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If it weren't
for Bill Russell
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winning all them championships,
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would anybody be talking
about the Boston Celtics? No.
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Are you kidding? It's no conversation.
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He was the greatest
and most dominant winner
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we've ever seen
in the history of basketball.
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And you know what's on his hands?
More rings than fingers.
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Eleven rings, that's…
Who else can live up to that?
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We're never gonna see
a winner like that again.
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He would beat God. He's the Big Bang.
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He won 11 championships,
two as a player-coach.
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Five times, he was voted
the Most Valuable Player in the NBA.
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Bill Russell's legacy,
pioneer of the game.
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He created
the most awesome American sports dynasty
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that's ever existed.
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Everybody in the league,
when they think of Bill Russell,
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they think about winning.
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He could win a game without scoring.
Nobody else could do that.
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He's the smartest player
that ever played the game.
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Bill terrorized anybody
that tried to come in the lane and shoot.
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Because of Russell,
I don't like green, Boston clam chowder…
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…I don't like anything Boston.
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Every team
and every player in the league
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tried to bring down the dynasty.
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Only one ever came close.
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It was a great duel and a great matchup.
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These were two mythical beasts,
like big titans fighting for the ring.
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They were epic battles,
and that's what we came to see.
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Chamberlain towers over him,
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Chamberlain dominates every single player
he comes across, anywhere.
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But he didn't have the numbers that count,
and that was winning championships.
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This year's
Medal of Freedom recipients
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reveal the best of who we are
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and who we aspire to be.
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More than any athlete of his era,
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Bill Russell came to define
the word "winner."
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Bill Russell, the man,
is someone who stood up
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for the rights and dignity of all men.
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He marched with King.
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He stood by Ali.
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He made possible the success
of so many who would follow.
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A good thing about leaders
is they lead by example.
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He changed a lot of rules,
and it broke a lot of barriers.
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Bill was fighting
for something much bigger,
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and that was to belong
on an equal playing field
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as white America.
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Earlier today, it was announced
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that Boston Celtics basketball legend
Bill Russell died at the age of 88.
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Tonight,
he is being remembered
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as an athlete and activist.
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Bill's actions
on and off the court
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through the course of his life
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helped to shape
generations of players for the better,
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and for that, we are forever grateful.
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We're at the statue
which was unveiled in 2013.
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People have been stopping
by here today, sharing stories,
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really helping paint a picture
of Russell's impact.
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When Bill passed,
I couldn't believe it.
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But I thought back on all
the great things he's done in his life
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and the contributions
he's made to mankind.
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That's what it was all about.
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Seven months before his passing,
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Russell auctioned off
his collection of memorabilia.
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They're all part
of the 87-year-old's personal collection,
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including championship rings,
MVP trophies, and game-worn jerseys.
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A portion of the proceeds
will go to Russell's charity MENTOR,
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an organization dedicated
to his lifelong commitment
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to ensuring opportunity
for all young people.
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I'd like some of that collection.
He's been great to me all these years.
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He's a--
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What he's done for civil rights
in this country is unmatched.
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To be able to have all 11 of his rings,
nobody's outbidding me on that one.
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I'd probably actually want a manuscript
of one of his books, though,
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like an original rough draft
of Second Wind.
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That'd be something special too.
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950,000, online buyer.
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Third and last call.
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Sold, $950,000, online buyer.
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A basketball game starts
and ends with a clock,
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and so does a basketball career.
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Outside of games, however,
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you don't often find
handy reference points
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to tell you where events begin and end.
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Usually, it depends
on where you started from
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and your point of view.
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In December 1956,
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Bill and Rose Russell
landed at Boston's Logan Airport.
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They'd been married less than two weeks.
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When I joined the Celtics,
I'd never been to Boston,
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ever, until I arrived there
to sign with them.
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Bill was
a national champion in college
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and an Olympic gold medal winner.
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Now, Celtics fans hoped Bill
could bring a championship to their city.
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♪ Little bitty pretty one
Come on and talk-a to me ♪
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♪ Lovey dovey lovey one
Come sit down on my knee… ♪
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I was 22 years old,
and I had not started to shave,
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so I had this little goatee, we called it.
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And so the first thing they asked me
at the first press conference,
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"When you gonna shave the beard?"
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I'd never thought about it.
Finally, I said, "Okay, tell you what."
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"After the Celtics win
their first championship,
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then I'll shave the beard."
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People thought,
from the Olympics,
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he would be in great shape,
but he was in miserable shape.
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He said, "I never knew this pro ball
would be like that. It's really rough."
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I'd missed
the first third of the season,
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and I was basically out of shape
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because it had been a month
since I'd touched a basketball.
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I came into the league
without much confidence as a shooter.
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Many of my detractors said
I could never make it in pro ball
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because I was a bad shot
from more than three feet out.
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So naturally, the one thing I wanted to do
was to stand outside and shoot.
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I missed almost all of them, of course.
When I did, people shook their heads
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and said, "See what I mean?
He can't play."
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Aw!
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The Boston press questioned
Russell's value to the team,
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comparing his early production
to another rookie,
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the all-time leading scorer
at Holy Cross, Tommy Heinsohn.
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The press didn't know
what Russell was about.
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People didn't think Bill Russell
was gonna be a factor in the NBA.
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He'd shoot a layup over the backboard.
He was so inept offensively
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that you could never picture
what Russell could bring to a ball club.
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There would be no respite
for Russell on road games.
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There was
a full house in Kiel Auditorium
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on that night in December 1956.
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The ball went up, and Bob Pettit
of the Hawks and I jumped for it.
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"Coon!" "Go back to Africa, you baboon!"
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"Watch out, Pettit,
you'll get covered with chocolate."
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There was no doubt
who the fans were yelling at.
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I was the only Negro athlete
on either team.
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After about five games,
I really and seriously doubted my ability.
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And I came home, and I told Rose,
"I think we better get our bags ready,
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'cause we won't be here very long."
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Russell had moved to Boston
from the Bay Area.
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He went to high school in West Oakland
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and attended
the University of San Francisco,
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the only college to offer him
a basketball scholarship.
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To those of us in West Oakland,
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San Francisco was an exotic land.
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The Bay Bridge spanned
a cultural gap so wide
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that the two sides had a language barrier.
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I joked that I never knew
the word "mother" could be used by itself
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until I got to San Francisco.
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And instantly, I found myself
in a sea of white people.
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I walked into the rec hall.
One of the freshmen walks up and says,
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"Hey, boy, what do they call you?"
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I said, "My name is William Russell."
He said, "I'll give you a nickname."
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I said, "If you do,
I'll knock the hell out of you."
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When I went to USF,
you got maybe five Black students,
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period.
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And my roommate
was a guy named K.C. Jones.
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Bill and K.C.
bonded over basketball
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and helped each other
make ends meet off the court.
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We didn't have that much
to wear in college, the two of us.
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You know, I was making $30 a month, right?
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For cutting the grass or whatever it was.
And Russell had nothing.
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Now, we would use--
We would wear each other's underwear.
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Right? That was the only thing
that could fit both of us.
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Russell decided
to test his athleticism
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in another sport as a walk-on.
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During the summer,
I decided to go out for track.
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Actually, I decided for a dual reason.
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Only varsity lettermen
received a button-down sweater.
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I needed a button-down sweater.
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Second reason was
that I like to run and jump.
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He decided to go for track
almost as a lark,
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and he just started high-jumping.
He had awkward form,
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jumping face-first over the bar.
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He did it
different than anyone else.
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He'd go back 50 yards.
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And he'd take off slow and build up speed.
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Now he's doing 100 miles an hour
and make the jump.
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He found himself
jumping 6'7", 6'8".
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Turns out he was almost
a world-class high jumper from the get-go.
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When he tried to bring
that high-jumping prowess
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to the basketball court,
his coaches were not having it.
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We would play at Cal Berkeley.
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Their center was a preseason All-American.
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The first five shots he took, I blocked.
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Nobody in the building
had ever seen anything like that.
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So they called time-out,
so we get into our huddle,
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and my coach says,
"You can't play defense like that."
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"A good defensive player
never leaves his feet."
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"You're jumping to block shots."
I can't play that way.
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So I go back out, and I try it,
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and the guy shoots layups
three times in a row.
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So I went back
to playing the way I knew how.
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Russell, 6'10",
bats it away just like that.
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Bill Russell literally invented
modern defensive basketball.
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He changed the game
from a horizontal game,
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played by mostly landlocked Caucasians,
into the game that we know today.
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The thing that Bill did,
and you see a lot on tape,
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is he didn't just swat it
to embarrass the guy out of bounds.
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He tried to keep it in play
because it's just like a rebound.
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The offense is on the outside,
defense is on in.
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If he could get his hand on it,
one of his teammates
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could get to the ball faster.
That's what led to fast breaks.
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His anticipation
was off the charts.
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He would go up to block it,
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and either he's going to block the shot,
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or he's gonna make you shoot a crazy shot
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or an off-balance shot
or a shot that you can't make.
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Russell's defensive play
made the USF Dons unbeatable.
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He's up for a shot.
Brother, it's good.
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The Dons take it away.
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00:13:04,074 --> 00:13:07,536
Bill Russell's Dons
won 55 games in a row
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and back-to-back NCAA championships.
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Bill Russell is cited
as the Most Valuable Player.
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Just watching him play
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00:13:18,881 --> 00:13:22,426
and watching him intimidate
whole teams of guys in college,
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it was so special.
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00:13:23,844 --> 00:13:27,515
And he was the only reason why…
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00:13:27,598 --> 00:13:29,391
…why that team won.
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00:13:29,475 --> 00:13:34,146
But the kinds of awards and things
that should have gone his way
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00:13:34,230 --> 00:13:35,189
did not.
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00:13:35,898 --> 00:13:37,775
My junior year in college,
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00:13:38,400 --> 00:13:41,195
I averaged over 20 points
and 20 rebounds a game.
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I was blocking at least 15 shots a game.
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I was the MVP at the championships.
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I went home,
to the Northern California banquet,
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and they picked another player
as player of the year.
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As far as I could see,
his only qualification was he was blond.
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They knew how shaky it was.
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So they told my coach to tell me,
"Get up and say a couple of remarks
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00:14:02,383 --> 00:14:06,512
about 'Congratulations to this kid.
I hope I can win it next year.'"
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00:14:06,595 --> 00:14:08,472
I said, "I'm not doing
anything like that."
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To win
the National Championship back-to-back
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00:14:14,854 --> 00:14:15,938
was phenomenal.
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00:14:16,981 --> 00:14:19,191
But I think that people
did not like the fact
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00:14:19,275 --> 00:14:24,154
that there were three Black folks
starting at San Francisco.
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They'd go places and would not be allowed
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00:14:26,866 --> 00:14:29,785
to check into hotels
and eat in restaurants.
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00:14:32,329 --> 00:14:35,374
What actually happened was,
I left the hotel,
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00:14:35,457 --> 00:14:38,043
and I went to a restaurant
down the street.
237
00:14:38,127 --> 00:14:40,379
I said, "Let me get something to eat."
238
00:14:42,131 --> 00:14:45,342
He said I could,
but I'd have to eat in the kitchen.
239
00:14:45,426 --> 00:14:49,179
So I refused, and I went
back to the hotel and went to sleep.
240
00:14:50,598 --> 00:14:55,185
In 1955, two events occurred
that made a lifelong impression on me.
241
00:14:55,269 --> 00:14:59,982
A 14-year-old boy named Emmett Till
was murdered by two white men
242
00:15:00,065 --> 00:15:02,443
for a supposed affront to a white woman.
243
00:15:02,985 --> 00:15:06,280
His mother insisted
that his casket be open at the funeral,
244
00:15:06,363 --> 00:15:10,075
so the world could see the brutality
of what had been done to her son.
245
00:15:11,577 --> 00:15:15,039
That same year,
Rosa Parks, a Black seamstress,
246
00:15:15,122 --> 00:15:18,292
was arrested for refusing
to give up her seat to a white rider
247
00:15:18,375 --> 00:15:20,711
on a public bus in Montgomery, Alabama.
248
00:15:21,879 --> 00:15:24,465
The time had come to not take it anymore.
249
00:15:24,548 --> 00:15:27,718
I had had enough,
and this was truly the end.
250
00:15:30,137 --> 00:15:33,474
Being a Black teenager
in the '50s,
251
00:15:34,350 --> 00:15:38,896
you know, those times had to be
extremely, extremely difficult.
252
00:15:38,979 --> 00:15:39,980
But yet,
253
00:15:41,315 --> 00:15:43,359
you put all that aside,
254
00:15:43,442 --> 00:15:49,198
and you still go out on the floor
and perform at a very, very high level.
255
00:15:50,532 --> 00:15:53,911
I decided that I was going
to be a great basketball player.
256
00:15:54,536 --> 00:15:58,040
Everything inside me
poured itself into that decision.
257
00:15:58,123 --> 00:16:01,961
All the anger and wonder
joined together with one purpose.
258
00:16:14,807 --> 00:16:17,142
Bill Russell grew up
in the Jim Crow South.
259
00:16:17,226 --> 00:16:20,562
He was a child in the 1930s
in Monroe, Louisiana.
260
00:16:20,646 --> 00:16:24,942
The patterns of the Jim Crow South
included disenfranchising Black people,
261
00:16:25,025 --> 00:16:29,488
stripping them of the right to vote,
the physical segregation of spaces.
262
00:16:29,571 --> 00:16:31,865
It included violence, including lynching.
263
00:16:34,702 --> 00:16:37,705
Jim Crow was constantly trying
to reinforce to African Americans
264
00:16:37,788 --> 00:16:39,248
that they were second-class citizens.
265
00:16:39,832 --> 00:16:44,211
I was aware that I lived
in a totally, completely segregated place.
266
00:16:45,087 --> 00:16:48,841
I think of my life,
especially when I was young,
267
00:16:48,924 --> 00:16:50,467
as a very sheltered life.
268
00:16:51,802 --> 00:16:54,638
My folks always made sure
they kept me out of harm's way.
269
00:16:56,974 --> 00:17:00,144
My father knew firsthand about slavery.
270
00:17:01,020 --> 00:17:02,855
I mean, he's one generation removed.
271
00:17:02,938 --> 00:17:04,898
People in his family were slaves.
272
00:17:04,982 --> 00:17:07,651
Slavery is the ultimate form
of disrespect,
273
00:17:07,735 --> 00:17:11,030
and so my father made sure
that he was never treated
274
00:17:11,113 --> 00:17:12,990
in any way like a slave.
275
00:17:13,574 --> 00:17:17,828
One of the things
that was vitally important to him
276
00:17:17,911 --> 00:17:20,122
was to live a life of dignity
277
00:17:20,205 --> 00:17:22,624
so that his kids would be proud of him.
278
00:17:28,088 --> 00:17:32,259
My father was working in this factory,
and he asked for a raise.
279
00:17:33,635 --> 00:17:36,346
The boss said,
"We can't give you a raise, Charlie."
280
00:17:37,765 --> 00:17:40,726
"If I give you a raise, you'd make
as much as the white fellows,
281
00:17:40,809 --> 00:17:44,229
and I can't pay you boys
as much as I pay the white guys."
282
00:17:45,731 --> 00:17:48,275
And he used the N-word to my father.
283
00:17:49,443 --> 00:17:52,196
Just like it was… nothing.
284
00:17:53,489 --> 00:17:55,949
So my father was at home that night,
285
00:17:56,033 --> 00:17:58,702
and he was talking out loud, he says,
286
00:18:00,079 --> 00:18:03,457
"You know, I'm gonna have to leave here
because if I stay here…
287
00:18:05,959 --> 00:18:08,879
either I'll kill one of them,
or one of them will kill me."
288
00:18:20,432 --> 00:18:23,727
We migrated
when I was nine years old.
289
00:18:24,311 --> 00:18:25,729
We moved to California.
