or more NOTE---The following is a recounting of a story I was privileged to write for the program book commemorating the FIFTIETH ANNIVERSARY of the NBA.....AND the Boston Celtics who, along with the Knicks, are the only remaining ORIGINAL teams......
When I, along with four or five other reporters,{headed by the venerable BOB RYAN}, I asked what subject they wanted......I was told I could write about ANYTHING I wanted.......Since I had long considered BOB COUSY to never have been given the credit he deserved for the success of the Celtics, as well as the entire NBA.....I chose THIS story......IT'S ALL TRUE......
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The word "SUPERSTAR" has been misused so badly in the last twenty-five years that it doesn't even come close to describing BOB COUSY and what he has meant, not only to the Boston Celtics, but the entire National Basketball Association.......Those of us who are "sixty-ish and more saw ":Cooz" in action know full well nothing short of "LEGENDARY" is adequate enough to describe, not only the basketball player but the man himself.....
The younger generation seems inclined to diminish Cousy's extraordinary talents and is totally unaware of his impact on the city of Boston, the Celtics AND the entire NBA.....
This became evident to me when DALE ARNOLD, WEEI sports talk host, on Kevin McHale's retirement, dubbed him the FOURTH greatest Celtic behind, only, Larry Bird, Bill Russel and John Havlicek with no mention at all of BOB COUSY......THEN, a few years later, WBZ honored TED WILLIAMS, BOBBY ORR and LARRY BIRD as the greatest sports stars in the history of Boston.....
."WHERE'S BOB COUSY," echoed all the way from East Boston to Worcester, and beyond. in all the clubs where us "older guys" talked real sports and not all this junk about who wants more money or who was drunk last night......If not for Bob Cousy the City of Boston might have lost the Boston Celtics, Red Auerbach and never have seen the likes of LARRY BIRD, BILL RUSSELL, John Havlicek and all those world championship banners high above court side in the rafters of the old Boston Garden......Say WHAT??? How's that again. That's right, The following documents the entire story.....
WALTER BROWN, by his own admission......and the entire NBA for that matter, was having severe financial problems.....because of the huge college gambling scandal that rocked college hoops, and the recognition/acceptance of pro basketball {College hoops was king back then} and lack of a legitimate drawing card pushed pro hoops off the charts......
The Minneapolis Lakers had George Mikan, who was a draw for THEM only because he was a huge six foot ten, inches tall.....BUT, Mikan didn't provide any excitement, unless you were a Laker's fan.....
Walter Brown was very close to having to sell the team or move it OUT OF BOSTON.....
When Cousy became a Celtic, quite by accident as most people know by now, he was already somewhat of a celebrity in Boston by virtue of his stellar career at Holy Cross.....Fans went to Celtic's games to see if he could do all those great things in PRO BALL that he did in college.....There were many who thought he couldn't possibly compete at a pro level......When it was evident that he COULD then they all went for the excitement he brought to every game he played......
Walter Brown publicly stated that in Cousy's first year the Celtic's attendance went up slightly over FIFTY percent,,,,,,,Same for every city they played in around the country....."If not for that, Walter continued, I would not have been able to make payroll for the season and would have had to fold the team.....OR, highly unprobable, move it to another city.....
Writer, Bruce Martin, reported.....Before Bob Cousy came to the Celtics basketball was a foreign game in the Boston area.....Baseball and hockey were the two big sports in New England and basketball was a misunderstood game.....By the time Cousy retired from the Celtics basketball had increased dramatically in popularity and the Celts had established themselves as the greatest DYNASTY in sports history.....Bill Russell may have been the dominant force but BOB COUSY was the heart and soul of the team.....
Bob Brannum, the Celts very first "policeman" and Cousy's teammate for his first five years as the Celt's point guard. said, all anybody talked about was baseball and hockey until COOZ came to the Celtics......He made the game so exciting and, with his innovative style of passing, playing and winning brought more and more fans to the games.....He revolutionized Auerbach's fast break and, with his great vision of the entire court could always hit the open man.....Walter Brown GIOT the team to Boston but Bob Cousy is responsible for them STAYING and PROSPERING."
