Cass Anderson is the Editor-in-Chief of BroBible. Bill hasnt shared how he met his last wife, but he adored her. His home was accosted on a few occasions, and he heard he would not get MVP because he was black from a reporter. Moreover, the Celtics needed to move up in the draft order to pick him; with Russell coming off two straight NCAA titles, some team was bound to take the plunge. (SOUNDBITE OF DOCUMENTARY, "BILL RUSSELL: LEGEND"). MVP All-Star Game (1963) after 19 points and 24 rebounds. She has done a lot of activist work, and her articles can be found in the New York Times Magazine, HuffPost, and many other publications. The family moved from Louisiana to Oakland during World War II due to employment opportunities for the blacks in the west at the time. Anstett competed in theMiss Washingtonpageant in 1967, finishing in second place. NPR transcripts are created on a rush deadline by an NPR contractor. WebFamily Life. I thought she was going to take care of it. On the day of Bill Russells private funeral, NBA announces its greatest honor: the permanent retirement of No. But we learned that, you know, he had a very interesting life and complicated life off the court. Its impossible to tell the story of the NBA without also telling the story of Bill Russell. He was a man who grew up in Monroe, La., moved to Oakland with his family when he was a young, young man in his pre-teens. He was at the '67 summit in Cleveland with Jim Brown and Muhammad Ali. He is a best-selling author and thirty years after he won he remained a recognizable face and a legend. He was assaulted by a group of guys that ran by. During his 13-year NBA career, Russell led the Boston Celtics to 11 championships - two as a player coach. She represented the USA atMiss Universe 1968in July, where she placed fourth runner-up. Russel died on July 31, 2022. His calling card was defense, rebounding, andabove all elseshot blocking, which he transformed into a fluid athletic art in the same way that some of his contemporaries had altered the perception of what was possible on offense. If he was out dining and got approached by someone asking for his signature, Russells usual response was to instead ask the person to join him at the table to have a conversation about life. Although possessing a perfect basketball height and huge hands to aid his efficiency, Bill Russell initially had struggles in understanding the game. He brought a defensive style of play and led his side to the playoffs, the first in their franchise history. Declared Greatest Player in the History of the NBA by the Professional Basketball Writers Association of America (1980). NBA legend Bill Russell, an 11-time NBA champion with the Boston Celtics and the first Black head coach in the league, passed away peacefully Sunday, And she said What!. MARTIN: One of the things that I think people today don't realize is how much he had to put up with as a player. His on-court achievements did not give him a platform; instead, they granted him a strange kind of amnestythe very greatness that should have forced others to listen somehow overshadowed any trouble he might have wanted to stir up. Even against more physically imposing centers, like .css-47aoac{-webkit-text-decoration:underline;text-decoration:underline;text-decoration-thickness:0.0625rem;text-decoration-color:inherit;text-underline-offset:0.25rem;color:#A00000;-webkit-transition:all 0.3s ease-in-out;transition:all 0.3s ease-in-out;}.css-47aoac:hover{color:#595959;text-decoration-color:border-link-body-hover;}Wilt Chamberlain, Russell was a defensive and rebounding force. Russell used this mindset while on the court and in WebBill Russell was an American former basketball coach and former professional basketball player who was universally acknowledged as one of the greatest American UNIDENTIFIED PERSON #2: There was a full house in Kiel Auditorium on that night in December 1956. 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's daughter, Karen, is a legal and political analyst, as well as a blogger. 6 jersey across the entire league. It's titled, appropriately enough, "Bill Russell: Legend.". The term Dynasty might have never applied to Basketball had it not been for Bill Russell. We don't remember a lot of the abuse that he had to put up with earlier in his career. Publicity Listings Throughout his career, Bill Russell won 11 NBA championship rings. Bill Russell, the greatest defensive player of all time, has a special place in the NBAs Hall of Fame. This unlikely superstar came into the NBA as a center for the Boston Celtics and played for the team for his entire 13 years of career. All 5 of them, 1 at a time. POLLARD: I don't think he was as vocal. When Russell was eight years old, his father moved the family to Oakland, California, where the job prospects were better. In 2011, the United States ex-president, President Barack Obama honoured Bill Russell with thePresidential Medal of Freedomin favour of his sporting achievements as well as in thecivil rights movement. WebBill Russell February 12, 1934 Russell was born on February 12, 1934, to Charles Russell and Katie Russell in West Monroe, Louisiana. Russell capped his amateur career by leading the U.S. mens basketball team to the gold medal at the 1956 Melbourne Olympics. A San Diego judge had a defendants 13-year-old daughter