290
00:18:31,151 --> 00:18:33,612
Remember, this is a nine-year-old kid.
291
00:18:34,571 --> 00:18:37,449
This is the greatest adventure
he could ever imagine.
292
00:18:39,034 --> 00:18:40,244
Getting on a train.
293
00:18:41,662 --> 00:18:45,290
Going someplace that
you have no idea what it's gonna be like.
294
00:18:50,671 --> 00:18:54,299
The whole idea of moving
was a shock to my brother and me.
295
00:18:54,383 --> 00:18:56,051
We weren't well-traveled.
296
00:18:56,135 --> 00:18:58,637
I sat next to my mother
in the colored section of the train
297
00:18:58,720 --> 00:19:00,222
all the way to St. Louis.
298
00:19:02,141 --> 00:19:04,726
And then, for the first time in our lives,
299
00:19:05,394 --> 00:19:06,728
we could sit anywhere.
300
00:19:14,862 --> 00:19:17,739
The Russells' move
was part of a Great Migration
301
00:19:17,823 --> 00:19:20,784
of Black Americans
who left the Jim Crow South
302
00:19:20,868 --> 00:19:23,829
to seek better opportunities
during World War II.
303
00:19:30,419 --> 00:19:35,841
You know, Bill talks
about arriving in California as immigrants
304
00:19:35,924 --> 00:19:38,468
'cause they were coming
from a different country,
305
00:19:38,969 --> 00:19:44,016
and they had to learn the customs
of this new country,
306
00:19:44,099 --> 00:19:47,519
where you could drink
out of the same water fountain,
307
00:19:48,020 --> 00:19:51,106
you could sit anywhere
you wanted to on the bus.
308
00:19:52,649 --> 00:19:55,611
My father and mother
both worked in the shipyards.
309
00:19:57,321 --> 00:20:01,241
The schools were integrated,
and that was a real change.
310
00:20:03,160 --> 00:20:07,039
I'd never seen a basketball or heard--
I didn't even know it existed.
311
00:20:07,539 --> 00:20:11,376
The kids had gotten a backboard
and hoop from somewhere.
312
00:20:11,460 --> 00:20:16,131
I don't know where.
I'm sure they didn't buy it.
313
00:20:16,924 --> 00:20:19,426
So, I saw these guys playing basketball.
314
00:20:19,509 --> 00:20:23,889
So I joined in.
I was really, really not good.
315
00:20:24,556 --> 00:20:30,520
When Bill got to Oakland,
his mom took him by this building.
316
00:20:30,604 --> 00:20:32,898
Um, Bill said
it was a funny-looking building.
317
00:20:32,981 --> 00:20:35,150
She said, "You're gonna spend
a lot of time in there."
318
00:20:35,234 --> 00:20:39,821
Bill said, "What are you talking about?"
And she was pointing at a library.
319
00:20:39,905 --> 00:20:44,409
They'd never had access
to a library in Louisiana.
320
00:20:44,493 --> 00:20:46,870
Black people weren't supposed
to be reading.
321
00:20:46,954 --> 00:20:50,832
I'd go to the library and read.
And I'd read this history book.
322
00:20:51,541 --> 00:20:53,627
And this one passage said,
323
00:20:55,212 --> 00:20:59,925
"The slaves in America were better off
than they were as free people
324
00:21:00,008 --> 00:21:01,468
where they came from."
325
00:21:03,428 --> 00:21:05,138
And I found that astounding.
326
00:21:05,222 --> 00:21:09,017
I was ten years old,
and I said, "That cannot be."
327
00:21:09,101 --> 00:21:13,981
Because every person
on this planet wants to be free.
328
00:21:16,858 --> 00:21:21,071
I had my own private world,
and my most prized possession
329
00:21:21,154 --> 00:21:24,157
was my library card
from the Oakland Public Library.
330
00:21:24,741 --> 00:21:26,410
I went there almost every day.
331
00:21:26,493 --> 00:21:30,706
I'd check out reproductions of paintings
and take them home with me.
332
00:21:30,789 --> 00:21:33,292
Prints of da Vinci and Michelangelo.
333
00:21:34,668 --> 00:21:36,586
Those paintings held me spellbound.
334
00:21:36,670 --> 00:21:41,300
I would study a Michelangelo for hours,
trying to memorize each little detail.
335
00:21:41,883 --> 00:21:45,429
It took me weeks before I was satisfied
that I could close my eyes
336
00:21:45,512 --> 00:21:49,016
and recreate anything resembling
what I saw in the reproduction.
337
00:21:49,516 --> 00:21:52,436
Then I would psych myself up
for an acid test,
338
00:21:52,519 --> 00:21:54,521
drawing the painting from memory.
339
00:21:55,022 --> 00:21:57,774
-The result always frustrated me.
340
00:22:00,819 --> 00:22:03,780
School was just beginning
in the fall of 1946
341
00:22:03,864 --> 00:22:08,076
when I came home one day to find
that my mother had gone into the hospital.
342
00:22:08,160 --> 00:22:10,704
It was the flu, they said,
nothing serious.
343
00:22:11,496 --> 00:22:14,624
For the next two weeks
whenever we went to visit her, she'd laugh
344
00:22:14,708 --> 00:22:17,544
and talk about how
she'd had the doctors all confused.
345
00:22:18,128 --> 00:22:21,757
After one of those visits,
Mr. Charlie woke us out of a sound sleep
346
00:22:21,840 --> 00:22:24,468
and said, "Your mother died tonight."
347
00:22:26,011 --> 00:22:29,556
I was 12, and she was gone.
348
00:22:32,517 --> 00:22:35,645
When his mother passed,
back in those days,
349
00:22:35,729 --> 00:22:39,691
the natural thing was that their aunts
350
00:22:39,775 --> 00:22:42,819
would take and raise the children.
351
00:22:42,903 --> 00:22:46,990
His father said, "No,
I'm taking them with me."
352
00:22:47,074 --> 00:22:49,951
"I promised their mom," number one.
And number two,
353
00:22:50,035 --> 00:22:53,330
he was not going to let
anyone else raise his children.
354
00:22:53,413 --> 00:22:56,249
But for Bill, it was a hard time.
355
00:22:57,876 --> 00:23:00,295
I wasn't quite the same person.
356
00:23:00,379 --> 00:23:02,422
I became a loner and an introvert.
357
00:23:03,256 --> 00:23:05,175
I was held back by serious doubts
358
00:23:05,258 --> 00:23:08,178
that I could ever become anything
without my mother.
359
00:23:10,430 --> 00:23:14,226
Everybody I encountered felt
that there was something wrong with me.
360
00:23:14,309 --> 00:23:16,269
Worse, I agreed with them.
361
00:23:18,021 --> 00:23:19,856
I was clumsy at everything.
362
00:23:24,653 --> 00:23:27,864
When I got
to junior high school,
363
00:23:27,948 --> 00:23:29,658
we used to have a homeroom league,
364
00:23:29,741 --> 00:23:33,203
where each homeroom would play
a 15-minute game at lunchtime,
365
00:23:33,286 --> 00:23:35,997
and I was a substitute
on the homeroom team.
366
00:23:38,959 --> 00:23:42,212
I don't think anybody knew
what type of player he was gonna be.
367
00:23:42,295 --> 00:23:44,798
I don't even think he knew
what type of player he was gonna be.
368
00:23:44,881 --> 00:23:50,095
He was blessed with physical attributes
that he didn't understand what he had
369
00:23:50,178 --> 00:23:51,513
and how to harness it all.
370
00:23:53,598 --> 00:23:58,437
I got cut
from the junior varsity in the 11th grade.
371
00:23:58,520 --> 00:24:01,606
The varsity coach,
who had been my homeroom teacher
372
00:24:01,690 --> 00:24:04,651
in junior high school,
says, "I'm glad you got cut,
373
00:24:05,819 --> 00:24:08,321
'cause today,
you can come out for the varsity."
374
00:24:08,905 --> 00:24:12,242
Coach George Powles
saw promise in Bill's playing,
375
00:24:12,325 --> 00:24:13,660
even before Bill did.
376
00:24:15,620 --> 00:24:17,789
I can remember telling Bill
377
00:24:17,873 --> 00:24:20,834
to try to play all the ball he could
during the summer,
378
00:24:20,917 --> 00:24:24,880
because he was going to be
first-string center the following season,
379
00:24:24,963 --> 00:24:26,214
starting in October.
380
00:24:27,466 --> 00:24:30,385
He said, "Maybe I could play
at the Boys Club."
381
00:24:31,136 --> 00:24:33,388
And I… I gave him a silver dollar,
382
00:24:33,472 --> 00:24:36,475
and it had to be
the best dollar a guy ever spent
383
00:24:36,558 --> 00:24:40,103
because he got in that Boys Club
for the summer for a dollar
384
00:24:40,187 --> 00:24:42,397
and played basketball all the time.
385
00:24:44,524 --> 00:24:48,987
The game turned serious,
I guess, my senior year in high school.
386
00:24:50,155 --> 00:24:51,865
About halfway through the season,
387
00:24:51,948 --> 00:24:54,284
I started to see things and notice things.
388
00:24:57,287 --> 00:25:00,207
I suddenly knew I could do
on the basketball court
389
00:25:00,290 --> 00:25:02,542
what I had not been able
to do with paintings.
390
00:25:04,044 --> 00:25:07,797
I was sitting with my eyes closed
watching plays in my head.
391
00:25:10,258 --> 00:25:12,928
I was in
my own private basketball laboratory,
392
00:25:13,011 --> 00:25:14,804
making blueprints for myself.
393
00:25:17,599 --> 00:25:19,017
I blocked a lot of shots.
394
00:25:19,100 --> 00:25:22,521
It was fun to carry out
some of the designs I had made up.
395
00:25:23,063 --> 00:25:25,774
Occasionally, I'd get it right
on the first go.
396
00:25:25,857 --> 00:25:30,487
To me, that was like being able to slap
a Michelangelo right on the canvas.
397
00:25:31,112 --> 00:25:33,573
I'd say to myself, "I've got it!"
398
00:25:34,324 --> 00:25:36,117
It's such a cool concept
to think about
399
00:25:36,201 --> 00:25:39,120
because he could just see a play one time
400
00:25:39,746 --> 00:25:42,624
and visualize it in his head
over and over and over again
401
00:25:42,707 --> 00:25:44,834
before he actually went out and tried it,
402
00:25:44,918 --> 00:25:48,213
and it became second nature
before he put the work in.
403
00:25:51,758 --> 00:25:53,927
Russell turned
those defensive designs
404
00:25:54,010 --> 00:25:56,763
into blueprints for college championships
405
00:25:56,846 --> 00:25:59,307
and then rolled them out
on the world stage
406
00:25:59,391 --> 00:26:03,019
with the 1956 US men's Olympic team.
407
00:26:03,728 --> 00:26:05,605
Here is
everybody's All-American.
408
00:26:05,689 --> 00:26:07,357
You went through the season undefeated,
409
00:26:07,440 --> 00:26:09,734
and now you've been
picked for the Olympic squad.
410
00:26:09,818 --> 00:26:12,362
Are you looking forward
to the Olympic trip if you make the team?
411
00:26:12,445 --> 00:26:15,490
I've been looking forward to it
as long as I can remember.
412
00:26:18,910 --> 00:26:22,247
At that time,
the Olympic movement was about competing.
413
00:26:23,415 --> 00:26:27,043
And it didn't make a difference
where the athlete was from.
414
00:26:29,296 --> 00:26:34,050
Russell's dynamic defense
led the Americans to a gold medal victory
415
00:26:34,134 --> 00:26:35,969
over the Soviet team.
416
00:26:36,052 --> 00:26:40,098
One of the really big thrills
of winning a gold medal,
417
00:26:41,433 --> 00:26:42,976
for that one brief moment,
418
00:26:43,893 --> 00:26:46,605
you know that you're the best
on the planet.
419
00:26:46,688 --> 00:26:50,525
And that's… that's something
that you can… can really be proud of.
420
00:26:53,528 --> 00:26:56,656
With two college championships
and a gold medal,
421
00:26:56,740 --> 00:26:58,450
Bill was ready to go pro.
422
00:27:00,744 --> 00:27:06,207
People don't realize that now,
man, but the NBA was virtually lily-white.
423
00:27:06,291 --> 00:27:10,420
If you look at those early pictures,
it was a predominantly white league.
424
00:27:11,880 --> 00:27:14,924
The unwritten quota system
was you could have one Black player.
425
00:27:15,008 --> 00:27:18,428
Then as the league went on,
you could have two Black players.
426
00:27:18,511 --> 00:27:22,015
One, because they had
to room together anyway, but no more.
427
00:27:22,599 --> 00:27:26,645
The first Black player
drafted in the NBA
428
00:27:26,728 --> 00:27:29,147
was a guy named Chuck Cooper
from Duquesne,
429
00:27:29,648 --> 00:27:35,111
and that decision came from the coach
of the Boston Celtics, Red Auerbach.
430
00:27:36,571 --> 00:27:40,367
Auerbach did not care
about the color situation.
431
00:27:40,450 --> 00:27:44,537
He knew that the name
of the game is to win,
432
00:27:44,621 --> 00:27:48,166
and he had to make the necessary moves
in order to win the games.
433
00:27:48,249 --> 00:27:52,879
That means putting together
the right team with the best players.
434
00:27:55,799 --> 00:27:59,260
The Boston Celtics in the '50s
were a perennial bridesmaids team.
435
00:27:59,344 --> 00:28:01,137
They were a good offensive team
436
00:28:01,221 --> 00:28:04,766
with the likes of Bill Sharman
and Bob Cousy,
437
00:28:04,849 --> 00:28:07,185
the preeminent backcourt of the '50s,
438
00:28:07,268 --> 00:28:09,479
but still it didn't translate
into winning a championship.
439
00:28:09,562 --> 00:28:13,024
Bob Cousy was one
of the first NBA superstars.
440
00:28:13,108 --> 00:28:16,194
If you stopped the average man
on the street in America in the '50s,
441
00:28:16,861 --> 00:28:20,323
and you said, "Okay, here's a spot quiz.
Name a basketball player,"
442
00:28:20,407 --> 00:28:23,952
more people would say Bob Cousy
than anybody else.
443
00:28:24,035 --> 00:28:27,247
Cousy moves off the screen.
The shot is sensational.
444
00:28:28,623 --> 00:28:31,835
I was able
to do some unorthodox things,
445
00:28:31,918 --> 00:28:36,131
and I guess I had the imagination
to complement that,
446
00:28:36,214 --> 00:28:39,426
to do stuff that wasn't being done
by anyone else.
447
00:28:40,260 --> 00:28:44,013
They called me "Mr. Basketball,"
"the Houdini of the Hardwood."
448
00:28:44,973 --> 00:28:47,517
The Celtics
had an electrifying offense,
449
00:28:48,017 --> 00:28:51,521
but the team played weak defense
and struggled on the glass.
450
00:28:52,063 --> 00:28:54,023
Possession was the key.
451
00:28:54,107 --> 00:28:56,025
If you could get the rebounds,
452
00:28:56,109 --> 00:28:58,778
you could run just about anything
out there on the court.
453
00:28:58,862 --> 00:29:03,241
Arnold had come to me
a year before, the only time he did that,
454
00:29:03,324 --> 00:29:06,828
and said, "There's a guy
out in California. If we can get him,
455
00:29:07,370 --> 00:29:09,998
he's the answer to all our problems."
456
00:29:11,541 --> 00:29:15,587
There was no question in my mind
that we needed Bill Russell.
457
00:29:15,670 --> 00:29:18,840
He had this quick reaction,
this great reflex,
458
00:29:18,923 --> 00:29:21,217
and the long arms. It was awesome.
459
00:29:21,301 --> 00:29:23,887
Getting Russell wasn't easy.
460
00:29:23,970 --> 00:29:27,098
The first draft pick
belonged to the Rochester Royals.
