In Game 6, Russell recorded his first career triple-double with 19 points, 24 rebounds, and 10 assists as the Celtics won 119105. Athletically awkward at first, Russell struggled to find playing time on the team at McClymonds High School in Oakland. He was notorious for his public surliness and judgmental attitude towards others. He still holds the NBA record for rebounds in one half with 32 (vs. Philadelphia, November 16, 1957). I was first team All American. Bill Russell Children: Meet Jacob Russell, William Russell Jr We strive for accuracy and fairness.If you see something that doesn't look right,contact us! He was also much respected for his ability to inspire and motivate his team members to improve their playing techniques and give their best. [50][64] In the second overtime, both teams were in serious foul trouble: Heinsohn had fouled out, and the Hawks were so depleted that they had only seven players left. William Felton Russell was born on February 12th in 1934. [16] In 2021, he was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame a second time for his coaching career. Language links are at the top of the page across from the title. He reasoned that if Saperstein was too smart to speak with him, then he was too smart to play for Saperstein. But by his senior year, his game had picked up enough to earn him a starting spot. He led USF to NCAA championships in 1955 and 1956, including a string of 55 consecutive victories, and a 26-point, 27-rebound, 20-block performance in one game. Of the book, Bill Bradley wrote for The New York Times Book Review that "Bill Russell is a private, complex man, but on the subject of his love of Red Auerbach and his Celtic teammates, he's loud and clear. [21] Of Russell the college basketball player, Mikan said: "Let's face it, he's the best ever. Russell said he was "proud of my grandfather's heroic dignity against forces more powerful than him he would not allow himself to be oppressed or intimidated by anyone." That's the first thing Walter Brown said to Chuck Cooper. Russell described himself as an avid reader of Dell Magazines' 1950s sports publications, which he used to scout opponents' moves for the purpose of defending against them. [20] When World War II broke out, the elder Russell became a truck driver. [89] In Game 3, Russell had 21 points, 38 rebounds, and 6 assists. Even as he won on the court, Russell, an outspoken backer of the Civil Rights Movement, experienced his struggles off of it. The NCAA had previously prohibited goaltending in response to George Mikan (1945) and later banned the dunk shot due to Lew Alcindor (1967), although the latter rule was later repealed. [49], In the draft, Boston Celtics coach Red Auerbach set his sights on Russell, thinking his defensive toughness and rebounding prowess were the missing pieces the Celtics needed. Regarded as one of the best ever players in the history of the National Basketball Association (NBA), William Felton Bill Russell was a professional basketball player who was the centerpiece of the Bostons Celtics for a period of 13 years. The already hostile atmosphere between Russell and Boston hit its apex when vandals broke into his house in Reading, Massachusetts, covered the walls with racist graffiti, damaged his trophies, and defecated in the beds. Bill Russell had an impressive record not just as a basketball player, but more importantly, as a civil rights activist. Even as he won on the court, Russell, an outspoken backer of Russell's father was once refused service at a gas station until the staff had taken care of all the white customers first. [62] In Boston, both fans and journalists felt betrayed because Russell left the Celtics without a coach and a center, and he sold his retirement story for $10,000 to Sports Illustrated. .css-m6thd4{-webkit-text-decoration:none;text-decoration:none;display:block;margin-top:0;margin-bottom:0;font-family:Gilroy,Helvetica,Arial,Sans-serif;font-size:1.125rem;line-height:1.2;font-weight:bold;color:#323232;text-transform:capitalize;}@media (any-hover: hover){.css-m6thd4:hover{color:link-hover;}}10 Things You Might Not Know About Jimmy Butler, Celebrities & Notables Running the Boston Marathon, 7 Facts About Gymnast and TikTok Star Olivia Dunne, Nat Sweetwater Cliftons First NBA Season, 8 Negro League Legends Featured in a New MLB Game, Get to Know NCAA Tournament Star Caitlin Clark. [57] Russell never had to work part-time. [30] Woolpert's choice of how to deploy his players was unaffected by their skin color. 