"Last Pass", written by Gary Pomerantz, discusses the careers of Bob Cousy and Bill Russell. It also addresses the dynasty of the Boston Celtics of the 1950's and the humble beginnings of the NBA.
When Cousy was in high school and in college at Holy Cross in Massachusetts, he was known as a flamboyant point guard. He made behind the back passes and he played the game of basketball in an exciting manner. At first, this annoyed Boston Celtics' coach Red Auerbach, who did not like Cousy's style. However, when Auerbach became more appreciative of Cousy's talent, he became more accepting of Cousy's style of play.
Cousy added flair and style to the NBA. Before Cousy's career, the NBA players played in a more structured manner. Cousy was even nicknamed "Houdini" for his innovative and unique approach to the game. Cousy maneuvered the basketball around his back, dribbled with both hands, was fast and creatively involved his teammates in the flow of the game. Cousy made the NBA more exciting and less predictable.
Cousy grew up in New York city. He often played basketball at the O'Connell Playground in St. Albans. Morty Arkin, the playground's director, was one of the first to notice Cousy's talent. Cousy attended Andrew Jackson High School in New York city. He lead his high school team to multiple borough championships. As he developed his game, his reputation as a player grew in New York city.
At Holy Cross, Cousy continued his stellar play. In 1947, Cousy lead the Holy Cross team to a NCAA championship. Off the court, the college helped Cousy to become more structured and disciplined. This helped him to grow as a person, not just as a basketball player. Cousy also met his future wife, Missie.
On the court, Cousy dazzled. He confused opponents with his ability to dribble with both hands, maneuver around defenders and dribble behind his back. At Holy Cross, Cousy developed his game. In his senior season, Holy Cross won 26 straight games. People throughout the country were talking about the team and Cousy. However, Holy Cross lost in the NCAA tournament to North Carolina State, 87-74.
Up until this time, Cousy had never seen an NBA game. Cousy and others wondered if the NBA would continue. The league had financial problems and was not very popular. Some teams played in high school gyms, and the Harlem Globetrotters were more popular than the NBA teams.
In 1950, Cousy was drafted by the Tri- City Blackhawks. When Cousy was drafted he did not know where the team was located. The team was located along the Illinois and Iowa border. Cousy informed Tri-City that he would not play for them. Instead, he would only play for Syracuse or Boston. Soon after Cousy was drafted, Auerbach was hired by Boston.
Auerbach came across to people has strong willed, acerbic and out spoken. He seemed to be always on the defensive as if he trusted few people. He sometimes came off as rude and crude. When he was hired by Boston, he bragged about how he would improve the Celtics who thus far had been a disappointing team.
At this time, the NBA was going through a tough time. The year before 5 of the 17 NBA franchises had folded. The league did not seem to be stable or viable.
At this time, Cousy was traded to the Chicago Stags. However, the team soon folded so all of their players were entered into a dispersal draft. Teams picked players' names who had been placed into a hat. Auerbach picked Cousy's name out of a hat. Cousy was happy, while Auerbach was not.
In December of 1950 Bob and Missie married. The night of the wedding the Celtics played a game. So there was no honeymoon.
Auerbach would prove to be a tough coach for Cousy. Auerbach told the press that if a Celtics' player dropped a pass, he would blame Cousy for it. However, at this time, Cousy's dynamic play making skills contrasted with the slow pace of the NBA, which had not yet adopted the 24 second shot clock. So, over time, Auerbach came to appreciate Cousy's rare talents.
Cousy played well in his first two seasons. In his first two seasons with Boston, the Celtics finished with a winning record, but lost in the playoffs. However, the Celtics were improving and Cousy was making a name for himself because of his unique style of play.
During Cousy's second season, Auerbach encouraged the team to run the fast break. He encouraged the Celtics to being the basketball up the floor quickly. In Cousy, he had the perfect point guard to run that style of play.
During his third season in the NBA, Cousy started to appear on magazine covers and he started to become the subject of more articles. Cousy's fast style of play contrasted with the slow pace of most games. While more people were appreciating Cousy's play, he continued to improve and make his play making more unpredictable. By Cousy's fourth season, Auerbach called Cousy the best back court player he had ever seen.
Cousy was also becoming a leader off of the court. In 1952, Cousy helped to form the NBA player's union despite the fact that every team in the NBA was struggling financially. Cousy felt strongly that the players should be represented. He contacted players from each team, and the union made demands of the owners, which included no more than 20 exhibition games, some of the fines that referees could give players and an impartial arbitration board that could help resolve disagreements between players and owners. By 1957, the NBA recognized the players union and agreed to it's demands.
As Cousy's career continued, he spent more time by himself. He was older than his teammates and felt that he did not fit in with the younger players. He would eat his meals alone. He felt that the other players understood. Cousy longed to spend more time with his wife and two daughters, and he sensed that his career was ending. He was ready for the next phase of his life.