461
00:29:28,600 --> 00:29:31,102
The Celtics had the seventh draft pick,
462
00:29:31,186 --> 00:29:34,564
so Red used some trades
to move up to the second spot.
463
00:29:36,441 --> 00:29:37,609
But he wasn't done.
464
00:29:39,194 --> 00:29:43,323
Red Auerbach, always finding an angle,
a way to get what he wanted,
465
00:29:43,406 --> 00:29:45,992
he went to the owner of the Celtics,
Walter Brown,
466
00:29:46,075 --> 00:29:48,828
who was a major stockholder
in the Ice Capades,
467
00:29:48,912 --> 00:29:52,332
which was an incredibly successful form
of entertainment
468
00:29:52,415 --> 00:29:55,001
that could sell out an arena anywhere.
469
00:29:55,084 --> 00:29:59,756
Walter Brown, nudged by Red Auerbach,
went to the owner of the Rochester Royals
470
00:29:59,839 --> 00:30:02,133
and said, "I tell you
what I'm gonna do for you."
471
00:30:02,217 --> 00:30:05,970
"We'll send you the Ice Capades
for as many shows as you want.
472
00:30:06,054 --> 00:30:08,807
All you have to do
is agree not to draft Bill Russell
473
00:30:08,890 --> 00:30:10,058
with the number one pick."
474
00:30:10,141 --> 00:30:13,019
And Bill Russell was traded
for the Ice Capades.
475
00:30:13,102 --> 00:30:14,938
And that was all Red Auerbach's doing.
476
00:30:17,774 --> 00:30:20,193
Red had managed
to acquire Russell,
477
00:30:20,276 --> 00:30:22,821
but as the rookie struggled
to meet expectations,
478
00:30:22,904 --> 00:30:26,324
Russell himself started
to question his fit with the team,
479
00:30:26,950 --> 00:30:29,202
until one pregame meeting with Red.
480
00:30:30,453 --> 00:30:32,372
He says to me,
"Come to the game early."
481
00:30:32,455 --> 00:30:34,040
"I want to talk to you about something."
482
00:30:34,123 --> 00:30:36,042
So, we're sitting in Boston Garden,
483
00:30:36,125 --> 00:30:40,255
and the guys are out putting the floor up
and the baskets up and all that,
484
00:30:40,338 --> 00:30:42,799
and he says,
"I want to tell you something."
485
00:30:42,882 --> 00:30:45,927
"I don't have any idea and don't care
how many points you make."
486
00:30:46,010 --> 00:30:48,096
"I just want you
to help us win ball games."
487
00:30:49,472 --> 00:30:54,018
"Well," I said, "Your salary is going
to be determined by these two eyes."
488
00:30:54,102 --> 00:30:56,563
Not that you should give up a shot
or anything like that,
489
00:30:56,646 --> 00:30:58,731
but don't worry about any stats.
490
00:30:58,815 --> 00:31:01,609
Just worry, "Did we win, or did we lose?"
491
00:31:01,693 --> 00:31:03,152
That's where it's at.
492
00:31:04,654 --> 00:31:07,323
Now, that relieved
a lot of pressure
493
00:31:07,407 --> 00:31:09,450
off of he and I, and after that,
494
00:31:09,534 --> 00:31:12,453
Red began to see
what kind of impact I could have
495
00:31:12,537 --> 00:31:14,539
with rebounding and defense.
496
00:31:18,251 --> 00:31:23,006
In the transition game, you need
someone to control your defensive board,
497
00:31:23,089 --> 00:31:26,009
to rebound effectively,
and that's what Russ did.
498
00:31:27,218 --> 00:31:31,431
See, the key to fast break,
is defensive rebounding and outlet pass.
499
00:31:33,600 --> 00:31:37,103
When the ball would go up,
I'd position myself off to one side,
500
00:31:37,186 --> 00:31:40,064
the closest side, waiting to get his pass,
501
00:31:40,148 --> 00:31:43,568
so I could get my ass downcourt
and start the fast break
502
00:31:43,651 --> 00:31:46,154
because I knew
he was gonna get every rebound.
503
00:31:47,363 --> 00:31:50,408
The other team would shoot.
By the time the jump shooter landed,
504
00:31:50,491 --> 00:31:53,077
we were shooting a layup
going the other way.
505
00:31:59,334 --> 00:32:01,878
His job was,
get the rebound,
506
00:32:01,961 --> 00:32:03,880
block the shots, deflect the passes,
507
00:32:03,963 --> 00:32:07,675
and then turning it right around
in the other direction
508
00:32:07,759 --> 00:32:11,679
and letting the rest of the guys
rush up the court
509
00:32:11,763 --> 00:32:13,348
like the oncoming tide.
510
00:32:19,312 --> 00:32:20,855
Well, Bob, it must feel good,
511
00:32:20,939 --> 00:32:23,858
being the greatest ballplayer
in the game today,
512
00:32:23,942 --> 00:32:27,403
to have a guy you know can get the ball.
How does that feel to you?
513
00:32:27,487 --> 00:32:30,782
Well, of course,
most of the basketball fans
514
00:32:30,865 --> 00:32:33,576
that have watched the Celtics play
know our offense
515
00:32:33,660 --> 00:32:35,578
has always been predicated
on the fast break,
516
00:32:35,662 --> 00:32:38,081
and we've never had
a really big man to get that.
517
00:32:38,164 --> 00:32:43,419
Even at this point, I think
as far as rebounding, passing, defense,
518
00:32:43,503 --> 00:32:46,673
there's no question
as to the superiority of Russell.
519
00:32:51,511 --> 00:32:53,388
I owe it all to my wife.
520
00:32:54,138 --> 00:32:58,309
There were times I wondered, but not Rose.
She never stopped talking to me.
521
00:32:58,393 --> 00:33:01,187
After practice
and even during practice breaks,
522
00:33:01,270 --> 00:33:02,438
she'd encourage me.
523
00:33:02,522 --> 00:33:04,691
She'd do the same thing
after games at home.
524
00:33:04,774 --> 00:33:07,652
The only time she couldn't
was when we were on the road.
525
00:33:08,194 --> 00:33:10,029
I really missed her pep talks then.
526
00:33:12,907 --> 00:33:17,996
When I married Rose in 1956,
I was 22, fresh from the Olympics,
527
00:33:18,079 --> 00:33:21,165
and didn't have
the slightest idea what I was doing.
528
00:33:21,249 --> 00:33:24,419
I knew only that Rose accepted
and cared about me,
529
00:33:25,169 --> 00:33:29,048
apart from the basketball,
which was a great breakthrough for me.
530
00:33:31,843 --> 00:33:34,595
The Celtics finished on top
in the Eastern Division
531
00:33:34,679 --> 00:33:36,597
for the first time in team history.
532
00:33:40,518 --> 00:33:43,896
Now they would face the St. Louis Hawks
for the championship.
533
00:33:48,818 --> 00:33:52,280
In Boston, a capacity crowd
sees the NBA championship struggle
534
00:33:52,363 --> 00:33:55,366
between the St. Louis Hawks
and the Boston Celtics.
535
00:33:57,201 --> 00:33:58,453
Russell in the pivot.
536
00:33:59,620 --> 00:34:01,039
It was a great series.
537
00:34:01,122 --> 00:34:04,083
Bill Russell… the tougher the game,
the better he played.
538
00:34:04,167 --> 00:34:07,253
I went in for four layups.
He blocked the first two,
539
00:34:07,336 --> 00:34:09,255
and I missed the next two looking for him.
540
00:34:11,883 --> 00:34:14,385
The series,
and Russell's rookie year,
541
00:34:14,469 --> 00:34:17,472
came down to the final minutes
of game seven.
542
00:34:18,097 --> 00:34:20,349
Late in the fourth quarter,
game is tied up.
543
00:34:20,433 --> 00:34:24,145
Russell drives right to left, lays it in.
That breaks the tie!
544
00:34:24,228 --> 00:34:26,731
Now Macauley with the ball,
top of the circle.
545
00:34:26,814 --> 00:34:29,901
Down low to Pettit, he drives,
gets fouled by Russell.
546
00:34:29,984 --> 00:34:33,488
He'll go to the line
with a chance to tie up the ball game.
547
00:34:34,906 --> 00:34:38,618
He's ready. He dips, he shoots.
It's around the rim and in!
548
00:34:38,701 --> 00:34:42,038
In that game, there were two
of the greatest plays I've ever seen.
549
00:34:42,121 --> 00:34:43,456
The first one, Russell made.
550
00:34:43,539 --> 00:34:45,833
The game is tied,
time is running out,
551
00:34:45,917 --> 00:34:48,461
and downcourt come the Celtics.
On the left, Cousy.
552
00:34:48,544 --> 00:34:50,254
Cousy threw him
a long court pass.
553
00:34:50,338 --> 00:34:52,215
He had to catch it and stuff it
554
00:34:52,298 --> 00:34:55,968
all at the same motion.
He wasn't able to make the basket.
555
00:34:56,052 --> 00:34:59,680
No good! Rebound to Martin.
Martin up the middle of the court.
556
00:34:59,764 --> 00:35:01,516
Now, they've got the ball, St. Louis,
557
00:35:01,599 --> 00:35:04,519
and in one pass, got it to a guy
who, in one dribble,
558
00:35:04,602 --> 00:35:06,813
was gonna go for a layup
and win the ball game.
559
00:35:07,396 --> 00:35:10,399
And this guy Coleman
was out in front of everybody.
560
00:35:10,483 --> 00:35:12,777
Jack Coleman
bruising down the lane,
561
00:35:12,860 --> 00:35:14,320
and it's gonna be a breakaway.
562
00:35:14,403 --> 00:35:17,198
I put my head down,
and I was digging as hard as I could.
563
00:35:17,281 --> 00:35:19,534
Bill Russell
coming down the floor.
564
00:35:20,034 --> 00:35:22,203
And Russell went by me
like a blur.
565
00:35:22,286 --> 00:35:24,664
He lays it up.
It's blocked by Russell!
566
00:35:24,747 --> 00:35:26,624
What a play by Bill Russell!
567
00:35:28,459 --> 00:35:30,169
That would have
given them the lead
568
00:35:30,253 --> 00:35:32,463
with three or four seconds to go.
569
00:35:32,547 --> 00:35:36,259
All right, it's 113-113
after one overtime of play…
570
00:35:36,843 --> 00:35:39,762
The next great play was Alex Hannum.
571
00:35:39,846 --> 00:35:42,223
With one second left,
they called time-out.
572
00:35:42,306 --> 00:35:43,933
Jim Loscutoff
sinks a foul.
573
00:35:44,016 --> 00:35:47,770
The Celts lead by two,
but the Hawks have time for one shot.
574
00:35:47,854 --> 00:35:50,815
The Hawks huddle
around player-coach Alex Hannum.
575
00:35:50,898 --> 00:35:54,318
Hannum said, "I'll throw the ball
the length of the court."
576
00:35:54,402 --> 00:35:55,653
"I'll hit the backboard."
577
00:35:55,736 --> 00:35:58,948
"Pettit, you go up and catch it
and put it in. Make the…"
578
00:36:01,534 --> 00:36:03,578
Well, he threw a perfect pass.
579
00:36:04,704 --> 00:36:08,583
I went up and never came down.
Just caught it and shot it in the air.
580
00:36:09,709 --> 00:36:12,378
Son of a gun worked.
Except I missed the shot.
581
00:36:13,296 --> 00:36:15,464
And the ball game
ends on that note!
582
00:36:16,299 --> 00:36:19,552
And the Celtics win
their first World Championship.
583
00:36:19,635 --> 00:36:23,264
And for yours truly,
the first one I've ever announced.
584
00:36:28,895 --> 00:36:30,855
We were happy,
our first championship.
585
00:36:31,522 --> 00:36:35,067
The Red Sox hadn't won in years and years.
The Bruins hadn't won.
586
00:36:35,693 --> 00:36:37,820
The Patriots did not exist then.
587
00:36:43,618 --> 00:36:45,161
And so after the game,
588
00:36:46,829 --> 00:36:49,707
Red says, "Let's say
we shave the beard off."
589
00:36:50,541 --> 00:36:52,877
I'd forgotten about it
till we got in the locker room,
590
00:36:52,960 --> 00:36:56,714
and the trainer brought out
the razor and shaving cream.
591
00:36:57,548 --> 00:37:00,551
That night, I really became
part of the team.
592
00:37:13,064 --> 00:37:15,399
Coming off
a triumphant rookie year,
593
00:37:15,483 --> 00:37:19,695
Bill and Rose decided it might be safe
to put down roots in the Boston area.
594
00:37:20,738 --> 00:37:22,573
They bought a house
in the town of Reading.
595
00:37:24,116 --> 00:37:28,162
Reading is a suburb of the city,
relatively working-class, conservative.
596
00:37:28,246 --> 00:37:31,540
Russell lived in Reading
throughout his Celtics career,
597
00:37:31,624 --> 00:37:34,877
but he never felt
entirely settled and welcome there.
598
00:37:37,004 --> 00:37:40,633
Sometimes he would complain
about harassment from some locals.
599
00:37:40,716 --> 00:37:42,843
They might be followed around town.
600
00:37:42,927 --> 00:37:44,971
Vandals would tip trash cans
around his home.
601
00:37:46,013 --> 00:37:48,391
When I first moved
to Reading, Massachusetts,
602
00:37:48,474 --> 00:37:50,726
we were the first Black family in town.
603
00:37:50,810 --> 00:37:53,145
Every time my dad would leave town,
604
00:37:53,229 --> 00:37:57,275
the "raccoons" would come
and knock over the garbage.
605
00:37:57,358 --> 00:38:00,444
My mom would wake up in the morning,
and there'd be garbage all over the yard.
606
00:38:00,528 --> 00:38:03,656
My dad went to the police station
and said, "When I'm out of town,
607
00:38:03,739 --> 00:38:07,618
somebody's messing with my wife,
knocking our garbage cans over."
608
00:38:07,702 --> 00:38:11,122
They're like, "Well, we can't do anything
about the 'raccoons.'"
609
00:38:11,956 --> 00:38:15,835
So, I went
to the state government
610
00:38:15,918 --> 00:38:17,753
and got a gun permit.
611
00:38:21,799 --> 00:38:24,593
And suddenly,
the raccoons never came back.
612
00:38:27,346 --> 00:38:29,974
Boston was supposed to be
a racially liberal city.
613
00:38:30,057 --> 00:38:32,518
It had the reputation
dating back to the 19th century
614
00:38:32,601 --> 00:38:34,145
as the "Athens of America."
615
00:38:34,228 --> 00:38:36,731
But what Russell found
was this provincial culture,
616
00:38:36,814 --> 00:38:40,443
where many working-class whites
resented any Black presence.
617
00:38:41,277 --> 00:38:42,570
Boston was
618
00:38:43,821 --> 00:38:45,156
the least
619
00:38:46,240 --> 00:38:49,660
liberal city in the NBA when I got there.
620
00:38:49,744 --> 00:38:51,871
Not that he needed to go to Boston
to experience racism.
621
00:38:51,954 --> 00:38:54,373
This was the '50s in America.
622
00:38:54,457 --> 00:38:57,835
…four, six, eight,
we don't want to integrate!
623
00:38:57,918 --> 00:39:01,172
Two, four, six, eight,
we don't want to integrate!
624
00:39:01,756 --> 00:39:05,343
Two, four, six, eight,
we don't want to integrate!
625
00:39:05,426 --> 00:39:09,597
Russell tried to find solace
from the nation's violent racial fissures,
626
00:39:09,680 --> 00:39:13,809
not simply in playing the game,
but in ritualizing winning.
627
00:39:19,899 --> 00:39:23,903
The Celtics marched
through the 1957-'58 season,
628
00:39:23,986 --> 00:39:27,990
turning Russell's 22 rebounds
per game into easy points.
629
00:39:29,492 --> 00:39:32,119
They seemed poised
to land another NBA title.