5. Over the next several decades he periodically came back to the game as a coach or as an executive, but his teams failed to win with the kind of regularity he enjoyed as a player. Bill Russell started playing for the Celtics in the 1956-57 season in December. [158], On August 11, 2022, it was announced that Russell's No. Because Russell ignored virtually any well-wisher who approached him home or away, including the vast majority of media, his autograph was among the most difficult to secure of any professional athlete of his time. [108] Russell then reversed himself and ordered his team to double-team West and Boston won Game 3. He kept up his excellent performance during the 1964-65 season too when he helped the Celtics win a league-record of 62 games. NBA legend Bill Russell, an 11-time NBA champion with the Boston Celtics and the first Black head coach in the league, passed away Sunday, July 31, according to [50], The Celtics lost Cousy to retirement after the 196263 NBA season, and they drafted John Havlicek and were powered by Russell, who averaged 16.8 points and 23.6 rebounds per game, won his fourth regular-season MVP award, and earned the NBA All-Star Game MVP honors at the 1963 NBA All-Star Game following his 19-point, 24-rebound performance for the Eastern Conference's All-Star team. He was voted the NBA Most Valuable Player but only named to the All-NBA Second Team, something that would occur repeatedly throughout his career, as players voted for the MVP award, something that would last until the 197980 NBA season, while the media has always voted for the All-NBA teams. [121] In addition, Russell ran into financial trouble. [4] Decades later, Russell explained that his experiences hardened him against abuse of all kinds,[35] saying: "I never permitted myself to be a victim. The Celtics rallied back, winning Game 5 122104 and Game 6 114106, powered by a spirited Havlicek and helped by a terrible Sixers shooting slump. If I looked at it objectively, detached myself, it would be a deficiency. [38] Russell led the team in scoring, averaging 14.1 points per game for the competition. "[215], In 1966, Russell was promoted to head coach of the Celtics. It's all over! [5] This took place during his last season (1969) and was the first season the NBA All-Defensive Teams were selected. [2] Russell and Henri Richard of the National Hockey League are tied for the record of the most championships won by an athlete in a North American sports league. [50][90], In the 196364 NBA season, the Celtics posted a league-best 5822 record in the regular season. [59], At that time, Russell received much negative publicity as a player. He later said: "The most successful television is done in eight-second thoughts, and the things I know about basketball, motivation, and people go deeper than that. [21] In delivering a eulogy for Chamberlain, Russell stated that he did not consider them to be rivals, but rather to have a competition, and that the pair would "be friends through eternity". Russell regarded Auerbach as "the greatest of all coaches". I refuse to smile and be nice to the kiddies. His early childhood was shaped by poor health, as the sickly Russell battled several different illnesses. Constantly provoked by New York Knicks center Ray Felix during a game, he complained to coach Auerbach, who told him to take matters into his own hands. Hailed as the greatest winner in sports, Basketball Hall of Fame center Bill Russell led the Boston Celtics to an unprecedented 11 championships in 13 seasons. "[166] In 2000, his longtime teammate Tom Heinsohn described both Russell's stature and his uneasy relationship with Boston more earthily, saying: "Look, all I know is the guy came to Boston and won 11 championships in 13 years, and they named a bleeping tunnel after Ted Williams. Hall of Fame basketball center Bill Russell led the University of San Francisco to consecutive NCAA titles before starting his pro career with the Boston Celtics in 1956. While in Oakland he was very poor but became a [5], For his achievements, Russell was named "Sportsman of the Year" by Sports Illustrated in 1968. They had three children and divorced in 1973. Equally skilled at grabbing rebounds, he was just one of the only two players to have made more than 50 rebounds in a single game and had a dozen consecutive seasons of 1,000 or more rebounds. [161] In 2009, Slam named him the third best player of all-time behind Jordan and Chamberlain. Russells superstardom was special not just because of his amazing performances, what made his success even more special was the fact that he was the first African-American player in the NBA history to achieve such glory' he was also the first African-American to become an NBA coach. [116] While Russell long had sore feelings towards Boston, there was something of a reconciliation, and he visited the city regularly in his later years, something he never did in the years immediately after his retirement. He ended his playing career at the age of 35. [206] At the time his additional role of coach was announced, Russell publicly stated he believed Red Auerbach's impact as a coach confined every or almost every relationship with each Celtic player to a strictly professional one. Following the 1966 season, in which Russell led the Celtics to an eighth consecutive title, Auerbach retired from coaching. The Lakers featured new recruit Chamberlain next to perennial stars Baylor and West, and were the favorites. He thrived at the USF under Coach Phil Woolpert who helped him develop his unique technique of defense. However, he still made 12.5 points per game and 18.6 rebounds per game. [20] Since Russell's previous experiences with white authority figures were often negative, warm words from Powles reassured him. The talented player had grown up in a neighbourhood notorious for its rampant racism. [203] Later in Russell's career, John Havlicek said of his teammate and coach that he threw up less