In the FIFTIES the the great college basketball point-shaving scandal had, at least, the same impact as the BLACK SOX scandal in baseball.....The sport was clearly in trouble and that included.
Credibility and the integrity of the game was no ;onger taken for granted......
"Babe Ruth helped raise baseball past the Black Sox scandal andTHAT is what BOB COUSY did for pro basketball,' said Hall of Famer Tom Heinsohn, his teammate and long time friend.....
"Cooz," was the Babe Ruth of professional basketball.....He put a face to the Celtics and helped to establish a style of play.....It was an aggressive style and produced an exciting offense that the fans loved.....Cousy was the NBA's FIRST, real star player."
Cousy, always a gentleman, developed a good relationship with the Boston media while at Holy Cross. In his four years they played inspired ball and were always in the top twenty.....Nicknames like "Houdini of the hardcourt" and my favorite, "Mr. Basketball" sprang from the pens of Boston's, and the country's greatest sportswriters.....The Boston Globes Jack Barry, the Bob Ryan of his day, heaped praise on Cousy and The Herald's Sam Brogna said, "The Celtics had no excitement or attraction and were dying for lack of fans were saved by the arrival of Bob Cousy."
Not only was Cooz a great basketball player but he was also a great showman......."You have to be a little bit of a ham," said Cousy.....Every little bit helps." If you have God given talents that allows you to do the unorthodox the important thing is to work them within the context of the game.....
Don't do it just for the sake of doing it.....What I see all too often that turns me off is guys dribbling behind their backs when there is no need to.....Showmanship has it's place, especially on the pro level, because you are out there to entertain the fans as well as win......But only as long as the showmanship or un-orthodox leads to accomplishing a goal that perhaps you couldn't do otherwise..>>>I was the only one doing it at the time which is probably why I get credit for that style BUT, actually, ninety percent of my game was pretty conservative.......Ten percent was to be able to get into the un-orthodox stuff......?
In those days the term "point guard" was unknown. A guard was a guard......Cooz defined the position.....He was the first to actually break the game down to a science and any time he became flashy or showmanlike he had a purpose in mind........There was always a method to his madness.....any ewffective point guard has to have an imagination and the ability to execute and put that imagination into play," said Cousy....."You can't go into a game with a pre-conceived notion of what you are going to do simply because every trip down the court has a different scenario. The options are varied because you have so many of them and they are not pre determined....."
One of the reasons the Celtics were so great was because, on any given day, any one of them could kill you.....If a player worked hard to get open Cousy would deliver the ball for an easy shot.....what he called "dishing out the sugar." If not Cooz took the shot himself......
"Cooz invented the passes they use today and the reason I shot so much," said Tom Heinsohn who truly earned the nickname "Tommy-gun>" Red always said, "If you get an open shot and don't take it I'm going to fine you......If I even got a half step on a defender Cousy would put the ball right on my finger tips for an easy shot.....I was just following Red's orders," he finished, flashing that great Tommy Heinsohn grin.....
Back in the early eighties I did a show for HBO called "Great Sports Rivalries," Heinsohn continued.....There was a you twenty something kid doing research on Cousy in the library......He came out and said, "Golly, I never knew how great Cousy really was.....Watching these films, I've never seen anybody doing those things he does.......They just can;t do them.....HJe was exactly right....Cooz was such a creative person on the court that, even if you didn't know basketball, you KNEW you were watching a virtuoso performance....."
Bob Cousy had many great accomplishments and awards such as twelve all-star selections. all-star MVP in fifty four and again in fifty seven, MVP in fifty seven when the Celtics hoisted their FIRST world title to the Boston Garden rafters, six world titles, named to the NBA's twenty fifth as well as their thirty fifth anniversary team, and was voted into the basketball hall of fame in nineteen seventy.....He is also the first player to be voted PRESIDENT of the Hall of Fame.....