630
00:39:37,083 --> 00:39:39,960
Hi, basketball fans.
It's Johnny Most high above courtside,
631
00:39:40,044 --> 00:39:43,005
and welcome to the 1958
World Championship series
632
00:39:43,089 --> 00:39:45,132
between the Hawks and the Celtics.
633
00:39:46,384 --> 00:39:49,595
In the second half
of game three, with the series tied,
634
00:39:49,678 --> 00:39:52,473
Russell jumped to block a shot
and fell wrong,
635
00:39:52,556 --> 00:39:55,601
tearing tendons
and chipping a bone in his ankle.
636
00:39:59,897 --> 00:40:02,108
We didn't wish Bill any bad luck,
637
00:40:02,191 --> 00:40:05,986
but I'm certain that we were not unhappy
that he'd sprained his ankle.
638
00:40:06,070 --> 00:40:10,032
I got a severe sprain,
and I couldn't play in a couple of games.
639
00:40:10,574 --> 00:40:13,369
Russell made it back
for game six in St. Louis,
640
00:40:13,452 --> 00:40:16,288
with the Celtics trailing
three games to two,
641
00:40:16,831 --> 00:40:19,250
but he was still hobbled
by that bad ankle.
642
00:40:19,750 --> 00:40:20,918
Pettit in low.
643
00:40:21,001 --> 00:40:22,962
Over Tom Heinsohn, good for two.
644
00:40:23,045 --> 00:40:26,006
Pettit on a drive,
and even Bill Russell can't stop him.
645
00:40:27,800 --> 00:40:30,636
Macauley with the basketball.
And it's all over!
646
00:40:31,512 --> 00:40:33,889
The championship belongs
to the St. Louis Hawks
647
00:40:33,973 --> 00:40:36,016
behind Bob Pettit's 50 points.
648
00:40:37,309 --> 00:40:38,936
We lost in six games.
649
00:40:39,019 --> 00:40:43,274
But we knew that was the difference
between being poor and being broke.
650
00:40:43,357 --> 00:40:47,736
See, being poor is a state of mind.
Being broke is a temporary situation.
651
00:40:48,696 --> 00:40:51,490
And we knew
that was a very temporary situation.
652
00:40:52,241 --> 00:40:57,329
So the next year, we've just got to go out
and try to win as many games as possible.
653
00:40:57,413 --> 00:41:00,082
We were all competitors,
starting with Arnold.
654
00:41:00,166 --> 00:41:02,751
…carry the ball, Mendy!
One time, huh?
655
00:41:06,088 --> 00:41:07,506
Red was pretty intense.
656
00:41:08,382 --> 00:41:12,595
He didn't want us to shake hands
with the opponent before the game.
657
00:41:12,678 --> 00:41:14,847
We hated them!
658
00:41:14,930 --> 00:41:17,766
Arnold maybe took it to the next level,
659
00:41:17,850 --> 00:41:20,269
but he didn't want us to coexist,
660
00:41:20,352 --> 00:41:22,146
other than to beat their ass.
661
00:41:22,897 --> 00:41:26,442
That next year,
in the 1958-'59 season,
662
00:41:26,525 --> 00:41:29,528
the Celtics finished
with the league's best record.
663
00:41:29,612 --> 00:41:32,656
We could play
any style of basketball.
664
00:41:32,740 --> 00:41:34,283
We could run with anybody.
665
00:41:35,034 --> 00:41:37,703
We could pound it down
in the half-court with anybody,
666
00:41:38,787 --> 00:41:40,206
all with equal facility.
667
00:41:43,918 --> 00:41:46,170
Red filled out the squad
with a young team
668
00:41:46,253 --> 00:41:48,464
that he hoped would build together.
669
00:41:52,801 --> 00:41:56,222
After the '57 draft,
Red called me up and announced,
670
00:41:56,305 --> 00:42:00,059
"I drafted Sam Jones
out of North Carolina Central University."
671
00:42:00,142 --> 00:42:03,145
"How about this guy, Russ?
You think he can he do good for us?"
672
00:42:04,146 --> 00:42:08,442
I said, "Who the hell is Sam Jones?"
"He's a Schvartze."
673
00:42:08,526 --> 00:42:10,736
That was colloquial Yiddish
for a Black person.
674
00:42:10,819 --> 00:42:12,530
"I thought you'd know about him."
675
00:42:13,030 --> 00:42:15,282
I said, "Listen, Red,
I don't know all of them."
676
00:42:16,450 --> 00:42:19,328
Know him or not, though,
there was no doubt that Sam Jones
677
00:42:19,411 --> 00:42:21,997
was going to be
a big-league basketball player.
678
00:42:23,290 --> 00:42:26,502
Sam just always seemed
like an old man to me.
679
00:42:27,127 --> 00:42:31,048
Sam Jones doesn't get the recognition
that he deserves as a player.
680
00:42:31,131 --> 00:42:34,218
Guys who understand the game
know Sam was just clutch.
681
00:42:34,301 --> 00:42:35,803
You don't know where he's going to go,
682
00:42:35,886 --> 00:42:38,639
but you know
he's gonna find a bank shot for you.
683
00:42:40,015 --> 00:42:42,851
You didn't want
to go up against him at all.
684
00:42:42,935 --> 00:42:46,772
He'd never hesitate
to take the shot, and he'd never miss.
685
00:42:51,610 --> 00:42:52,903
Red also made a move
686
00:42:52,987 --> 00:42:55,656
to reunite Bill
with his college roommate, K.C. Jones.
687
00:42:57,741 --> 00:43:01,161
Reporters were always
on Red's case about playing K.C.
688
00:43:01,245 --> 00:43:05,124
They'd say, "What do you put him in for?
He doesn't do anything for the team."
689
00:43:05,207 --> 00:43:08,627
Red would hit on his cigar,
blow the green smoke out,
690
00:43:08,711 --> 00:43:11,880
and say, "Hey, K.C. Jones,
the only thing I know
691
00:43:11,964 --> 00:43:15,092
is that every time I put him in,
our team goes ahead."
692
00:43:16,260 --> 00:43:19,638
Interception by K.C. Jones,
and here come the Celtics.
693
00:43:20,139 --> 00:43:23,601
K.C., I think, was
the best defensive guard I've ever seen.
694
00:43:27,438 --> 00:43:30,941
Red fostered a team culture
around players' quirks,
695
00:43:31,025 --> 00:43:33,152
allowing them to be themselves.
696
00:43:33,235 --> 00:43:36,322
He was building
more than a winning franchise.
697
00:43:36,405 --> 00:43:38,407
This was a band of brothers.
698
00:43:38,490 --> 00:43:41,035
We were family,
and we were fortunate enough
699
00:43:41,118 --> 00:43:43,287
to keep that nucleus together.
700
00:43:43,370 --> 00:43:46,123
We rooted for each other,
and we pulled for each other,
701
00:43:46,206 --> 00:43:49,752
and we did everything we could
to make each other successful.
702
00:43:51,045 --> 00:43:52,379
He loved his teammates,
703
00:43:52,463 --> 00:43:55,257
and in a lot of ways,
they were a second family.
704
00:43:55,924 --> 00:43:58,427
We were affectionate
towards each other.
705
00:43:58,510 --> 00:44:01,430
The best way to be affectionate
is to be humorous.
706
00:44:02,640 --> 00:44:04,975
If you talk to people
who know Bill Russell,
707
00:44:05,059 --> 00:44:09,521
the first thing you think about
is the cackle. It's a cackle.
708
00:44:14,026 --> 00:44:16,153
You know,
he's arrogant as can be.
709
00:44:16,236 --> 00:44:17,988
You know, he's Bill Russell!
710
00:44:18,072 --> 00:44:22,159
But he could also be that crazy guy
who laughs and jokes with you
711
00:44:22,242 --> 00:44:23,827
and has fun.
712
00:44:23,911 --> 00:44:27,956
You could hear him cackling
with that famous laugh of his.
713
00:44:28,040 --> 00:44:31,710
His laugh was infectious, unique.
714
00:44:31,794 --> 00:44:32,753
Genuine.
715
00:44:36,840 --> 00:44:39,635
It was like a…
716
00:44:42,388 --> 00:44:44,765
When I first heard that cackle, I said,
717
00:44:44,848 --> 00:44:47,226
"Wha… Is he laughing at me or…"
718
00:44:47,309 --> 00:44:48,394
"What's he doing?"
719
00:44:52,064 --> 00:44:54,775
When you get him to laugh,
you know you're in good shape.
720
00:44:58,946 --> 00:45:01,323
Between my laugh
and my throwing up, Red used to say
721
00:45:01,407 --> 00:45:03,075
I was gonna drive him out of basketball.
722
00:45:05,119 --> 00:45:08,664
Sometimes, I got to the game,
and I just threw up.
723
00:45:08,747 --> 00:45:10,916
For me, it was essential
that I get nervous.
724
00:45:11,417 --> 00:45:14,962
Certain people are so intense
725
00:45:16,338 --> 00:45:19,091
that they have to find a way
to release that intensity
726
00:45:19,174 --> 00:45:22,386
in order for them to relax and perform.
727
00:45:23,053 --> 00:45:26,265
After I did it, I was okay,
and it looked worse than it sounded.
728
00:45:30,018 --> 00:45:32,688
I remember one game we were warming up.
729
00:45:32,771 --> 00:45:34,314
I said, "Gee, you know,
730
00:45:34,398 --> 00:45:38,402
Russell forgot to vomit."
So I called the team off the court.
731
00:45:38,485 --> 00:45:41,196
I said, "Everyone back
in the locker room."
732
00:45:41,280 --> 00:45:44,074
I turned around,
I said, "Russell, go vomit."
733
00:45:44,783 --> 00:45:47,411
He went and vomited,
and we went out, and we won.
734
00:45:47,494 --> 00:45:52,040
We'd hear him go in, and we thought,
"Thank God he went and threw up!"
735
00:45:52,124 --> 00:45:55,878
Because we knew he was ready.
He was going to have a giant game.
736
00:45:58,922 --> 00:46:01,175
At the end of the '58-'59 season,
737
00:46:01,258 --> 00:46:03,969
the Celtics had another shot
at the championship.
738
00:46:05,471 --> 00:46:08,182
The first confrontation
between the Celtics and Lakers
739
00:46:08,265 --> 00:46:09,558
occurred in 1959
740
00:46:09,641 --> 00:46:12,644
when the Lakers were still in Minneapolis,
so that one's kind of forgotten,
741
00:46:12,728 --> 00:46:15,856
but that was the beginning
of the Celtic reign over the Lakers.
742
00:46:15,939 --> 00:46:17,858
Boston has won
three in a row,
743
00:46:17,941 --> 00:46:20,360
so this is do-or-die for the Lakers.
744
00:46:21,361 --> 00:46:25,073
In game four, Russell kept
everyone else off the glass,
745
00:46:25,157 --> 00:46:27,117
securing 30 rebounds.
746
00:46:27,826 --> 00:46:29,787
Bob Cousy
is off for the basket
747
00:46:29,870 --> 00:46:31,872
as Boston puts on more pressure.
748
00:46:31,955 --> 00:46:34,500
Celtics win 118 to 113.
749
00:46:34,583 --> 00:46:38,253
Auerbach's team first
to clean sweep the title playoffs.
750
00:46:38,337 --> 00:46:41,423
The Celtics domination
in the 1959 Finals
751
00:46:41,507 --> 00:46:43,759
proved the team had truly arrived
752
00:46:43,842 --> 00:46:46,428
and put Bill back on top as a champion.
753
00:46:51,892 --> 00:46:54,728
At that time,
I was in love with my career.
754
00:46:54,812 --> 00:46:58,607
I just loved it,
absolutely every minute of it.
755
00:47:01,527 --> 00:47:06,949
♪ The sweet things you do to me
Like holding my hand… ♪
756
00:47:07,032 --> 00:47:10,452
That was
a marvelous, wonderful time for me.
757
00:47:12,120 --> 00:47:14,665
♪ You always understand ♪
758
00:47:14,748 --> 00:47:19,378
-♪ And I love the way you love ♪
-♪ I love the way you love ♪
759
00:47:19,461 --> 00:47:22,214
♪ It makes me feel so fine ♪
760
00:47:23,340 --> 00:47:25,843
♪ I love the way you love ♪
761
00:47:25,926 --> 00:47:28,720
♪ Because I know you're mine, all mine ♪
762
00:47:30,389 --> 00:47:36,645
♪ I'll never do you wrong
I'll never make you cry ♪
763
00:47:37,521 --> 00:47:43,193
♪ If you stop loving me
I know that I'll just die ♪
764
00:47:43,277 --> 00:47:44,528
♪ Because I love ♪
765
00:47:44,611 --> 00:47:48,031
-♪ I love the way you love ♪
-♪ Yeah, it makes me feel ♪
766
00:47:48,115 --> 00:47:50,534
-♪ It makes me feel so fine ♪
-♪ So fine ♪
767
00:47:50,617 --> 00:47:54,538
-♪ And I love the way you love ♪
-♪ I love the way you love ♪
768
00:47:54,621 --> 00:47:57,207
♪ Because I know you're mine, all mine ♪
769
00:47:58,792 --> 00:48:01,211
♪ Folks tell me now and then… ♪
770
00:48:03,088 --> 00:48:07,217
That year,
the NBA's MVP award went not to Russell
771
00:48:07,301 --> 00:48:09,303
but to Bob Pettit of the Hawks.
772
00:48:10,178 --> 00:48:11,054
But in Boston,
773
00:48:11,138 --> 00:48:14,600
it was becoming clear that Bill Russell
was the most valuable Celtic.
774
00:48:15,976 --> 00:48:19,271
I always knew he was a good rebounder.
I knew he was a good passer,
775
00:48:19,354 --> 00:48:21,398
but I didn't know he was a leader.
776
00:48:22,274 --> 00:48:25,652
A lot of people didn't know this,
but he was so dedicated to winning
777
00:48:26,236 --> 00:48:29,156
and to the team structure.
778
00:48:29,823 --> 00:48:32,200
The bottom line was he was a winner.
779
00:48:32,284 --> 00:48:36,622
And so, he felt that he should get
a certain amount of respect
780
00:48:36,705 --> 00:48:40,250
just based on what they were able
to accomplish as a team.
781
00:48:40,334 --> 00:48:43,712
Bob Cousy had been a leader, but there's
no question who became the leader.
782
00:48:44,212 --> 00:48:47,007
Bob came there,
you know, he was the star of the team.
783
00:48:47,090 --> 00:48:49,468
He could have said,
"Hey, listen, I'm the star."
784
00:48:50,052 --> 00:48:52,304
But what he said was, "Let's do it."
785
00:48:52,387 --> 00:48:54,014
-Together?
-Yeah.
786
00:48:54,097 --> 00:48:56,808
I was the man
when he got to Boston,
787
00:48:56,892 --> 00:48:58,894
and then he became the man,
788
00:48:58,977 --> 00:49:03,148
but the media didn't really give him
the credit for being the man.
789
00:49:04,524 --> 00:49:08,028
Before a road trip,
Bob Cousy suffered a sprained ankle.
790
00:49:09,404 --> 00:49:12,574
We go on a road trip.
We play five games in a row.
791
00:49:13,867 --> 00:49:16,203
Russell wanted to show
he could do it without Cousy.
792
00:49:16,286 --> 00:49:19,581
He must've blocked 9,000 shots.
It was unbelievable.
793
00:49:19,665 --> 00:49:21,875
LaRusso goes up,
and Russell blocked it!
794
00:49:22,501 --> 00:49:23,961
We win all five.
795
00:49:25,212 --> 00:49:29,591
We come back into Boston.
The headlines, "Will Cousy play tonight?"
