UcMiami
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- Aug 26, 2011
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Read a few of the stories around the unveiling of the statue and two things stand out:
1. He won more professional championships (11) than any other team player before or since - more than Jordan, more than any Yankee, more than any Canadian more than any NFLer. I had never thought about that, but that is stunning to me - more than the combined titles won by all the other mount rushmore candidates in Boston combined by a wide margin.
2. I had remembered that he broke the Boston color barrier as coach of a pro team, had forgotten that he broke the national color barrier as well in 1966 - the Robinson of upper management at a time when a percentage of the country and his city openly questioned whether whites could be managed by blacks not just in sports but in any work place. It took another nine years for baseball to have its first manager/HC, and 23 years for the NFL. And as far as the country acknowledging black excellence - 1962 Jackie Robinson became the first black HOFer, NFL - 1967, 1975 - NBA first HOFer as a player (Russell) (1972 first owner from the barnstorming early years.) That kind of ground breaking is never easy on the ground breaker and we as a nation and Boston in particular had not advanced a whole lot since the Robinson's era - I like to think we have in the 40+ years since.
While basketball fans in general acknowledge Russell as one of the greats, there is still a segment of Boston that would name Cousy and Havlicek and Bird and then Auerbach before they would mention Russell - the only one that matches his achievements is Auerbach and their legacies are intertwined as well as their lifelong friendship.
Another story - a suburb of Boston circulating a petition to keep Russell from buying a house in their town. A very very different era in US history and one where the civil rights laws were still being fought on the streets of many cities. Someone above used the term 'smarty pants' but the more frequent term at the time was 'uppity' followed by a very bad word.
(Ozzie - that was not a dig at you, I didn't have a problem with your post but your word was a useful lead-in.)
1. He won more professional championships (11) than any other team player before or since - more than Jordan, more than any Yankee, more than any Canadian more than any NFLer. I had never thought about that, but that is stunning to me - more than the combined titles won by all the other mount rushmore candidates in Boston combined by a wide margin.
2. I had remembered that he broke the Boston color barrier as coach of a pro team, had forgotten that he broke the national color barrier as well in 1966 - the Robinson of upper management at a time when a percentage of the country and his city openly questioned whether whites could be managed by blacks not just in sports but in any work place. It took another nine years for baseball to have its first manager/HC, and 23 years for the NFL. And as far as the country acknowledging black excellence - 1962 Jackie Robinson became the first black HOFer, NFL - 1967, 1975 - NBA first HOFer as a player (Russell) (1972 first owner from the barnstorming early years.) That kind of ground breaking is never easy on the ground breaker and we as a nation and Boston in particular had not advanced a whole lot since the Robinson's era - I like to think we have in the 40+ years since.
While basketball fans in general acknowledge Russell as one of the greats, there is still a segment of Boston that would name Cousy and Havlicek and Bird and then Auerbach before they would mention Russell - the only one that matches his achievements is Auerbach and their legacies are intertwined as well as their lifelong friendship.
Another story - a suburb of Boston circulating a petition to keep Russell from buying a house in their town. A very very different era in US history and one where the civil rights laws were still being fought on the streets of many cities. Someone above used the term 'smarty pants' but the more frequent term at the time was 'uppity' followed by a very bad word.
(Ozzie - that was not a dig at you, I didn't have a problem with your post but your word was a useful lead-in.)
