[118] Russell also served as general manager of the SuperSonics during his coaching tenure,[119] and held the same position with the Kings during the 198889 season. [4] In his USF years, Russell took advantage of his relative lack of bulk to develop a unique defensive style: instead of purely guarding the opposing center, he used his quickness and speed to play help defense against opposing forwards and aggressively challenge their shots. Russell agreed to the project so long as it promoted and raised money for mentorship programs. Thats despite the fact he personally had a merely comfortable lifestyle based in St. George, Utah as a proud truck driver at Cox Trucking, which he had truly developed an interest in early on. Last modified on Sun 4 Sep 2022 13.55 EDT. Bill Russell's daughter, Karen, was born on January 20, 1962. 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. [15], Russell was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 1975, was one of the founding inductees into the National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame in 2006 and was enshrined in the FIBA Hall of Fame in 2007. [5], Despite his limitations on offense, as Russell averaged 15.1 points per game, his rebounding, defense, and leadership made him one of the dominant players of his era. Bill Russell was a father to two sons named Williams Jr. and Jacob. He's so good, he scares you. Jones. 6 jersey to be retired throughout NBA", "NBA players who currently wear No. [19] When he later became a standout college player at USF, Russell recalled how he and his few fellow black teammates were jeered by white students. Russell held Chamberlain to a pair of field goals in the first three quarters of Game 3. [20], At USF, Russell became the new starting center for coach Phil Woolpert of the San Francisco Dons. [49][89], In the 196364 NBA season, the Celtics posted a league-best 5822 record in the regular season. He starred in college playing center at the University of San Francisco, leading the team to . [136] He was named as a 2010 recipient of the Presidential Medal of Freedom. 6 jersey was retired by the Celtics on March 12, 1972. [50], Before his NBA rookie year, Russell was the captain of the 1956 U.S. men's Olympic basketball team that competed at the 1956 Summer Olympics, which was held in November and December in Melbourne, Australia, in the Southern Hemisphere. Goudsouzian stated that a segment of the file called Russell "an arrogant Negro who won't sign autographs for white children." His brother, Charlie, was a respected playwright. Bill had two sons William Felton Jr and Jacob who kept their private lives out of the public spotlight. After all, every step he took was to ensure social change for the betterment of not just his family, his community, the game of basketball, and the entire sporting industry but also people in general. "[109][207] When his white Celtics teammate Frank Ramsey asked whether he hated him, Russell stated that he had been misquoted but few believed it. Russell had three children from his first marriage William . The Celtics made good use of the fact that the Los Angeles Lakers had exhausted the St. Louis Hawks in a long seven-game Western Conference Finals,[75] and Boston won the 1961 NBA Finals in five games. 6 jersey would be retired throughout the National Basketball Association, the first time a jersey had been retired league-wide in NBA history, and joining Jackie Robinson and Wayne Gretzky in the honor among the four major American sports leagues. [109] According to Taylor, Russell discounted the fact that his career was facilitated by white people who were proven anti-racists: his high school coach George Powles, who encouraged him to play basketball, his college coach Phil Woolpert, who integrated USF basketball, Celtics coach Red Auerbach, who made him the first black NBA coach and is regarded as an anti-racist pioneer for his no color barrier, and Celtics owner Walter A.

Goodwill Return Policy Ohio, Pavandeep Singh Leicester, Articles B