796
00:49:33,303 --> 00:49:35,180
♪ I'm gonna tell you a story ♪
797
00:49:36,556 --> 00:49:38,809
♪ I'm gonna tell you about my town ♪
798
00:49:38,892 --> 00:49:40,560
Growing up in Boston,
799
00:49:40,644 --> 00:49:43,105
this Russell-Cousy team
800
00:49:43,188 --> 00:49:46,233
was the only winning professional sports
801
00:49:46,316 --> 00:49:48,568
in my neighborhood.
802
00:49:50,696 --> 00:49:54,783
♪ 'Cause I love that dirty water ♪
803
00:49:54,866 --> 00:49:57,744
♪ Oh, Boston, you're my home… ♪
804
00:49:57,828 --> 00:50:01,832
Celtic fandom grew,
but appreciation of Bill did not.
805
00:50:04,459 --> 00:50:07,754
Bill Russell did not get
the full… uh, total approbation
806
00:50:07,838 --> 00:50:11,133
he deserved in this town
for the simple reason that he was Black.
807
00:50:11,216 --> 00:50:12,926
It was just that simple.
808
00:50:13,010 --> 00:50:16,346
The writers were
totally and completely disrespectful.
809
00:50:16,430 --> 00:50:18,849
When you had
this all-white press,
810
00:50:18,932 --> 00:50:20,767
with all its biases,
811
00:50:20,851 --> 00:50:25,063
dealing with, particularly, this first
and second wave of Black men,
812
00:50:25,564 --> 00:50:27,441
it was… it was awful.
813
00:50:28,358 --> 00:50:32,195
There were
some hardcore all-white guys
814
00:50:32,279 --> 00:50:35,073
who used a lot those words in private.
815
00:50:35,157 --> 00:50:39,536
And I'm sure that affected their writing
in public. And it was nasty.
816
00:50:40,078 --> 00:50:43,331
"Black athletes were ignorant.
Only thing they could do was play."
817
00:50:43,415 --> 00:50:46,918
"They weren't intellectual.
They could run and jump."
818
00:50:48,336 --> 00:50:51,173
They referred to the balcony,
819
00:50:51,256 --> 00:50:54,051
for instance, in Boston Garden
as "N-word heaven."
820
00:50:54,134 --> 00:50:56,219
You'd hear these things in the press box.
821
00:50:56,303 --> 00:50:59,014
There aren't many Black players
in the league yet.
822
00:50:59,097 --> 00:51:02,309
It was a game of white guys
and white writers and white audiences.
823
00:51:02,392 --> 00:51:05,020
And this town was not "ready" for Bill.
824
00:51:06,021 --> 00:51:09,608
His car broke down in a rainstorm,
and people drove by.
825
00:51:09,691 --> 00:51:13,612
Obviously, they knew who he was.
He's Bill Russell, for goodness' sakes.
826
00:51:13,695 --> 00:51:17,908
People were driving by and heckling him
rather than stop to help him.
827
00:51:17,991 --> 00:51:20,077
Imagine if Larry Bird's car broke down.
828
00:51:20,160 --> 00:51:23,914
There would be a parking lot
of people begging to help Larry.
829
00:51:25,832 --> 00:51:29,211
If Russell encountered
headwinds in the streets of Boston,
830
00:51:29,294 --> 00:51:31,880
he was about to face
a tempest on the court.
831
00:51:33,256 --> 00:51:36,843
Last season, the Celts won
their second NBA championship,
832
00:51:36,927 --> 00:51:38,720
but trouble is brewing for them.
833
00:51:40,388 --> 00:51:42,808
Trouble in the form
of Wilt Chamberlain,
834
00:51:42,891 --> 00:51:46,812
who makes even Russell look short.
Wilt the Stilt is 7'2".
835
00:51:50,273 --> 00:51:51,650
Well, I was fortunate.
836
00:51:51,733 --> 00:51:54,277
I started playing against
those guys you call pros
837
00:51:54,361 --> 00:51:58,281
back when I was in late junior high school
and early high school.
838
00:51:58,782 --> 00:52:01,159
So I used to try to beat them to death.
839
00:52:02,160 --> 00:52:05,664
So I knew that I could
probably do fairly well in the pros,
840
00:52:05,747 --> 00:52:07,499
even at that early age.
841
00:52:07,582 --> 00:52:10,836
Wilt Chamberlain,
probably one of the greatest athletes
842
00:52:10,919 --> 00:52:12,754
that ever lived, in any sport.
843
00:52:13,880 --> 00:52:16,800
This man was a super athlete
844
00:52:16,883 --> 00:52:20,428
in a 7'2" body and 270 pounds.
845
00:52:21,346 --> 00:52:25,225
Wilt Chamberlain
was basically Shaq before Shaq,
846
00:52:25,308 --> 00:52:28,436
if Shaq was also an Olympic-level athlete.
847
00:52:28,520 --> 00:52:31,314
When you're seven foot, over 250 pounds,
848
00:52:31,398 --> 00:52:34,067
I expect to see you
in the post dominating.
849
00:52:34,151 --> 00:52:35,694
If there's no Wilt,
850
00:52:35,777 --> 00:52:39,156
there's no Magic, no Bird, no MJ.
There's none of that.
851
00:52:40,991 --> 00:52:45,245
Wilt's first basketball job offer,
though, wasn't with the NBA.
852
00:52:45,328 --> 00:52:47,831
With their new attraction,
853
00:52:47,914 --> 00:52:51,501
the Harlem Globetrotters
draw 20% more fans in 1958.
854
00:52:51,585 --> 00:52:54,880
The colorful famous troupe,
founded by Abe Saperstein,
855
00:52:54,963 --> 00:52:57,424
claims countless fans all over the earth.
856
00:52:58,717 --> 00:53:01,845
When you're a kid,
I mean a Black kid at that,
857
00:53:01,928 --> 00:53:04,431
the Harlem Globetrotters are like heaven.
858
00:53:05,223 --> 00:53:09,144
Wilt accepted his role as
straight man to the Globetrotters antics.
859
00:53:09,769 --> 00:53:13,148
They sent me
a photostat copy of a check for $100,000.
860
00:53:13,231 --> 00:53:17,402
They were offering me $100,000
to play with them on tour for six months.
861
00:53:17,485 --> 00:53:20,572
Guys like yourself make that
all the time, but me? Hey.
862
00:53:20,655 --> 00:53:24,159
$100,000, I would have jumped off
the Empire State Building.
863
00:53:26,912 --> 00:53:29,372
For my grandfather and his generation,
864
00:53:29,456 --> 00:53:32,542
the Harlem Globetrotters
were something to be proud of.
865
00:53:32,626 --> 00:53:36,838
They came around. They toured the country.
They always beat the Washington Generals.
866
00:53:37,589 --> 00:53:41,176
But there's a critique among,
especially, intellectual Black people
867
00:53:41,259 --> 00:53:43,178
that these guys are clowns.
868
00:53:43,261 --> 00:53:46,681
That, in fact, they're an extension
of Mantan Moreland
869
00:53:46,765 --> 00:53:49,809
and the other Black Sambo characters.
870
00:53:50,560 --> 00:53:53,563
For a percentage of the Black audience,
they go from being heroes
871
00:53:53,647 --> 00:53:55,690
to actually undercutting
Black achievement.
872
00:53:56,441 --> 00:54:00,111
In 1956, Bill Russell
had gotten his own lucrative offer
873
00:54:00,195 --> 00:54:02,906
from the Globetrotters
while he was still in college.
874
00:54:02,989 --> 00:54:04,741
The Trotters
approached Bill Russell,
875
00:54:04,824 --> 00:54:06,618
"You want to make money, come with us!"
876
00:54:06,701 --> 00:54:09,537
Russell being Russell's like,
"Oh, hell, no."
877
00:54:10,121 --> 00:54:14,334
My father said, "My son
will never play for the Globetrotters."
878
00:54:14,417 --> 00:54:17,379
"Because he's the best basketball player
in the world."
879
00:54:17,462 --> 00:54:18,922
"He is not a clown."
880
00:54:19,005 --> 00:54:22,884
"Why am I going to sign up
when I'm an Olympic athlete?"
881
00:54:22,968 --> 00:54:23,885
"I'm a winner."
882
00:54:23,969 --> 00:54:26,972
"I don't need to do this
to validate myself."
883
00:54:28,723 --> 00:54:31,476
Wilt wasn't looking
for validation either.
884
00:54:31,559 --> 00:54:34,062
After Wilt's year
with the Globetrotters was up,
885
00:54:34,145 --> 00:54:38,566
he entered the NBA in 1959
with the Philadelphia Warriors.
886
00:54:39,276 --> 00:54:42,988
Basketball fans are waiting
to see how you're going to do,
887
00:54:43,071 --> 00:54:46,241
especially against, uh, players
like Bill Russell.
888
00:54:46,324 --> 00:54:48,285
Do you feel that you are ready for this?
889
00:54:48,368 --> 00:54:50,704
I think, in the long run,
I'll be able to handle myself
890
00:54:50,787 --> 00:54:53,039
man-to-man
with almost anyone in the league.
891
00:54:56,626 --> 00:54:59,504
The Warriors were coming
off a losing season,
892
00:54:59,587 --> 00:55:01,798
but Wilt gave them the winning edge.
893
00:55:04,384 --> 00:55:06,344
When Wilt
first came into the league,
894
00:55:06,428 --> 00:55:09,723
he came in
and made these fantastic numbers.
895
00:55:11,016 --> 00:55:14,978
He averaged 37 points
and 27 rebounds a game,
896
00:55:15,061 --> 00:55:18,356
and Philadelphia was suddenly a contender.
897
00:55:18,440 --> 00:55:20,734
Wilt the Stilt
is all fired up.
898
00:55:24,571 --> 00:55:26,323
Could score
every time he wanted to.
899
00:55:26,406 --> 00:55:29,576
He was the strongest guy in the league,
jumped higher than anyone in the league.
900
00:55:29,659 --> 00:55:32,954
Once he got the ball going to the basket,
no one could defend him.
901
00:55:33,038 --> 00:55:34,205
It was impossible.
902
00:55:36,708 --> 00:55:40,378
I first encountered him
in the regular season. It was in Boston.
903
00:55:41,880 --> 00:55:44,841
The Garden sold out
months before the game,
904
00:55:44,924 --> 00:55:47,510
and the stands filled up before warm-ups.
905
00:55:55,727 --> 00:55:58,229
When Philadelphia
went out on the floor,
906
00:55:58,313 --> 00:55:59,522
excitement just went up.
907
00:56:00,940 --> 00:56:04,486
It was deafening.
I looked at his hands, and I knew.
908
00:56:04,569 --> 00:56:07,489
I said, "This guy can hold
a basketball like a baseball."
909
00:56:08,615 --> 00:56:12,535
We knew we were gonna have a problem,
and Russell was gonna have a problem.
910
00:56:15,413 --> 00:56:17,874
I thought he was
at least five inches taller.
911
00:56:19,125 --> 00:56:23,213
And I'm wondering now, "Do I look him
in the eye, or do I not look up?"
912
00:56:25,590 --> 00:56:28,385
So I said, "Well,
I'll just look straight ahead."
913
00:56:29,803 --> 00:56:31,471
So I'm looking at his chest.
914
00:56:32,514 --> 00:56:35,266
That ain't gonna cut it.
915
00:56:39,396 --> 00:56:42,232
You got two of the greatest guys
in the same era
916
00:56:42,315 --> 00:56:45,902
going up against each other
for the first time.
917
00:57:08,133 --> 00:57:09,759
Chamberlain got his points,
918
00:57:09,843 --> 00:57:13,096
treating Russell like he treated
every other center in the league,
919
00:57:13,179 --> 00:57:14,722
but Russell held his own.
920
00:57:16,641 --> 00:57:19,811
In our era, you double-team
somebody that big.
921
00:57:19,894 --> 00:57:24,399
All the clips I saw, I saw Mr. Russell
guarding him one-on-one, by himself,
922
00:57:24,482 --> 00:57:26,985
so he had to use angles,
he has to use physics.
923
00:57:28,361 --> 00:57:32,031
Uh, I think Russell recognized
that he was not going to be able
924
00:57:32,115 --> 00:57:35,785
to stop Chamberlain
unless he did some unusual things.
925
00:57:36,995 --> 00:57:39,038
You see Bill positioning himself,
926
00:57:39,122 --> 00:57:41,541
you know, trying to deny the ball.
927
00:57:41,624 --> 00:57:46,921
And at the same time,
you see the calculations in Wilt's mind,
928
00:57:47,005 --> 00:57:49,299
trying to counter what Bill is doing.
929
00:57:50,216 --> 00:57:52,469
I knew
that I could not stop him.
930
00:57:54,012 --> 00:57:58,349
But I could put some speed bumps.
That's the best I could come up with.
931
00:58:00,018 --> 00:58:04,105
I think I had over 20 points
and over 20 rebounds.
932
00:58:05,315 --> 00:58:09,694
And I thought he had a really good game,
well over 20 rebounds and 30 points.
933
00:58:11,070 --> 00:58:13,615
And we both got
a lot of blocks and things.
934
00:58:15,909 --> 00:58:18,745
I think, that game,
Chamberlain had all the numbers,
935
00:58:20,121 --> 00:58:22,248
except one, winning.
936
00:58:50,443 --> 00:58:53,696
In the early '60s,
the NBA hoped to attract more fans
937
00:58:53,780 --> 00:58:56,616
with preseason tours of exhibition games.
938
00:58:56,699 --> 00:58:59,452
In 1961, the Celtics and the Hawks
939
00:58:59,536 --> 00:59:01,913
agreed to a matchup
in Lexington, Kentucky.
940
00:59:03,164 --> 00:59:05,041
And it was sold out!
941
00:59:05,124 --> 00:59:08,419
First time they'd ever put
10,000 people in that stadium.
942
00:59:08,503 --> 00:59:10,338
The morning of the game,
943
00:59:10,421 --> 00:59:12,549
the Celtics
checked into the Phoenix Hotel.
944
00:59:13,299 --> 00:59:17,512
But Lexington, like most cities
in the South, was still a segregated city.
945
00:59:18,263 --> 00:59:20,473
We went downstairs in the hotel,
946
00:59:20,557 --> 00:59:23,476
and people behind the counter told us,
947
00:59:23,560 --> 00:59:25,645
"We don't serve Negroes in here."
948
00:59:25,728 --> 00:59:28,690
We were in the same hotel.
Just couldn't get the same thing to eat.
949
00:59:28,773 --> 00:59:30,149
So I decided,
950
00:59:30,233 --> 00:59:33,736
and the other guys decided
to go along with me, not to play.
951
00:59:33,820 --> 00:59:36,072
So, I told Red we were leaving.
952
00:59:36,155 --> 00:59:39,284
He says, "Well, wait a minute.
Let me see what's going on."
953
00:59:40,410 --> 00:59:41,828
Arnold gets on the phone,
954
00:59:41,911 --> 00:59:45,623
calls the manager of the coffee shop,
and says, "Hey, they're guests!"
955
00:59:45,707 --> 00:59:48,126
"You've got to serve
everyone who's a guest."
956
00:59:48,209 --> 00:59:53,381
So we went back down, and they said,
"We've been authorized to serve you."
957
00:59:54,507 --> 00:59:59,095
Russ said, "We're just kidding.
We don't really stay in the hotel."
958
00:59:59,178 --> 01:00:01,764
That's when they said,
"Well, then we can't serve you!"
959
01:00:01,848 --> 01:00:04,475
"We don't serve Negroes in the hotel."
960
01:00:04,559 --> 01:00:09,397
So we ended up just packing and leaving.
961
01:00:09,897 --> 01:00:11,983
I told Red
962
01:00:12,066 --> 01:00:15,820
I wanted the Celtics to play the game,
and to understand clearly,
963
01:00:15,903 --> 01:00:19,407
the Black guys said, "We're not
gonna play under these conditions."
964
01:00:19,490 --> 01:00:21,701
I called the guys on the other team
965
01:00:21,784 --> 01:00:25,038
and said the Black guys
on the Celtics are not gonna play tonight.
