This comment is from Alan Beebe, a Colchester resident.
Like many others, I was saddened to learn of the recent death of Boston Celtics basketball icon Bill Russell. As a Celtics fan during their heyday in the 1960s, I remember well his exploits on the pitch, particularly his titanic battles with the great Wilt Chamberlain.
Highly intelligent, highly competitive (sound the alarm: he was known for throwing up before critical games), Russell was an inspirational leader who valued team play rather than individual glory. He was proud, but not proud, and never flashy. Though reserved and aloof at times, he is said to have been as influential among athletes in civil rights struggles as Jackie Robinson.
On a Saturday night in the fall of 1968, Russell and the Celtics played the Philadelphia 76ers in an NBA preseason game. The game was not played in Boston or Philadelphia or any other major city. It took place at Patrick Gym in Burlington.
I was in high school in Port Henry, New York at the time. My school offered bus transportation to the game, and like many others, I jumped at the opportunity to participate. It would be the first time either of us has attended a professional sporting event.
The two teams on the floor came from the highest league of the NBA. The Celtics were the reigning NBA champions while the 76ers had won the NBA championship the previous year. Wilt Chamberlain played center on this team; Unfortunately, the 76ers had sold him less than three months earlier. Oh, to have seen Wilt play that night!
But even without Chamberlain, 10 future inductees of the Basketball Hall of Fame were in attendance, including Russell. Russell fulfilled a dual role for the Celtics – not only playing at center but also being their coach. He was the first black head coach of a major US professional sports team and is one of the few to have been inducted into the Hall of Fame twice – as a player and as a coach.
The Celtics lost the game that night. I don’t remember the end result; it didn’t matter. (It was only a preseason game, after all.) Right after the last buzzer, several of us ran to the floor to meet Russell, albeit briefly. (There was practically no security back then.)
We approached him with our right arms outstretched and wanted to shake his hand. To tell the truth, he rejected our advances, but I never blamed him. I’m sure he wanted to get away quickly, knowing he had a long night of travel ahead of him.
In the months that followed, the Celtics finished fourth in their division after a mediocre regular season plagued by injuries. But somehow they prevailed in the postseason and won the NBA championship by defeating the LA Lakers with Wilt Chamberlain. Russell announced his retirement shortly after the season ended after leading the Celtics to 11 NBA titles in 13 years, the last two as player-coach. It’s an achievement that will never be repeated.
Russell’s story didn’t end there. Over four decades later, he was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom, our highest civilian honor, for his achievements in sports and for his efforts to advance civil rights.
In this era of mega-dollar player contracts and endorsement deals, team jets, private practice facilities, and grand arenas with luxury suites and jumbotrons, it’s unimaginable that two elite NBA teams would have a preseason game in a small town like Burlington at a similar location would hold the Patrick Gym. It’s also unlikely that a game would feature 10 future Hall of Famers (other than possibly an All-Star game) one of whom would receive the Presidential Medal of Freedom.
But on an early October night over half a century ago it happened. I’ll never forget it.
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