Eight in a
row and eleven out of thirteen against these NBA stars is as legit as it
gets. If you don't think so, you probably think Shaq is the greatest human
that walks this planet.

Then there are those folks who say that Russell merely had a great team
around him, that his teammates made him great. Okay, go back and check the
record. The Celtics won their first title in 1956-57, which just happened to
be Russell's rookie year. The Celtics had to wait five years before they won
their first title after Russell retired after the 1968-69 campaign. If you
don't think that is total domination of a league, you probably think that
the only thing wrong with Ewing is his lack of good men around him.

Let's now put Bird and Russell in their proper perspective. Bird was the
greatest all around player. Russell was the greatest team player. Except
Russell encompasses all sports, not just basketball. Unless you can show me
someone who can match Russell's championship run, Russ is the man.

The ceremony to honor Russell tonight is very nice. But someone needs to
educate the NBA fandom that Russell was the greatest. Ever. This ceremony is
just a chance for Russell to mend fences broken in 1972. What really needs
to happen here is nationwide education on the career of William Fenton
Russell.

And this isn't the case of someone like Wade Boggs who cares only about
stats. Russell cared very much about all the championships he won. So should
all of us, especially Celtic Nation.

If you were too young to have seen Russell play, then go out and read up on
him. Read about his career, his philosophies, his relationship with Auerbach
and his teammates, and his exquisite view on "what it means to be a Boston
Celtic". Go back and review all of his banner years, and what it took to win
each one. Read about the 1957 title game that went two overtimes. Read about
the 1965 title year that happened only because "Havlicek stole the ball".
Read about the title in 1968, which featured a 3-1 series deficit against
Philadelphia in the semis and a 2-0 deficit in the Finals against the
Lakers. Read about Russell's last game, the "balloon game" at the Forum, the
Celtics winning a Game 7 no one thought they'd win.

Don't just sit back and honor Russell tonight. Place him where he belongs.
At the top of your list of all time best NBA players. Sorry, Larry, I had to
waffle on this one. Your ascension to the Hall of Fame was great and
obviously proper. But now that the emotion has gone from your induction, I
have to put Russell back at the head of the class.

And if Rick Pitino wants to bring Russ into the Celtic locker room every
game this coming year, I would have no problem with that. Antoine Walker
needs constant reminding of the legacy he inherits, among other things.

Bill Russell was the greatest ever. Tell that to all those dudes wearing Air
Jordans in the United Center, and all those Shaq lovers on Manchester Blvd.
in Inglewood.

Bill Russell was a champion's champion. No one ever did it better than he."

-----Original Message-----
From: Bob George [mailto:bgp@lightspeed.net]
Sent: Wednesday, May 26, 1999 11:10 PM
To: Sean MC; Celtics List
Subject: New article


Read "Bill Russell:  A Champion's Champion" at:
 
http://www.bobgeorge.com/celtics/052699.html
<http://www.bobgeorge.com/celtics/052699.html> 
 
My tribute to Russ -- please read it if you can, I think you will all like
it.
 
OBTW got your new address, Sean Mc!
 
Bob George
 
Read Bob George's Best Of Boston Sports At
http://www.bobgeorge.com <http://www.bobgeorge.com>