966
01:00:25,538 --> 01:00:30,001
And so, the Black guys on the other team,
they decided not to play also.
967
01:00:31,586 --> 01:00:34,464
An all-white version
of the Celtics vs. Hawks
968
01:00:34,547 --> 01:00:36,090
played in Lexington that night.
969
01:00:36,633 --> 01:00:39,093
There were
those in the media who were screaming
970
01:00:39,177 --> 01:00:41,346
that they should be suspended,
that they should be fined,
971
01:00:41,429 --> 01:00:44,599
that they had let their teammates down,
that they were stealing money
972
01:00:44,682 --> 01:00:47,268
because they were picking up a paycheck
for a game they didn't play.
973
01:00:47,352 --> 01:00:49,020
And Bill made it very clear.
974
01:00:49,103 --> 01:00:52,273
"And if it happens again,
we're gonna do the same thing again."
975
01:00:52,357 --> 01:00:56,694
He's still part
of this first wave of Black players.
976
01:00:56,778 --> 01:01:01,491
He's aware of the racial weight,
you know, that's on his shoulders
977
01:01:01,574 --> 01:01:05,328
about representing
not just himself but a community.
978
01:01:06,579 --> 01:01:09,874
Athletes now
have taken that torch and are carrying it.
979
01:01:09,957 --> 01:01:11,793
We have our own platforms now.
980
01:01:11,876 --> 01:01:13,753
We would have tweeted it
there at the restaurant.
981
01:01:13,836 --> 01:01:16,881
Like, "Wait, y'all ain't trying
to serve us? Wait a minute."
982
01:01:16,964 --> 01:01:19,884
We would have got it
right out there to Twitter right away.
983
01:01:19,967 --> 01:01:20,968
I'm a spoiled brat.
984
01:01:21,052 --> 01:01:24,430
I don't know what it means
to go to a hotel, and they say,
985
01:01:24,514 --> 01:01:27,433
"Oh, you can't sleep here.
You gotta sleep in the back."
986
01:01:27,517 --> 01:01:29,602
I don't know what it means
to go to the water fountain,
987
01:01:29,686 --> 01:01:31,020
and it says "whites only."
988
01:01:31,104 --> 01:01:33,648
Most of the guys,
especially ones playing now,
989
01:01:33,731 --> 01:01:37,402
can't even go through one-tenth
of what he went through.
990
01:01:40,363 --> 01:01:46,786
The irony is that at the same time
they're experiencing racism off the court,
991
01:01:46,869 --> 01:01:50,498
Black players are getting
more prominent in the world of basketball.
992
01:01:51,624 --> 01:01:52,917
By the early 1960s,
993
01:01:53,000 --> 01:01:56,129
the NBA is arriving
in the American sports mainstream.
994
01:01:56,212 --> 01:01:59,132
It's about to usher in
this era of great commercial growth.
995
01:01:59,632 --> 01:02:01,926
One of the key factors for that
is the arrival
996
01:02:02,009 --> 01:02:04,637
of these great
African American superstars.
997
01:02:04,721 --> 01:02:07,932
Oscar Robertson, Elgin Baylor.
998
01:02:08,015 --> 01:02:11,102
These guys were
really great basketball players.
999
01:02:11,894 --> 01:02:15,398
The addition of so many great
Black athletes coming into the league
1000
01:02:15,481 --> 01:02:17,358
continued to make it just flourish.
1001
01:02:18,651 --> 01:02:21,821
These guys are bringing
elevation to basketball.
1002
01:02:22,363 --> 01:02:26,826
I call it the Black athletic aesthetic.
"How do I express myself within the game?"
1003
01:02:32,290 --> 01:02:34,709
At the same time,
there's this public fascination
1004
01:02:34,792 --> 01:02:37,503
with this new rivalry
between the two great Black centers.
1005
01:02:37,587 --> 01:02:40,715
The papers and the fans
and everyone played this up.
1006
01:02:40,798 --> 01:02:42,258
And it was a great matchup.
1007
01:02:46,053 --> 01:02:49,849
The NBA used Russell and Wilt
to market the game, and it worked.
1008
01:02:51,934 --> 01:02:54,312
They brought people into the games.
1009
01:02:54,395 --> 01:02:58,357
You call it hype, we call it publicity,
in order to get crowds.
1010
01:02:59,150 --> 01:03:01,235
Both cities were sold out automatically.
1011
01:03:02,612 --> 01:03:04,405
Well, it was good for the press.
1012
01:03:04,489 --> 01:03:07,700
It was good to draw people.
But we didn't care what they wrote.
1013
01:03:07,784 --> 01:03:09,869
All we wanted to do was win.
1014
01:03:10,703 --> 01:03:12,872
Playing Chamberlain wasn't easy.
1015
01:03:15,374 --> 01:03:20,671
Wilt had only played a couple of years,
but he was the most dominant player ever.
1016
01:03:22,465 --> 01:03:24,675
He would just take over games.
1017
01:03:25,802 --> 01:03:27,845
He averaged 50 points a game
that season.
1018
01:03:27,929 --> 01:03:30,473
That's his average, 50, every game.
1019
01:03:31,849 --> 01:03:34,018
Can you imagine averaging 50?
1020
01:03:34,101 --> 01:03:39,232
I did that once in my entire 13 years,
and it took me four overtimes to do it!
1021
01:03:40,316 --> 01:03:44,320
And in a game against
the New York Knicks in March 1962,
1022
01:03:44,403 --> 01:03:45,696
Wilt outdid himself,
1023
01:03:46,447 --> 01:03:49,325
setting a record
that most agree will never be broken.
1024
01:03:50,159 --> 01:03:52,119
He scored 100 points.
1025
01:03:53,412 --> 01:03:56,624
After that game, every night,
they were looking for 100 points.
1026
01:03:58,042 --> 01:04:00,169
As far as the public
was concerned,
1027
01:04:00,920 --> 01:04:03,339
Wilt's only challenger was Bill Russell.
1028
01:04:05,216 --> 01:04:07,176
The media played up that narrative,
1029
01:04:07,760 --> 01:04:10,972
and the pressure
was on the two titans to deliver.
1030
01:04:12,431 --> 01:04:15,017
It seemed to me, every Sunday,
1031
01:04:16,394 --> 01:04:19,522
we'd be on national TV, exposed.
1032
01:04:19,605 --> 01:04:23,943
And so that if I went out and I had
an ordinary game, I'd get killed.
1033
01:04:24,026 --> 01:04:26,404
I mean, he'd go for 60 or 65.
1034
01:04:27,363 --> 01:04:30,241
Wilt and Bill had that rivalry.
1035
01:04:30,324 --> 01:04:34,579
You can't compare that against guys
in today's game. It was a different time.
1036
01:04:34,662 --> 01:04:38,624
People couldn't decide who was
the good guy, who was the bad guy,
1037
01:04:38,708 --> 01:04:41,627
because Chamberlain was
much more gregarious.
1038
01:04:41,711 --> 01:04:43,629
He was much more accessible.
1039
01:04:43,713 --> 01:04:46,757
More kind of,
"What we like with our Negroes."
1040
01:04:46,841 --> 01:04:48,217
Then in this corner,
1041
01:04:48,301 --> 01:04:51,596
you've got Bill Russell,
kind of a more ominous Negro.
1042
01:04:51,679 --> 01:04:54,807
"We don't kind of know
even if he likes us." You know?
1043
01:04:56,392 --> 01:04:59,812
At the end of the 1961-'62 season,
1044
01:04:59,896 --> 01:05:01,439
Wilt tried once again to prove
1045
01:05:01,522 --> 01:05:04,358
that he could pull
the Warriors over the finish line
1046
01:05:04,442 --> 01:05:06,152
and dethrone the Celtics.
1047
01:05:09,697 --> 01:05:12,533
Bill may have been
the superstar of his time,
1048
01:05:12,617 --> 01:05:16,287
but he approached it as if he was
just one of five guys on that court.
1049
01:05:16,370 --> 01:05:20,249
Wilt was just, "I'm Wilt Chamberlain.
I'm here. I'll score 100 points."
1050
01:05:20,333 --> 01:05:22,627
"You guys do what you want.
I'll win it for you."
1051
01:05:22,710 --> 01:05:24,128
It was a different approach.
1052
01:05:24,837 --> 01:05:27,340
Both strategies were effective.
1053
01:05:27,423 --> 01:05:30,927
Bill's team ran the Warriors
off the floor in the opener,
1054
01:05:31,010 --> 01:05:32,178
but in game two,
1055
01:05:32,261 --> 01:05:35,389
Wilt's unstoppable scoring
evened the series.
1056
01:05:35,473 --> 01:05:37,975
What I had to do
was discipline myself
1057
01:05:38,059 --> 01:05:40,728
to never get into a numbers game with him.
1058
01:05:41,562 --> 01:05:44,649
In that series,
Russell would come in the dressing room.
1059
01:05:44,732 --> 01:05:48,152
He'd say,
"I'm really gonna deal with Wilt."
1060
01:05:48,235 --> 01:05:51,364
"Now, it's going to take
a lot out of me to do this,
1061
01:05:51,447 --> 01:05:54,951
but what…
…what you guys better do is get a lead."
1062
01:05:56,285 --> 01:06:00,373
After trying to steal the ball
from Wilt, jump in front of him,
1063
01:06:00,456 --> 01:06:03,042
play behind him,
pull the chair out from him,
1064
01:06:03,125 --> 01:06:05,586
and trying to force himself to the basket,
1065
01:06:05,670 --> 01:06:09,632
there was not much left
that he could do on the court.
1066
01:06:09,715 --> 01:06:13,135
But let me just say this.
After Russell had done his magic,
1067
01:06:13,970 --> 01:06:16,555
Wilt was like an angry man.
1068
01:06:17,139 --> 01:06:20,017
Little fight going on.
Chamberlain in the middle right there.
1069
01:06:20,101 --> 01:06:23,896
And he would end up
scoring 35 points,
1070
01:06:23,980 --> 01:06:26,357
but half of those games, we would win.
1071
01:06:28,901 --> 01:06:33,489
His individual statistics
may not shine in comparison with Wilt.
1072
01:06:33,572 --> 01:06:35,783
But at the end of the day,
1073
01:06:35,866 --> 01:06:40,496
he always thought that it didn't matter
how you played the game,
1074
01:06:40,579 --> 01:06:41,872
how many points you got,
1075
01:06:41,956 --> 01:06:45,084
as long as, the end,
you could say, "We won."
1076
01:06:47,086 --> 01:06:49,130
When it got to be
three and three,
1077
01:06:49,755 --> 01:06:51,298
it's anybody's ball game.
1078
01:06:52,591 --> 01:06:55,636
With the 1962
Eastern Division series tied,
1079
01:06:55,720 --> 01:06:59,724
game seven would sharpen the contrast
between Chamberlain and Russell.
1080
01:07:00,725 --> 01:07:02,643
Chamberlain was awesome.
1081
01:07:03,936 --> 01:07:07,773
But Russell had
the competitiveness of a lion.
1082
01:07:07,857 --> 01:07:11,610
Whatever it took to win,
this man could pull out of himself.
1083
01:07:11,694 --> 01:07:16,198
It would come down
to one or two plays at the very end.
1084
01:07:17,575 --> 01:07:19,744
And here's
the ridiculous thing.
1085
01:07:20,244 --> 01:07:21,412
In Boston,
1086
01:07:21,495 --> 01:07:24,290
we were completely confident
in Bill Russell.
1087
01:07:24,373 --> 01:07:26,959
Man,
what a ball game this is so far!
1088
01:07:27,043 --> 01:07:29,879
With 13 seconds left
and the ball game tied,
1089
01:07:29,962 --> 01:07:32,256
the Celtics had a chance to end it.
1090
01:07:32,339 --> 01:07:35,926
Cousy drives to the right,
comes back out towards the middle.
1091
01:07:36,594 --> 01:07:39,680
Heinsohn, he goes baseline.
The shot is no good.
1092
01:07:39,764 --> 01:07:42,892
The shot wouldn't fall.
Philadelphia gets the ball.
1093
01:07:43,476 --> 01:07:45,478
Now it was the Warriors' chance.
1094
01:07:45,978 --> 01:07:49,982
And they had only one plan.
Get the ball into Wilt's hands.
1095
01:07:51,025 --> 01:07:52,735
What a play by Russell!
1096
01:07:52,818 --> 01:07:55,821
And that was a mark
of how much he wants to win it.
1097
01:07:55,905 --> 01:07:57,281
It'll be Boston ball.
1098
01:07:59,450 --> 01:08:01,452
With the series on the line,
1099
01:08:01,535 --> 01:08:03,996
Bill knew who to trust
with the final shot.
1100
01:08:05,998 --> 01:08:08,459
Sam Jones taking a long shot.
1101
01:08:09,710 --> 01:08:10,544
Wowee!
1102
01:08:10,628 --> 01:08:14,131
Time has run out,
and the Boston Celtics have done it again!
1103
01:08:16,884 --> 01:08:21,514
Bill Russell used to say,
"If you want to be a champion by yourself,
1104
01:08:22,014 --> 01:08:23,849
son, go play tennis."
1105
01:08:23,933 --> 01:08:28,104
"But if you want to win as a family,
you need to associate yourself
1106
01:08:28,187 --> 01:08:29,480
with your teammates."
1107
01:08:35,027 --> 01:08:36,529
To hang their next banner,
1108
01:08:36,612 --> 01:08:39,907
the Celtics had to defeat
a familiar but improved foe.
1109
01:08:42,451 --> 01:08:45,663
The Lakers relocated
to Los Angeles from Minneapolis
1110
01:08:45,746 --> 01:08:48,791
and boasted a pair of rising stars.
1111
01:08:52,461 --> 01:08:54,088
Well, my name is Jerry West,
1112
01:08:54,171 --> 01:08:56,841
and, uh, what I used to do was, um…
1113
01:08:57,800 --> 01:09:00,386
What's that crazy sport
where you dribble the ball?
1114
01:09:00,469 --> 01:09:01,595
Basketball, yeah.
1115
01:09:02,596 --> 01:09:04,056
Hot Rod Hundley
1116
01:09:04,140 --> 01:09:06,267
behind his back
to the trailer, Jerry West.
1117
01:09:06,350 --> 01:09:08,894
West up for the shot,
and he's got another one.
1118
01:09:10,479 --> 01:09:14,817
Jerry was a great player.
One of the great offensive players
1119
01:09:14,900 --> 01:09:17,278
that was equally good
as a defensive player.
1120
01:09:17,778 --> 01:09:19,613
Jerry West was
the number one draft choice,
1121
01:09:19,697 --> 01:09:23,701
one of the greatest shooters of all time,
one of the hardest players of all time.
1122
01:09:24,785 --> 01:09:27,454
He was known in Los Angeles as Mr. Clutch.
1123
01:09:27,538 --> 01:09:31,625
At the end of the game, you get the ball
to Jerry, and it was as good as gold.
1124
01:09:37,339 --> 01:09:40,509
Playing against the Celtics
did not concern me at all.
1125
01:09:41,635 --> 01:09:44,096
I felt that they had to compete with me
for a change.
1126
01:09:44,180 --> 01:09:47,850
We also had Elgin Baylor,
who was really fun to watch.
1127
01:09:47,933 --> 01:09:50,895
There's never been
a better forward than Elgin Baylor.
1128
01:09:50,978 --> 01:09:54,231
People don't remember how great
Elgin was. He was unstoppable.
1129
01:09:54,315 --> 01:09:58,736
Elgin was Dr. J before Dr. J.
He was Michael before Michael.
1130
01:10:01,280 --> 01:10:03,908
In game five
of the '62 NBA Finals,
1131
01:10:04,575 --> 01:10:06,327
Baylor carried his team,
1132
01:10:06,410 --> 01:10:09,747
scoring 61 points, a Finals record.
1133
01:10:10,456 --> 01:10:13,542
You have confidence in yourself
that you can pull it off, get it done.
