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He shared all three kids with his first wife Rose Swisher. [219] The FBI maintained a file on Russell and described him in their file as "an arrogant Negro who won't sign autographs for white children". Johnny Havlicek stole the ball! Rules on Defense, Coach of Warriors Says", "The 'Coleman Play' introduced and defined Bill Russell's never-say-die leadership to Boston", "12 times NBA awards were pretty ridiculous", "Syracuse Nationals at Boston Celtics Box Score, February 5, 1960", "Boston Celtics at Philadelphia Warriors Box Score, November 24, 1960", "1960 NBA Finals Game 2: St. Louis Hawks at Boston Celtics Box Score, March 29, 1960", "1960 NBA Finals Game 7: St. Louis Hawks at Boston Celtics Box Score, April 9, 1960", "Celtics Give Sharman Championship Sendoff", "Boston Celtics at Los Angeles Lakers Box Score, April 16, 1962", "Boston Celtics Players to have recorded a triple-double", "1962 NBA Finals Game 7: Los Angeles Lakers at Boston Celtics Box Score, April 18, 1962", "Cincinnati Royals vs Boston Celtics Box Score, January 31, 1963", "Kennedy Greets Celtics, but Bill Russell Sleeps", "New York Knicks at Boston Celtics Box Score, February 10, 1963", "1963 NBA Finals Game 3: Boston Celtics at Los Angeles Lakers Box Score, April 17, 1963", "On this day: Pandemic pause anniversary; Russell's 49 boards; Potapenko trade", "Detroit Pistons vs Boston Celtics Box Score, March 11, 1965", "1968 Sportsman of the Year: Bill Russell, Boston Celtics coach-player", "Bill Russell Reported Favoring Movie Career", "Celtics legend Bill Russell receives second induction into Basketball Hall of Fame, as coach this time", "Successful, short-lived coaching days get Bill Russell into Hall again", "Bill Russell, NBA great and former Sonics coach, dies at 88", "Bill Russell Leaves Lasting Impact on Kings", "Watch Saturday Night Live Episode: November 3 Bill Russell", "Culture Now Is a Great Time to Read Bill Russell's Memoir", "Best Betting Scenes: Bill Russell Goes Rogue on 'Miami Vice', "Russell Redux: A Private Man Bursts Back Into the Public Eye", "Shaq heeds Russell's call for peace; Lakers hold on for win", "Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame to induct founding class", "Sports legend Bill Russell receives an honorary degree at the 2007 Suffolk University commencement", "Honorary degrees awarded at Commencement's Morning Exercises", "Dartmouth grads hear 'nose dive' warning", "Naismith and FIBA Hall of Fame: Full list of inductees enshrined at Springfield and Madrid", "Golden Plate Awardees of the American Academy of Achievement Sports", "The Finals MVP to Receive Bill Russell MVP Award", "All-Star Top 10, from Shaq's moves to boos for Spurs", "Kobe shows maturity of last seven years in leading Lakers to title", "Presidential Medal of Freedom Recipients (Photos)", "Inside the Iconic Obama Basketball Games at the White House", "25 players that won a NCAA and NBA championship", "Jordan, Jabbar, Russell and Magic won NCAA and NBA titles, but it's become a rare feat", "Quick quiz: Only four players have been", "How Bill Russell's coaching career opened doors for NBA's Black head coaches", "Bill Russell: How historic success as the league's first Black coach paved the way for others", "NBA Legend Bill Russell Became First Black Coach In Pro Sports 46 Years Ago Today", "Biggest moments for NBA's 15 Greatest Coaches", "Top 10 NBA Players With The Most Finals And Regular Season MVPs Combined", "Ranking Every NBA All-Defensive First Team in History from Worst to First", "NBA 75: Bill Russell, 1960s Athlete of the Decade (TSN Archives)", "ESPN's 'SportsCentury' Goes Back-Back-Back", "Top N. American athletes of the century", "Daily Dime: Special Edition The game's greatest giants ever", "Ranking the top 74 NBA players of all time: Nos. LeBron James of the Los Angeles Lakers), are grandfatheredthey may keep the number until they voluntarily change it or retirebut the number will not be issued again to a new player. He wrote these words after recounting how grandfather Jake Russell had stood up to the Ku Klux Klan and other whites who attempted to thwart his efforts to build a schoolhouse for black children; his grandfather was the first person in Russell's patrilineal line born free in North America and was himself illiterate. Over 50 percent of responses said 'There's too many black players. "[22], During his early years, Russell struggled to develop his skills as a basketball player. After practice, and even during practice breaks, shed encourage me. In 2014, after the unveiling of his statue at City Hall in Boston, Russell spoke a bit about his parents and what his life was like growing up. [18][169] However, the NBA players who currently wore the number 6 jersey (i.e. [5] Russell's team again beat Chamberlain's Philadelphia 76ers 41 in the Eastern Division Finals, proceeding to win the NBA Finals in a tight showdown against the Los Angeles Lakers, with Russell scoring 25 points and grabbing 32 rebounds, plus giving out an assist,[97] in a 9593 win in Game 7. [103], In Game 7, 15,202 Philadelphia fans witnessed a home-team 10096 defeat, making it the first time in NBA history a team lost a series after leading 31. Alex Wong/Getty Images. [148][149], In his first NBA full season (195758), Russell became the first player in NBA history to average more than 20 rebounds per game for an entire season, a feat he accomplished ten times in his thirteen seasons. She already does volunteer work as a tutor for underprivileged children in her hometown.. Dorothy Anstett Born: Kirkland, Washington, United States Date of birth: 1947-06-28 Spouse: Bill Russell https://t.co/T9E7sVcZUO pic.twitter.com/se6ka2URg3. Marilyn Nault Russell would end up as the step-mother of Bill's children from his previous marriage to Rose Swisher. In these eleven games, Russell averaged 18.3 points and 29.4 rebounds. [4] In his USF years, Russell took advantage of his relative lack of bulk to develop a unique defensive style: instead of purely guarding the opposing center, he used his quickness and speed to play help defense against opposing forwards and aggressively challenge their shots. [55] Russell's first Celtics game came on December 22, 1956, against the St. Louis Hawks, led by star forward Bob Pettit, who would go on to hold several all-time scoring records. 