often than early in his career, only doing so "when it's an important game or an important challenge for himsomeone like Chamberlain, or someone coming up that everyone's touting. Well, that let me know that if I were to accept these as the final judges of my career I would die a bitter old man." The couple grew emotionally distant and divorced. [70] It was the record for most rebounds in a single game until November 24, 1960, when Chamberlain grabbed 55 rebounds against Russell,[13] who led the Celtics to a 132129 win over the Philadelphia Warriors with 18 points, 19 rebounds, and 5 assists. We won 28 out of 29 games. Bill Russell grins at announcement that he had been named coach of the Boston Celtics basketball team, April 18, 1966. [182] In 1996, Russell married his third wife, Marilyn Nault;[183] their marriage lasted until her death in January 2009. Brown contacted Rochester owner Les Harrison and received an assurance that the Royals could not afford Russell, and they would draft Sihugo Green. [118] He finished with a 341290 regular season record and was 3427 in the playoffs. [217] He was quoted as saying: "From my very first year I thought of myself as playing for the Celtics, not for Boston. [4][8] While at USF, he and Jones helped pioneer a play that later became known as the alley-oop. The first team to start five black players was the Boston Celtics. DeJulio was unimpressed by Russell's meager scoring and "atrocious fundamentals",[29] but he sensed that the young Russell had an extraordinary instinct for the game, especially in the clutch. Bill Russell's selection to the Basketball Hall of Fame for his coaching career was announced on May 16, 2021. When Russell was eight years old, his father moved the family out of Louisiana and settled in Oakland, California. Charles Russell was initially a janitor in a paper factory, and when World War II broke out, he became a truck driver. Reserve forward Alex Hannum threw a long alley-oop pass to Pettit and Pettit's tip-in rolled indecisively on the rim for several seconds before rolling out again. In his first NBA playoff game against the Syracuse Nationals in 1957, he finished with 16 points and 31 rebounds along with 7 blocks. Born to William Bill Russell and his college sweetheart Rose Swisher a year into their marriage (December 9, 1956) on November 2, 1957, William Bill Felton "[50], Duiring the 196869 NBA season, Russell was shocked by the assassination of Robert F. Kennedy, disillusioned by the Vietnam War, and weary from his increasingly stale marriage to his wife Rose; the couple later divorced. Russell's Celtics went 5737 in the regular season against Chamberlain's teams and 2920 in the playoffs, Chamberlain's losing seven of the eight series. [110], For most of his career, Russell and his perennial opponent Wilt Chamberlain were close friends. UCLA Bruins coach John Wooden called Russell "the greatest defensive man I've ever seen". In Game 4, the Celtics were trailing by one point with seven seconds left and the Lakers had the ball until Baylor stepped out of bounds. [99] On April 16, 1966, Russell agreed to become head coach of the Celtics, and a public announcement was made two days later. To coach the Celtics, he had initially wanted his old player Frank Ramsey, who was too occupied running his three lucrative nursing homes. When the Sixers' Hall-of-Fame guard Hal Greer inbounded, Havlicek stole the ball, causing Celtics commentator Johnny Most to scream: "Havlicek stole the ball! During Russell's college career, the conference was known as the California Basketball Association. Auerbach knew that the Rochester Royals, who owned the first draft pick, already had a strong rebounder in Maurice Stokes, were looking for an outside shooting guard, and were unwilling to pay Russell the $25,000 signing bonus he requested. With Russell anchoring the middle of the floor, the Celtics finished with the NBA's best record in 1957, and went on to win the title over the Hawks in a tense seven-game series. 6 jersey was retired by the Celtics on March 12, 1972,[114] Russell had worn the same number 6 at the USF and for the 1956 U.S. Olympic team. Auerbach agreed to trade Macauley, who had previously asked to be traded to St. Louis in order to be with his sick son, if the Hawks gave up Russell. Eleven-time NBA champion and Boston Celtics legend Bill Russell died 'peacefully' at the age of 88, his family confirmed Sunday. 6 jersey", "Bill Russell Statue Unveiled At Boston City Hall", "Bill Russell statue to be unveiled Nov. 1", "City Hall Plaza statue honors Celtics' Bill Russell", "Basketball's Bill Russell joins the Bronze Age", "Russell Rule Diversity Hiring Commitment", "The University of San Francisco Honors the Memory of Marilyn Nault Russell", "Bill Russell: 5 Fast Facts You Need to Know", "Bill Russell, legendary Celtics center and NBA coach, dead at 88", "Indomitable Russell Values One Accolade Above the Rest", "Police: NBA legend Bill Russell arrested with gun at airport", "Bill Russell, Basketball Great With Record 11 NBA Titles, Dies At 88", "Celtics legend, 11-time NBA champion Bill Russell dies at 88", "What NBA salaries would these superstar players make today?
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