1134
01:10:13,626 --> 01:10:16,545
And I think
all the great players had that confidence.
1135
01:10:17,838 --> 01:10:21,258
The decisive seventh game
drew a sellout crowd at the Garden.
1136
01:10:24,261 --> 01:10:29,433
The 1962 seventh game against the Lakers
is always referred to as the Selvy game.
1137
01:10:29,516 --> 01:10:32,937
With five seconds remaining
and the score tied at 100,
1138
01:10:33,020 --> 01:10:34,647
the Lakers had possession.
1139
01:10:35,648 --> 01:10:38,067
Selvy was the other guard
with Jerry West.
1140
01:10:38,150 --> 01:10:40,110
And I'm guarding Selvy at half-court,
1141
01:10:40,194 --> 01:10:43,447
and Selvy whips away from me
into the corner.
1142
01:10:45,324 --> 01:10:47,826
He'll make that shot
nine out of ten times.
1143
01:10:47,910 --> 01:10:50,412
Three seconds,
two, Selvy shoots!
1144
01:10:50,913 --> 01:10:53,749
-It is no good, rebound… Overtime!
1145
01:10:55,167 --> 01:10:57,962
Bill Russell
has gone down on his knees on the floor
1146
01:10:58,045 --> 01:10:59,588
from the emotion.
1147
01:10:59,672 --> 01:11:01,799
In overtime, an exhausted Russell
1148
01:11:01,882 --> 01:11:03,467
managed to score six points
1149
01:11:03,550 --> 01:11:05,469
to give the Celtics a slim lead.
1150
01:11:08,347 --> 01:11:11,850
Now, Baylor. And the foul,
I think, is on Frank Ramsey.
1151
01:11:12,643 --> 01:11:16,397
He leaves the game with 23 points.
Gene Guarilia comes in.
1152
01:11:17,523 --> 01:11:20,859
We had this guy Gene Guarilia,
who never got in the game.
1153
01:11:20,943 --> 01:11:22,236
Never got to play.
1154
01:11:22,861 --> 01:11:26,156
So, Red's got no choice.
He puts Guarilia on Elgin.
1155
01:11:26,240 --> 01:11:28,033
Baylor.
Guarilia guarding him.
1156
01:11:28,117 --> 01:11:30,828
Baylor turning, shooting, missing.
Rebound, Russell!
1157
01:11:31,912 --> 01:11:35,040
Baylor with Guarilia guarding him.
A tip-in attempt by Selvy.
1158
01:11:35,124 --> 01:11:36,583
Rebound, Sam Jones!
1159
01:11:39,378 --> 01:11:42,798
What happened was,
the guy was so scared he couldn't move.
1160
01:11:42,881 --> 01:11:46,385
When Elgin faked, he didn't move,
he didn't react. He just stood there.
1161
01:11:46,885 --> 01:11:48,804
Completely shuts Elgin down.
1162
01:11:48,887 --> 01:11:51,765
Out, no good.
Rebound action. Foul called.
1163
01:11:52,933 --> 01:11:55,686
Foul's on Baylor.
That's all for Elgin Baylor.
1164
01:11:56,186 --> 01:11:59,523
A standing ovation
at Boston Garden for Elgin Baylor.
1165
01:12:01,025 --> 01:12:03,235
Bill Russell
will go over and shake the hand
1166
01:12:03,319 --> 01:12:05,154
of a great basketball player,
1167
01:12:05,237 --> 01:12:06,238
Elgin Baylor.
1168
01:12:06,947 --> 01:12:10,242
With the game under control,
Cousy ran out the clock
1169
01:12:10,326 --> 01:12:12,536
with his iconic right-handed dribble.
1170
01:12:13,996 --> 01:12:16,540
He's eating up the clock,
time ticking away,
1171
01:12:16,623 --> 01:12:18,959
and the ball game is over!
1172
01:12:24,631 --> 01:12:27,343
For big Bill Russell, 30 points
1173
01:12:27,426 --> 01:12:30,971
and 40, I repeat, 40 rebounds.
1174
01:12:31,597 --> 01:12:33,932
A tremendous basketball game.
1175
01:12:35,351 --> 01:12:38,687
In the locker room, there was
the traditional beer-soaked celebration.
1176
01:12:39,521 --> 01:12:41,940
The fifth championship for Russell,
1177
01:12:42,441 --> 01:12:44,818
and the Celtics had become the dynasty.
1178
01:12:54,578 --> 01:12:59,875
On one level, for Russell, by the 1960s,
he's kind of living the American dream.
1179
01:12:59,958 --> 01:13:01,335
A home in the suburbs,
1180
01:13:01,418 --> 01:13:04,254
he's got three young children,
he's got a doting wife,
1181
01:13:04,338 --> 01:13:06,840
he's got a good job, he's got a nice car.
1182
01:13:06,924 --> 01:13:11,053
All these sort of accoutrements
of sort of a life of general prosperity.
1183
01:13:13,931 --> 01:13:16,392
Bill and Rose
were starting to feel more at home
1184
01:13:16,475 --> 01:13:18,268
in the white suburb of Reading,
1185
01:13:18,352 --> 01:13:21,688
and Reading was rightfully proud
of its most famous citizen.
1186
01:13:22,189 --> 01:13:25,734
In the spring of 1963,
the town threw the Russells
1187
01:13:25,818 --> 01:13:28,695
a testimonial banquet
to show their appreciation.
1188
01:13:29,321 --> 01:13:30,906
Be it resolved
1189
01:13:30,989 --> 01:13:33,450
that this annual town meeting
of March 1963
1190
01:13:33,534 --> 01:13:37,454
decrees that a day
be designated as Bill Russell Day.
1191
01:13:37,538 --> 01:13:40,916
Bill, we're honoring you and Rose
and your family tonight
1192
01:13:40,999 --> 01:13:45,295
here in Reading for what you are,
not just a basketball player,
1193
01:13:45,796 --> 01:13:51,301
but as a sportsman, as an athlete,
as a father, as a family man…
1194
01:13:51,802 --> 01:13:54,805
As a lifelong resident
of this town,
1195
01:13:54,888 --> 01:13:58,642
I like to think that one
of its outstanding characteristics
1196
01:13:58,725 --> 01:13:59,852
is neighborliness…
1197
01:13:59,935 --> 01:14:03,689
Mrs. Russell, it has been
an extreme pleasure,
1198
01:14:03,772 --> 01:14:05,149
and I deem it an honor…
1199
01:14:05,232 --> 01:14:08,235
A credit to his race, the human race.
1200
01:14:08,318 --> 01:14:11,238
…and break bread
with both you and Mrs. Russell.
1201
01:14:11,321 --> 01:14:13,949
And now
it's your turn at the mic.
1202
01:14:14,032 --> 01:14:16,285
Thank you very much.
1203
01:14:17,494 --> 01:14:20,747
Yes, I'm nervous again tonight.
I'm really nervous.
1204
01:14:20,831 --> 01:14:23,834
I think I'd rather play Chamberlain
ten times than face this once.
1205
01:14:25,002 --> 01:14:27,045
I don't even know
where to start.
1206
01:14:27,129 --> 01:14:29,840
But I say that, in all sincerity,
1207
01:14:29,923 --> 01:14:31,925
it's a little bit too much for me
1208
01:14:32,509 --> 01:14:35,846
to see so many wonderful people
here tonight.
1209
01:14:35,929 --> 01:14:39,808
It makes me feel like my life
hasn't been a complete waste.
1210
01:14:39,892 --> 01:14:45,481
I honestly thought that no one
even noticed that I was here.
1211
01:14:45,564 --> 01:14:49,610
And this is something
I'll always remember,
1212
01:14:50,444 --> 01:14:53,071
and I only hope I can lead a life
1213
01:14:53,655 --> 01:14:56,742
that will make you always feel
this way about me.
1214
01:14:56,825 --> 01:14:59,495
And I appreciate it very much. Thank you.
1215
01:15:01,788 --> 01:15:03,165
Russell was touched.
1216
01:15:03,248 --> 01:15:06,710
He felt, "I'm finally being welcomed
in my hometown."
1217
01:15:06,793 --> 01:15:09,630
Weeks later, he decides,
"We're committing to Reading."
1218
01:15:09,713 --> 01:15:13,342
"We've outgrown our home. It's time
to look for another home in Reading."
1219
01:15:13,425 --> 01:15:16,428
He's looking at some
of these statelier homes on the west side.
1220
01:15:16,929 --> 01:15:18,305
Less than a month later,
1221
01:15:18,388 --> 01:15:22,518
a rumor got out that I wanted to buy
a house in another part of this town.
1222
01:15:22,601 --> 01:15:24,853
And the neighbors objected like hell.
1223
01:15:24,937 --> 01:15:27,064
As an athlete, a celebrity even,
1224
01:15:27,147 --> 01:15:31,818
you're a great guy to have in the town,
as long as you don't stay close to me.
1225
01:15:32,486 --> 01:15:34,571
My wife Rose came home in tears
1226
01:15:34,655 --> 01:15:37,783
as she watched residents
sign a petition against the sale.
1227
01:15:37,866 --> 01:15:40,953
"We better forget that house,"
Rose said to me.
1228
01:15:41,036 --> 01:15:42,621
"They don't want us here."
1229
01:15:42,704 --> 01:15:45,832
"I bought that house, and I'm the one
making the mortgage payments."
1230
01:15:45,916 --> 01:15:48,835
"I don't care
what anyone else thinks," I said.
1231
01:15:48,919 --> 01:15:51,547
"What about our children?
Who will play with them?"
1232
01:15:51,630 --> 01:15:54,007
"What will our white neighbors
say to them?" Rose said.
1233
01:15:56,510 --> 01:15:58,595
"I'm thinking about our kids."
1234
01:15:58,679 --> 01:16:02,182
"I couldn't look them in the face
if I put up with that kind of behavior."
1235
01:16:02,266 --> 01:16:05,102
I wouldn't let anyone tell me
where I'm going to live.
1236
01:16:06,061 --> 01:16:10,065
As Russell's winning these titles
and he's getting more prominent,
1237
01:16:10,148 --> 01:16:14,403
he knows that his winning
wasn't about to protect him from racism.
1238
01:16:20,117 --> 01:16:22,619
I had been reacting
to white cultural bias
1239
01:16:22,703 --> 01:16:24,037
virtually all my life.
1240
01:16:24,121 --> 01:16:25,664
It was everywhere.
1241
01:16:25,747 --> 01:16:27,874
It's a whole new way of life.
1242
01:16:27,958 --> 01:16:31,253
In libraries,
on television shows, on people's faces.
1243
01:16:32,504 --> 01:16:34,881
We have a good chance of success.
1244
01:16:36,133 --> 01:16:38,302
You feel just as good as you look.
1245
01:16:39,928 --> 01:16:42,472
Can't be popular
unless you know how to dress.
1246
01:16:44,766 --> 01:16:47,102
And that's
the real beauty of it.
1247
01:16:50,689 --> 01:16:52,733
There were few things
white people could do
1248
01:16:52,816 --> 01:16:55,485
without revealing prejudice
that was offensive to me.
1249
01:16:57,279 --> 01:17:01,116
I spent a lot of time
trying to combat bias in all forms.
1250
01:17:02,159 --> 01:17:05,287
I was always on defense,
just like in basketball.
1251
01:17:06,580 --> 01:17:08,206
I ached for some offense.
1252
01:17:10,584 --> 01:17:13,045
The evolution Russell went through
is very typical
1253
01:17:13,128 --> 01:17:15,339
of a lot of striving Black people
1254
01:17:15,422 --> 01:17:18,091
who worked hard,
who then had to begin to think,
1255
01:17:18,175 --> 01:17:19,801
"I should use the platform I have
1256
01:17:19,885 --> 01:17:22,721
to protest against what's happening
to my people and to me."
1257
01:17:24,139 --> 01:17:27,851
"Is there more for me to say about this
than me just achieving?"
1258
01:17:31,021 --> 01:17:37,110
This is the beginning
of a full-scale attack
1259
01:17:37,778 --> 01:17:41,657
on the system of segregation
and discrimination.
1260
01:17:42,366 --> 01:17:44,076
By 1963,
1261
01:17:44,159 --> 01:17:46,453
as the Civil Rights Movement
gained strength,
1262
01:17:46,536 --> 01:17:48,955
Russell deepened
his commitment to the struggle.
1263
01:17:51,375 --> 01:17:54,461
There's a big rally,
and Russell leads a march
1264
01:17:54,544 --> 01:17:57,798
from Roxbury, a Black neighborhood,
to Boston Common.
1265
01:17:58,674 --> 01:18:03,095
♪ Ain't gonna let nobody turn me around ♪
1266
01:18:03,178 --> 01:18:06,515
♪ Turn me around, turn me around ♪
1267
01:18:06,598 --> 01:18:10,644
♪ Ain't gonna let nobody turn me around ♪
1268
01:18:10,727 --> 01:18:15,065
♪ I just keep on walkin'
Keep on talkin' ♪
1269
01:18:15,148 --> 01:18:19,027
♪ Marching on to freedom land ♪
1270
01:18:19,111 --> 01:18:21,613
A few months later,
the Mall in Washington, DC,
1271
01:18:21,697 --> 01:18:24,783
would be the site of the biggest march
in the nation's history.
1272
01:18:27,119 --> 01:18:28,787
They came
with white sympathizers
1273
01:18:28,870 --> 01:18:30,789
from every point on the compass.
1274
01:18:30,872 --> 01:18:34,543
Their primary aim,
a full program of civil rights.
1275
01:18:35,877 --> 01:18:39,923
There will be neither rest
nor tranquility in America
1276
01:18:40,882 --> 01:18:43,885
until the Negro is granted
his citizenship rights.
1277
01:18:45,178 --> 01:18:48,849
The March on Washington,
I stayed in the same hotel
1278
01:18:48,932 --> 01:18:51,059
as Reverend Martin Luther King.
1279
01:18:51,143 --> 01:18:53,895
And so we met in the lobby
and had a brief conversation.
1280
01:18:53,979 --> 01:18:57,357
He invited me to go on stage
when he made the big speech.
1281
01:18:57,441 --> 01:18:59,484
And I respectfully declined.
1282
01:19:01,319 --> 01:19:05,949
And the reason I declined was
they had worked for a couple of years
1283
01:19:06,032 --> 01:19:09,870
to put that thing together,
and I hadn't done anything.
1284
01:19:09,953 --> 01:19:12,956
And it would not be right
for me to go on stage
1285
01:19:13,039 --> 01:19:15,834
and say, "Hey, listen.
This is what we've done."
1286
01:19:16,334 --> 01:19:17,753
So I sat in the first row.
1287
01:19:18,920 --> 01:19:22,174
We remember it as a picnic,
but at the time, it terrified people.
1288
01:19:22,924 --> 01:19:25,552
They had paratroopers
surrounding the city.
1289
01:19:25,635 --> 01:19:29,222
They stockpiled plasma.
They thought it was gonna be a bloodbath.
1290
01:19:29,306 --> 01:19:32,017
To go to the March on Washington
took a little bit of courage.
1291
01:19:33,894 --> 01:19:37,439
I think that the era
that Russell played basketball,
1292
01:19:38,106 --> 01:19:40,275
the world is
in a different type of turmoil.
1293
01:19:40,358 --> 01:19:44,821
It wasn't "lose your job."
It wasn't "lose your career."
1294
01:19:44,905 --> 01:19:46,406
It was "lose your life."
1295
01:19:46,907 --> 01:19:49,284
I've had threatening calls,
people calling me,
1296
01:19:49,367 --> 01:19:53,288
saying that they were gonna kill me,
saying they were gonna blow my home up.
1297
01:19:54,498 --> 01:19:57,375
I said, "Well, whenever my time comes,
I'm ready."
1298
01:20:01,004 --> 01:20:05,675
Medgar Evers had dedicated nine years
of his life to the war against racism.