handcuffed. He had such curiosity about human nature, about psychology, Branch said. MARTIN: Do you kind of get the feeling that, in a way, his story was hiding in plain sight? BroBible is the #1 place on the internet for the very best content from the worlds of sports, culture, gear, high tech, and more. And so thats the kind of stuff I got from my mother.. He endured insults and vandalism, but he kept on focusing on making the teammates who he loved better players, and made possible the success of so many who would follow, Obama said that day. WebAbout Bill Russell Composer William "Bill" Russell (February 26, 1905 August 9, 1992) was an American music historian and modernist composer. Bill was only nine years old at the time. All rights reserved. It was a treasure for me to be around Bill and see how he viewed the world in all of its dimensions.. Russell asked for a gun permit. But I think this documentary will reset the clock on that and understand Bill from the other perspective, besides being a phenomenal basketball legend. We go back to our place and Im crying. Bill Russell had three kids, Karen, William Jr., and Jacob. Considered one of the greatest basketball players in NBA history, William Felton Russell was born on February 12, 1934, in Monroe, Louisiana. Watch out, Pettit. NBA Most Valuable Player (1958, 1961-1963, 1965). Cowboys for Trump cofounder Couy Griffin has been found not guilty of a misdemeanor charge of failing to register a political group and provide financial disclosures at a trial in southern New Mexico, Former President Barack Obama is marking the retirement of the South Carolina woman credited with popularizing the chant Fired up, ready to go!, Top diplomats from the worlds major industrialized and developing nations have opened what are expected to be contentious talks dominated by Russias war in Ukraine and Chinas moves to boost its global influence, Authorities say a central Florida man has been arrested after fatally shooting his teenage daughter and three other people, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has vowed to strengthen state control over agriculture and make all available efforts to increase grain production, as the country faces a worsening food shortage, The man convicted of killing eight people in a terrorist attack on a Manhattan bike path declined to testify in the death penalty phase of his trial, just as he had before the jury returned guilty verdicts, Privacy PolicyTerms of ServiceSign Up For Our NewslettersSite Map, Copyright 2023, The San Diego Union-Tribune |, FILE - Boston Celtics legend Bill Russell stands court side during a tribute in his honor in the second quarter of an NBA basketball game against the Milwaukee Bucks in Boston, Nov. 1, 2013. It's no conversation. Best Known For: 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. | His last season came in 1968/69 as he began to age and lose interest in the professionalism of basketball. Granted, it was in part because no one could deal with the moody Russell except Russell himself, but it still made him the first African American coach in NBA history, as well as the first to win a title when Boston took the 196768 championship. Bill Russell is survived by three children: Jacob, William Russell Jr, and Karen. Have something to tell us about this article? That was the way I conducted my life.. Jeannine is a former professional golfer and was often seen on Bills social media: In other news, Best Jake Paul vs Tommy Fury memes after undefeated Brit beats YouTuber. Athletically awkward at first, Russell struggled to find playing time on the team at McClymonds High School in Oakland. After losing manager Red Auerbach to retirement in the 1966/67 season, Russell picked up the managerial position as a player-coach. Inducted into the Sport in Society Hall of Fame, 2000. Coon. He shared all three kids with his first wife Rose Swisher. Bill was born to Katie and Charles Russell. UNIDENTIFIED PERSON #1: No. With his first wife, Rose, to whom he was married for 17 years, he had three children: a daughter, Karen, and two sons, Buddha and Jacob. Go back to Africa, you baboon. Russell was married to his college girlfriend Rose Swisher from 1956 to 1973, they had three children but then grew apart and divorced in 1977. Yet, he led the Celtics to the NBA championships in a victory over the Lakers and immediately announced his retirement from basketball as a coach and player. WebBill Russell Legend on DVD - Both Episodes The life and career of Hall of Fame NBA player Bill Russell is celebrated in the documentary Bill Russel: Legend. On the court, Russell was a force to be reckoned with a champion who sacrificed himself for his teammates and love of basketball. Russell anchored a Boston Celtics dynasty that won 11 titles in 13 years. At 18 he went to college, at San Francisco, where he won two NCAA Championships in 1955 and 1956. So how did he deal with it? He stood side-by-side with Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. in the 1960s, the height of the civil rights movement. The NBA great Bill Russell has died at age 88. 