He was making $35,000 a year his final year as a Celtic. During his final year, he was hired to coach the basketball team at Boston College. He would receive a salary of $20,000 to coach the Eagles. He accepted an offer to make a advertisement for cigarettes in order to make up for the lost salary. He received $10,000 for the ad. However, he soon regretted the decision, because he did not want to encourage other people to smoke. Cousy was a non smoker, and he felt guilty that he was promoting smoking. He asked the company to take the ads out of future magazine subscriptions. Cousy offered to give the money back. However, the company refused.
Cousy was honored on "Bob Cousy Day" at the Boston Garden. The ceremony took place before a game against the Syracuse Nationals. Rose Russell, Bill's wife, gave Missie a bouquet of roses. Dolph Shayes, a hall of fame player for the Nationals, gave Cousy china as a present from the Nationals. Frank Ramsay, representing the Celtics, gave Cousy a cigar humidor. Martha Grady, representing children who have cystic fibrosis, gave Cousy girls missals.
Others spoke during the ceremony. Joe Looney, a Boston sports writer, spoke. Ned Irish, president of the New York Knicks, said a few words. Boston's mayor, John Collins, made a presentation. All and all it was a fitting tribute to Cousy.
After Cousy retired, the Celtics won five championships in six years. In total, they won 11 in 13 years. After Cousy retired, the Celtics became Russell's team.
Pomerantz says "The modern NBA's style and substance, its startling growth, and its far-flung global popularity attach to Cousy. His theatricality and free-form improvisation live in the soul of today's NBA. His artful dribbling and no-look passes rate among the NBA's historic signature images with, among others, Abdul Jabbar's sky hook, Russell's shot block, Jordan's mid air levitations, and Julius Erving's swooping dunks." So, Pomerantz sees Cousy as an innovative player who helped influence the modern NBA. Cousy's flair for the dramatic, his unique passing style, his distinctive dribbling and play making ability make him one of the most influential players in NBA history.
Cousy played for Boston from 1950-1963. He helped Boston win 6 NBA titles. He averaged 18.4 points, 5.2 rebounds and 7.5 assists per game. He was selected to the All Star team 13 times. He also won an MVP award.
Russell played for the Celtics from 1956-1969. He won a record 11 NBA championships with the Celtics. He was chosen for the NBA all star team 12 times. He won the league MVP award five times, including three years in a row. He averaged 15.1 points, 22.5 rebounds and 4.3 assists per game.
Russell also influenced the modern NBA. Before Russell played, players would block shots out of bounds. However, Russell was able to block the basketball straight up and keep the basketball in play. Although Russell put up good numbers, it is impossible to define Russell's career simply by the numbers. Russell was a difference maker on defense and offense. Russell was a difference maker just by his presence on the floor.
As time went on, Russell became more outspoken against racism. Russell encouraged African Americans to work for equality. Russell became active in the civil rights movement. He used his platform as an athlete to promote racial equality and civil rights. Russell became more outspoken in his public comments about racial equality.
Russell believed that certain people in the Boston government did not care about the African American community. He spoke at high school graduation ceremonies. Increasingly, Russell became more civic minded.
In May, of 1969, Russell retired as a player and resigned as a coach. Russell relocated to Hollywood to try acting. He also wanted to be closer to his friend, Jim Brown. Russell also went on a speaking tour of various colleges.
In March, 1972, the Celtics wanted to retire Russell's number in a public ceremony. Russell informed Auerbach that he did not want to participate in the proceedings. However, Auerbach held an informal ceremony before the game in order to fulfill Russell's request. Russell was at the game as an ABC commentator. Russell did not acknowledge the standing ovation given by the Celtics' fans at the ceremony. It was clear, that Russell felt frustration at the city of Boston for it's perceived tolerance of racism.
When Russell was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame, he did not show up to the ceremony. Russell never explained why he did not show up to the ceremony.
In his second memoir, Second Wind, Russell spoke glowingly about Cousy. Despite his frustration with the city of Boston, Russell had positive feelings about his friend and former teammate.
Russell has had a very successful post basketball career. He received $400,000 to co author a work on leadership. He also received $25,000 per speech as a motivational speaker. Additionally, he was chosen by ESPN's Sports Century as one of the 20th century's greatest athletes. However, he refused to be involved in the project.
In 2011, President Barack Obama gave Russell the Presidential Medal of Freedom, which is the country's highest possible honor for a civilian. Russell was honored with former President George W. Bush, cellist Yo Yo Ma, Warren Buffett and poet Maya Angelou. During the ceremony, Obama referred to the racism that Russell had to deal with during his career.
Russell has always relied on his family when dealing with the difficulties of life. His children and grandchildren have been a source of strength for him. Russell, like Cousy, has dealt with the challenges of the aging process. However, both Cousy and Russell remain strong and dignified individuals.
No comments:
Post a Comment