1299
01:20:05,759 --> 01:20:07,761
Now, he is dead in battle.
1300
01:20:07,844 --> 01:20:11,181
Thirty-seven years old,
a veteran of World War II,
1301
01:20:11,264 --> 01:20:14,601
a martyr now
to the Negro struggle to end segregation.
1302
01:20:18,522 --> 01:20:20,941
When Medgar Evers got shot,
1303
01:20:21,525 --> 01:20:26,154
we had a memorial service for him
in Boston, at the Boston Common.
1304
01:20:27,322 --> 01:20:30,033
And I sat
next to Charlie Evers, his brother.
1305
01:20:30,116 --> 01:20:33,537
I told him, "If there's anything I can do,
here's my home number."
1306
01:20:34,246 --> 01:20:39,793
He calls me the next summer and says,
"We've taken a hit, morale-wise."
1307
01:20:39,876 --> 01:20:43,630
"Why don't you do some basketball clinics
in Jackson, Mississippi,
1308
01:20:43,713 --> 01:20:46,675
to show somebody from outside cares?"
1309
01:20:53,932 --> 01:20:57,894
In Mississippi in 1964,
we're still talking about bloodshed.
1310
01:20:57,978 --> 01:21:01,731
We're talking about…
I mean, it was awful. Awful.
1311
01:21:01,815 --> 01:21:05,527
If the White Citizens' Council,
the Ku Klux Klan,
1312
01:21:05,610 --> 01:21:10,115
and the… some group
for the preservation of the white race.
1313
01:21:10,198 --> 01:21:14,327
I forget the name of it exactly.
They didn't want no part of this.
1314
01:21:14,411 --> 01:21:16,079
And if they have their way,
1315
01:21:16,580 --> 01:21:19,374
you know, they said they don't mind
killing a few people.
1316
01:21:19,457 --> 01:21:21,293
And Charlie says to me,
1317
01:21:22,919 --> 01:21:25,589
"You know we're not gonna let
anything happen to you."
1318
01:21:26,965 --> 01:21:28,091
I was like, "Okay."
1319
01:21:29,342 --> 01:21:33,471
He had announced to members of the team
1320
01:21:33,555 --> 01:21:36,266
that he was going to go
down to Mississippi.
1321
01:21:36,349 --> 01:21:39,561
Somebody said,
"Well, that's a pretty dangerous place."
1322
01:21:40,145 --> 01:21:43,148
Somebody… Cousy or Sharman or somebody
spoke up and said,
1323
01:21:43,231 --> 01:21:46,109
"Bill, you'll be okay.
Just keep a low profile."
1324
01:21:46,192 --> 01:21:52,532
You know, here's a guy
who had just won an NBA championship,
1325
01:21:53,033 --> 01:21:56,369
MVP, all this kind of stuff,
6'9", Black, with a goatee,
1326
01:21:56,453 --> 01:22:00,165
go to Mississippi during Freedom Summer
and keep a low profile.
1327
01:22:00,248 --> 01:22:03,043
He said, "That's when I really knew
I was in trouble."
1328
01:22:06,755 --> 01:22:09,507
Mr. Russell,
what brings you to Mississippi?
1329
01:22:09,591 --> 01:22:13,136
Well, Mr. Evers here asked me
to come down a few days ago,
1330
01:22:13,219 --> 01:22:17,807
and I've known him for quite some time,
so I was very glad to come down.
1331
01:22:17,891 --> 01:22:21,227
I've been following
what's been happening here,
1332
01:22:21,311 --> 01:22:24,314
and this is very much a part of my life.
1333
01:22:24,940 --> 01:22:27,901
Uh, one of the purposes for me to come,
1334
01:22:27,984 --> 01:22:30,362
I'm going to conduct basketball clinics.
1335
01:22:30,862 --> 01:22:34,407
Do you think your presence here
will help alleviate the trouble?
1336
01:22:34,491 --> 01:22:37,285
I'm hoping. I'm not, uh, hoping
to make things worse.
1337
01:22:37,911 --> 01:22:41,998
Do you think you'll get some white kids
to play basketball with Negro kids?
1338
01:22:42,540 --> 01:22:44,459
I think so. I don't see why not.
1339
01:22:45,126 --> 01:22:46,962
My kids play with white kids.
1340
01:22:47,045 --> 01:22:48,838
-Ain't nobody got hurt yet.
-Not yet.
1341
01:22:50,048 --> 01:22:51,549
-Nice to meet you.
-Thank you.
1342
01:22:52,550 --> 01:22:55,053
Russell conducted his clinics
in Jackson
1343
01:22:55,136 --> 01:22:56,930
despite threats on his life.
1344
01:22:57,013 --> 01:23:00,058
Since it was too dangerous
to travel outside the city,
1345
01:23:00,141 --> 01:23:03,228
Russell was forced
to cut his Mississippi trip short.
1346
01:23:03,311 --> 01:23:06,147
Still, he had walked
into the belly of the beast
1347
01:23:06,231 --> 01:23:09,526
and taken a very public stand
against racial terror.
1348
01:23:14,656 --> 01:23:18,201
The civil rights movement
of today has become stagnant.
1349
01:23:18,284 --> 01:23:21,538
We all overlook the fact
that the responsibility is on us
1350
01:23:21,621 --> 01:23:26,710
to undo within the next two or three years
what it took three centuries to create.
1351
01:23:26,793 --> 01:23:29,754
We must undo a whole thinking process,
1352
01:23:29,838 --> 01:23:33,383
and we have only two or three years
to accomplish that goal.
1353
01:23:33,466 --> 01:23:37,345
There must be more understanding
of the ones who really fight the battle.
1354
01:23:37,429 --> 01:23:38,430
It is the people,
1355
01:23:38,513 --> 01:23:41,808
the whites and the Negroes,
who inhabit the battleground
1356
01:23:41,891 --> 01:23:45,979
day after day and night after night,
who are the true warriors.
1357
01:23:46,062 --> 01:23:49,566
Human rights is just as complex
as any other political problem.
1358
01:23:49,649 --> 01:23:51,985
The only element on which we can all agree
1359
01:23:52,068 --> 01:23:54,279
is that the problem must be solved.
1360
01:24:02,871 --> 01:24:05,373
Amidst America's cultural turmoil,
1361
01:24:05,457 --> 01:24:07,959
the Celtics faced a seismic shift.
1362
01:24:09,169 --> 01:24:12,130
Bob Cousy, the Houdini of the Hardwood,
1363
01:24:12,213 --> 01:24:14,966
the team's captain
and its most popular player,
1364
01:24:15,050 --> 01:24:17,260
was suiting up for his last season.
1365
01:24:21,139 --> 01:24:23,099
The year
that Cousy was gonna retire,
1366
01:24:23,183 --> 01:24:25,226
he told us, "This is my last year."
1367
01:24:25,727 --> 01:24:28,730
We wanted to make sure his last year
was a championship year.
1368
01:24:29,606 --> 01:24:34,861
The 1962-1963 season
was a celebration of Bob Cousy,
1369
01:24:34,944 --> 01:24:37,697
with tributes in every city
the Celtics played.
1370
01:24:38,406 --> 01:24:40,241
Signs were all up
over the Garden,
1371
01:24:40,325 --> 01:24:43,453
"We love you, Cousy."
"We're going to miss you, Cous."
1372
01:24:44,245 --> 01:24:47,165
We were hoping
that Cousy could go out a winner.
1373
01:24:47,248 --> 01:24:51,252
I perhaps had wanted the championship
as badly as I wanted the first.
1374
01:24:52,504 --> 01:24:54,297
The team
did everything that season
1375
01:24:54,380 --> 01:24:56,841
to deliver one more championship
for Cousy.
1376
01:24:57,342 --> 01:24:58,968
They made it to the Finals,
1377
01:24:59,052 --> 01:25:01,721
where a familiar and angry foe
awaited them.
1378
01:25:03,014 --> 01:25:04,516
The Celtics are gunning
1379
01:25:04,599 --> 01:25:08,269
for an unprecedented
fifth World Championship in a row.
1380
01:25:08,353 --> 01:25:11,648
The Celtics failed
to sew up the series in Boston.
1381
01:25:11,731 --> 01:25:16,027
Now they carried a three-two series lead
to Los Angeles for game six.
1382
01:25:17,153 --> 01:25:19,823
Well, it was only dramatic
because of the circumstances,
1383
01:25:19,906 --> 01:25:24,327
my last year, the end of a career,
the World Championship on the line.
1384
01:25:25,620 --> 01:25:28,873
If Cousy was nervous
about the last game of his career,
1385
01:25:28,957 --> 01:25:30,333
he didn't play like it.
1386
01:25:31,501 --> 01:25:33,253
Cousy knocks it to Russell.
1387
01:25:34,712 --> 01:25:37,715
Long pass to Sanders.
Look at that play!
1388
01:25:38,716 --> 01:25:40,468
Cousy played a strong first half,
1389
01:25:40,552 --> 01:25:43,304
propelling the Celtics
to a commanding lead.
1390
01:25:44,514 --> 01:25:47,851
So that's the end
of the first half of play with the score…
1391
01:25:47,934 --> 01:25:50,937
The Celtics machine,
perfected by Cousy and Russell
1392
01:25:51,020 --> 01:25:54,274
over the past seven years,
was working without a hitch.
1393
01:25:55,191 --> 01:25:57,610
Krebs guarding Russell,
and Baylor…
1394
01:25:57,694 --> 01:26:01,990
Then, early in the fourth quarter
with Boston ahead 92 to 83,
1395
01:26:02,073 --> 01:26:03,158
Cousy went down.
1396
01:26:04,784 --> 01:26:06,035
Cousy is hurt!
1397
01:26:06,119 --> 01:26:09,622
Coming from one side to the other,
looks like he hurt his left ankle.
1398
01:26:09,706 --> 01:26:12,709
That'll be a crushing blow
to the Boston Celtics.
1399
01:26:13,251 --> 01:26:15,920
First time I was hurt seriously
in 13 years.
1400
01:26:16,004 --> 01:26:19,090
I wanted to end it,
if at all possible, on the floor.
1401
01:26:19,174 --> 01:26:22,010
It certainly appears
to be a most serious injury,
1402
01:26:22,093 --> 01:26:23,469
the way he's going off…
1403
01:26:23,553 --> 01:26:27,557
We all recognized that without Cousy,
we're gonna have some problems.
1404
01:26:29,100 --> 01:26:31,686
West goes
down the middle and gets it!
1405
01:26:33,688 --> 01:26:36,232
Russell guarding Baylor,
but Baylor made it!
1406
01:26:38,109 --> 01:26:41,779
Without Bob Cousy,
we started losing our rhythm,
1407
01:26:41,863 --> 01:26:43,531
and we got killed.
1408
01:26:44,949 --> 01:26:47,493
We knew we were playing the best team,
the better team,
1409
01:26:47,577 --> 01:26:50,663
but we thought we were going to win.
We had an opportunity.
1410
01:26:53,833 --> 01:26:56,628
Red Auerbach
pacing along the sideline.
1411
01:26:57,962 --> 01:27:02,258
With only four minutes remaining,
the Celtics were ahead by just one point
1412
01:27:02,342 --> 01:27:04,219
when the unbelievable happened.
1413
01:27:06,429 --> 01:27:08,431
Bob Cousy is coming back!
1414
01:27:08,932 --> 01:27:12,393
Buddy LeRoux, our famous trainer,
iced it down to the point
1415
01:27:12,477 --> 01:27:16,522
where I felt I could go back
into the game and finish it out.
1416
01:27:19,108 --> 01:27:21,736
The reenergized Celtics
cemented their lead.
1417
01:27:24,572 --> 01:27:27,951
And in the final seconds,
the ball was in Cousy's hands.
1418
01:27:28,034 --> 01:27:29,786
A second to go.
1419
01:27:29,869 --> 01:27:31,621
Cousy
throws it high in the air,
1420
01:27:31,704 --> 01:27:34,415
and the Boston Celtics
are World Champions!
1421
01:27:34,499 --> 01:27:36,125
That's the end of the game.
1422
01:27:41,798 --> 01:27:44,509
Their sixth championship
in seven seasons.
1423
01:27:45,009 --> 01:27:47,845
I'm very, very fortunate
in my 13 years,
1424
01:27:47,929 --> 01:27:50,265
and God certainly granted my last wish.
1425
01:27:50,765 --> 01:27:53,810
-Well, I'll say--
-What a way to go out. Oh my God!
1426
01:27:53,893 --> 01:27:55,228
I love it, wonderful.
1427
01:27:55,895 --> 01:28:00,483
I have always considered Cousy
a near-perfect teammate.
1428
01:28:01,442 --> 01:28:02,986
Grabbing Russ and hugging him,
1429
01:28:03,069 --> 01:28:05,780
you want to share your joy
with someone that's close to you.
1430
01:28:09,742 --> 01:28:13,246
In this regard, I can only say,
if I had it to do over again…
1431
01:28:13,329 --> 01:28:16,916
…I just couldn't imagine
playing anywhere but Boston.
1432
01:28:25,383 --> 01:28:27,343
I've been asked many times this year
1433
01:28:27,427 --> 01:28:30,346
what I will miss most
about no longer playing.
1434
01:28:30,847 --> 01:28:34,684
When Cous retired,
and he's giving his speech, breaking up,
1435
01:28:34,767 --> 01:28:36,519
and then everybody starts crying…
1436
01:28:37,520 --> 01:28:38,771
We love you, Cous!
1437
01:28:44,152 --> 01:28:46,988
Somebody yelled out,
says, "We love you, Cous."
1438
01:28:47,071 --> 01:28:51,409
I thought it was a great moment.
I said to Red, he was standing next to me,
1439
01:28:51,492 --> 01:28:53,536
"I'd never go through that shit."
1440
01:28:58,624 --> 01:29:01,961
We were special friends
but limited ones,
1441
01:29:02,045 --> 01:29:03,629
and I had too much respect for him
1442
01:29:03,713 --> 01:29:07,759
ever to get sucked into the jealousy
others tried to promote between us.
1443
01:29:08,343 --> 01:29:11,471
Still, I can't say
that I was ever close to Cousy.
1444
01:29:11,554 --> 01:29:13,765
There is simply
too much competitive pressure
1445
01:29:13,848 --> 01:29:16,934
in professional sports
to share your hope and fears
1446
01:29:17,018 --> 01:29:19,228
with somebody in the same business.
1447
01:29:20,980 --> 01:29:24,901
For Russell, the fears
were starting to outweigh the hopes.
1448
01:29:24,984 --> 01:29:28,071
He was frustrated
by the lack of progress in civil rights
1449
01:29:28,154 --> 01:29:30,782
and wondered if the game had any value.
1450
01:29:31,824 --> 01:29:34,952
Through it all, I was confronted
with the never-ending search
1451
01:29:35,036 --> 01:29:38,915
all Negro males must go through
for their manhood.
1452
01:29:42,210 --> 01:29:43,961
But I was the world champion.
1453
01:29:46,130 --> 01:29:47,632
The pressure continued.
1454
01:29:47,715 --> 01:29:49,467
The games had to be played.
1455
01:29:49,550 --> 01:29:51,427
The opponents had to be faced.
1456
01:29:53,012 --> 01:29:55,223
A guy walks up to me.
I was in Boston. The guy says,
1457
01:29:55,306 --> 01:29:58,643
"What are you guys gonna do now
you don't have Cousy to carry you?"
1458
01:30:00,478 --> 01:30:01,687
So, I said, "Well,
1459
01:30:03,231 --> 01:30:06,025
it'll be difficult.
We got to make an adjustment."
1460
01:30:06,109 --> 01:30:07,944
"But do yourself a favor
1461
01:30:08,027 --> 01:30:11,155
and call the Boston Globe or WBZ
1462
01:30:11,656 --> 01:30:15,576
and find out who the MVP
of this league was the last three years."