BUT, as Bruce Martin further pointed out, Bob Cousy meant so very much more to trhe game of basketball than his ability than his ability as an outstanding player......Projecting the right image was very important to him both on and off the court.....He enjoyed the role model responsibility and built his reputation as one of the games great ambassadors.....
'Off the court he was very dedicated to who he was, what he did and being a winner," said Tommy Heinsohn.....He projected the right image and WAS the ambassador for the sport.....He helped greatly in establishing the NBA AND pro basketball in those critical years."
"In those days it was important," Cousy said.....Now a days they don't care very much......I think a lot of us, in those years, felt a sense of responsibility to the people who looked up to us as role models......We live in a sports oriented society and those jocks who get millions of dollars to play a child's game for eight months have a great impact on the lives of many young kids....."If I hear one more jackass superstar say "hey, I ain't paid to be a role model," I'm going to resign from the Jock's fraternity....."
The "COUSY ERA," was a great time to be a sports fan in Boston and not just for the Celtics.....TED WILLIAMS was still hitting baseballs out of Fenway Park ....We had Two world boxing champions.....Rocky Marciano and Tony Demarco.....Football fans now had the scrappy BOSTON Patriots AND, OF COURSE, the Celtics would go on forever.....or would they.......When Cousy announced he was retiring after the sixty two---sixty three season we all felt a sense of loss you could hardly imagine.....First Rocky Marciano retired, then Ted Williams and we lived through it......
BUT COOZ.....Almost everyone I knew said, "Nahh, he won't retire.".....He'll change his mind and play one more year.......We just couldn't imagine the Celtics without BOB COUSY.....It was totally UNTHINKABLE.....BUT, on March seventeenth, nineteen sixty three in one of the most heart wrenching and memorable episodes in Boston sports history Our COOZ said his goodbyes to us all.....I can still hear the echo of the fan in the balcony who spoke for us all when he cried out, after a second or two of emotional filled silence, as Cousy fought back a tear.........."WE LOVE YOU COOZ."
"I'd heard of stories of Babe Ruth Day and Lou Gherig Day at Yankee Stadium," Heinshn said, but those guys were dying......Cooz was just retiring.....All of the Celtics had lumps in their throats.....ecen Russell's eyes glistened.....BUT, I wanted to remember the Celtics for all the laughs and good times, not the tears......That's the way I remember those playing days with Cousy.....when I'd drive on to the Garden with him when he'd grab an extra coffee and plot with Ramsey to make me late so Red would yell and fine me for being late, again.....and all the other practical jokes through the years.....
Since then there have been many more retirement ceremonies but none of them even came close to THAT DAY......Cousy made it extra special, not only for the fans but the media who he presented with nice, engraved wrist watches in appreciation of their special attention.....A classy gesture and typical, in what must have been a very difficult time for him and his family......
"I;m always told I was born twenty years to early because of the salaries," said Cooz.....I'm happy to say if have no regrets about it whatsoever.,....I wouldn't change a thing.....Most athletes in team sports go through an entire career without even getting close to a world championship......
I captained a team that won SIX titles and I captained the greatest sports dynasty this country will ever see.....I could never have been luckier......I earned my living playing a child's game.....
In closing. I'm reminded of a scene from a Joh Wayne movie, "The Man Who Shot Liberty Valence." A veteran newsman says to his young colleague, "When the legend prints better than the truth....always print the legend."
In the case of Bob Cousy it's very evident that the legend IS the truth......God bless you Cooz.......
NOTE.....A few days after this story came out I, unexpectedly received a thank you note from Bob Cousy.......The mailman who handed it to me said, "You know HIM." Cooz had very personalized stationary with his name embossed in raised print on a very classy envelope.....
He had taken the trouble to get my address from the Celtic's front office and, even though he was vacationing in Florida with his family, he sent me this note of appreciation.......
He said, "Missy and I just want to thank you for all your kind words." Of course he ended with his autograph......Bob Cousy........
Needless to say it's one of my most prized possessions and I'll passm it on to my nephew after I'm gone......But that very touching gesture will always be tops in my memory........
Thanks Cooz, for everything.................Jim Tuberosa