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And he learned basketball when he went to Oakland. INSIDE THE LAKERS LEGENDS RELATIONSHIPS, WHAT WE KNOW ABOUT LEBRON JAMES DAD ANTHONY MCCLELLAND, FANS ASK WHATS WRONG WITH ANTHONY DAVIS? AFTER REACTION TO LEBRON BREAKING RECORD, Best Jake Paul vs Tommy Fury memes after undefeated Brit beats YouTuber, {{#media.media_details}} {{#media.focal_point}}. NBA legend Bill Russell passed away at the age of 88. With his first wife, Rose, to whom he was married for 17 years, he had three children: a daughter, Karen, and two sons, Buddha Russell knew that he had won, but he wanted to win over Chamberlain, and did not. He helped the team to the play-offs and his shot-blocking abilities were efficient in the NBA final against the St. Louis Hawks which the Celtics narrowly won. He won five MVP awards, tied for second-most with Michael Jordan, one behind Kareem Abdul-Jabbars league record. He was born and brought up in a super-rich-class Catholic Christian family from West Monroe, Louisiana, United States. Do you know what I mean? Also coached the NBA's Seattle Supersonics and Sacramento Kings. No one in the history of North American team sports won at a higher level than Bill Russell did as a member of the Boston Celtics, capturing 11 championships in his 13 seasons with the team. Thanks, mom. And now Netflix is out with a new documentary. Bill Russell would lead the Boston Celtics to 9 straight NBA titles, many times over vaunted rivals the Philadelphia Warriors, and later the Philadelphia 76ers, and the Los Angeles Lakers. Being fearless in the real world even when dealing with matters of race in some of the nations darkest times on that topic was somehow even easier. {{#media.media_details}} {{#media.focal_point}}. Due to the demise of his mother, Bills father decided to work in a steel factory in order to provide emotional support for his children. Rose Swisher and Bill Russell had three children, daughter Karen Russell and sons William Jr and Jacob. If you have three hours and want to check out Russells story, you can watch this video right below. Member, gold medal-winning U.S. Olympic Team (1956). Russell was married three times. Updated. View agent, publicist, legal and company contact details on IMDbPro. At this point in his life, Russell noticed that basketball could change the problems of poverty and racism and then added more seriousness and passion to his play. Concentration and mental toughness are the margins of victory. But he was a very, you know, well-rounded human being who believed that it was not only a responsibility as a player, but the responsibility of an African American man. You know, I want you to understand, like a lot of these films about (inaudible) the complexity of the human being, we're playing up on a screen. Russell was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 1975. She grabbed the keys to the house and grabbed me. Inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 1975 as a player and 2021 as a coach. Celebrities, athletes and politicians are paying homage to NBA Hall of Famer Bill Russell, who has died at the age of 88, his family announced Sunday. He was the greatest and most dominant winner we've ever seen in the history of basketball. [December 2003]. After his retirement, he served as head coach of the Seattle SuperSonics (197377) and the Sacramento Kings (198788), served as a commentator on television broadcasts of NBA games, and continued to remain active in social causes. Visit our website terms of use and permissions pages at www.npr.org for further information. While every effort has been made to follow citation style rules, there may be some discrepancies. Official Sites. Auerbachs lineup came out of necessity; he was notoriously indifferent to social causes and the opposing backlash. In the 1961/62 season, Bill Russell recorded his career highest score by an average of 18.9 points and 23.6 rebounds per game; he also scored 30 points and 40 rebounds in the finals helping the Celtics to defeat a rugged Lakers side. Bills third wife was Marilyn Nault, whom he married in 1996. Bill was named an NBA All-Star 12 times (19581969), the NBA MVP 5 times (1958, 19611963, 1965), and the NBA All-Star Game MVP in 1963. In his 1st season, the Celtics failed to reach and win the NBA finals for the 1st time in 8 years. You know, one night, they came back to this house. Please refer to the appropriate style manual or other sources if you have any questions. Like, we certainly know, when it comes to Jackie Robinson, you know, the abuse that was directed at him. Although Bill Russell played less than 50 games, due to the fact he has won a gold medal for basketball in the Olympics, in his first NBA season he definitely made his presence felt. Russell who began his professional career in the NBA in 1956 and ended it in 1969 with a total of eleven NBA championships won, is arguably one of the greatest basketball players of all time. He later received a scholarship from the University of San Francisco. 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. Thats what I did, Russell said in 2009. He was in the audience when King delivered the I Have A Dream speech in Washington in 1963. Bill Russell, a towering figure in the NBA and in American sports history, died at 88 on Sunday, his family announced. But without Bill Russell there is no doubt the Boston Celtics would not be the rock-solid professional sports team they have become in their legendary run of championships. 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