11/9/2022 0 Comments Bill russell![]() ![]() Truth be known, he rebuffed our overtures, but I never blamed him for that. We approached him with our right arms outstretched, wanting to shake his hand. (Security in those days was virtually nonexistent.) (After all, it was only a preseason game.) Right after the final buzzer, several of us ran onto the floor for a chance to meet Russell, if only briefly. I don't remember the final score it didn't matter. #Bill russell pro#pro sports team, and is one of only a small handful to be inducted to the Hall of Fame twice - as a player and as a coach. He was the first Black head coach of a major U.S. Oh, to have seen Wilt play that night!īut even without Chamberlain, there were 10 future Basketball Hall of Fame members on hand, Russell among them. Russell performed double duty for the Celtics - in addition to playing center, he was their coach. The Celtics were the reigning NBA champs while the 76ers had won the NBA championship in the prior year. Wilt Chamberlain played center on that team alas, the 76ers had traded him away less than three months before. The two teams on the floor were from the top tier of the NBA. It would be the first time that any of us had attended a professional sporting event. ![]() My school offered bus transportation to the game, and like several others I jumped at the opportunity to attend. It was held at the Patrick Gym in Burlington.Īt the time, I was in high school in Port Henry, New York. The game wasn’t played in Boston or Philadelphia, or any other large city for that matter. On a Saturday night in the fall of 1968, Russell and the Celtics played the Philadelphia 76ers in an NBA preseason game. ![]()
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