6 jersey will be retired across the NBA, was a champion, a gold medalist and a civil rights activist. NBA legend Bill Russell passed away at the age of 88. [5] For his efforts, Russell was named Sports Illustrated's Sportsman of the Year. Jones. Aside from that, the late Russell remained a big part of the . Following Chamberlain's death in October 1999, Russell returned to prominence at the turn of the millennium. Bill Russell's daughter Karen Russell a legal and political analyst was born Karen Kenyatta Russell on January 20, 1962, graduated from Harvard Law School and Georgetown University; she has contributed to the Huffington . Arthur was a man of great courage. [184][185] He was a resident of Mercer Island, Washington, for over four decades. The relationship between the two was tenuous at best. [49], Russell was considered the consummate defensive center, noted for his defensive intensity, basketball IQ, and will to win. "[101] The game still ended on a high note for Russell. This attitude contributed to his bad rapport with fans and journalists. In his first playoff game, Russell finished with 16 points and 31 rebounds, along with 7 reported blocks, which were not yet an officially registered statistic. They were college darlings. Constantly provoked by New York Knicks center Ray Felix during a game, he complained to coach Auerbach, who told him to take matters into his own hands. [93], In the 1965 NBA playoffs, the Celtics played the Eastern Division Finals against the Philadelphia 76ers, a team that had traded for Chamberlain. It's all over! [52] The U.S. dominated the tournament, winning by an average of 53.5 points per game. Still, there was constantly a flow of people from Louisiana that my father would let stay with us. Fri 5 Aug 2022 10.44 EDT. Bill Russell was born on February 12, 1934 and he died on July 21, 2022 aged 88. Karen is Bill's most well known child, and the only daughter from his union with Rose. [39][40] During his college career, Russell was the NCAA Tournament Most Outstanding Player in 1955, averaging 20.7 points per game and 20.3 rebounds per game. Therefore, once the latter knew he was well on his way to stability upon getting drafted by Boston Celtics in 1956 and winning gold at the Summer Olympics mere months later, they decided to marry. The 61-year-old is a legal and political analyst who graduated from Georgetown University and Harvard Law School.. She is a media person, lawyer, and Black-rights activist who has also contributed to publications like The New York Times Magazine. ", "Glory at the Basket, William Felton Russell", "The Ring Leader: Bill Russell helped the Celtics rule their sport like no team ever has", "Celtics Name Russell Coach, Making Him First Negro to Lead Major Team", "A Farewell Fiercest Rival: Bill Russell Recalls Wilt As His Friend For Eternity", "Bill Russell: Working with Red Auerbach", "More than 40 years later, Celtics great Bill Russell finally accepts his Hall of Fame ring", "Third Annual 'We Are Boston' Event Honors Outstanding Contributions to Boston's Diversity", "Bill Russell: 'Tell those NFL players, I'm with them', UPI College Basketball Player of the Year Award, Helms Foundation College Basketball Player of the Year, NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament Most Outstanding Player, 1955 NCAA Men's Basketball Consensus All-Americans, 1956 NCAA Men's Basketball Consensus All-Americans, NBA All-Star Game Kobe Bryant Most Valuable Player Award, Wayland Baptist Women's Teams (19481982), NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Championship, Lakers versus Celtics and the NBA Playoffs, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Bill_Russell&oldid=1142551823, African-American male track and field athletes, African-American sports executives and administrators, All-American college men's basketball players, American sports executives and administrators, Basketball players at the 1956 Summer Olympics, Basketball players from Oakland, California, Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame inductees, National Basketball Association All-Stars, National Basketball Association broadcasters, National Basketball Association championship-winning head coaches, National Basketball Association players with retired numbers, Olympic gold medalists for the United States in basketball, San Francisco Dons men's basketball players, San Francisco Dons men's track and field athletes, Track and field athletes from Oakland, California, United States men's national basketball team players, Short description is different from Wikidata, All Wikipedia articles written in American English, Pages using Sister project links with hidden wikidata, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0, Career statistics and player information from, This page was last edited on 3 March 2023, at 01:53. DON'T FORGET TO; SUBSCRIBE+LIKE+COMMENTBill Russell is an American retired professional basketball player, author, NBA legend, and a philanthropist. His father gave up his trucking job and became a steelworker in order to be closer to his children. He is said to have made a conscious decision to put the team first and foremost, and not worry about individual achievements. ( Source : twitter ) The NBA icon and Olympian Bill Russell has passed away as of July 31, bringing down a part of basketball with him. In his thirteen years, he averaged a relatively low 13.4 field goals attempted (normally, top scorers average 20 and more),[1] illustrating that he was never the focal point of the Celtics offense, who instead focused on his elite defense. [4] Decades later, Russell explained that his experiences hardened him against abuse of all kinds,[35] saying: "I never permitted myself to be a victim. 1 in NBA history for defensive win shares at 133.6, with Tim Duncan in second at 106.3. [127] On November 17, the two-time NCAA champion Russell was recognized for his impact on college basketball as a member of the founding class of the National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame. Although the middle child of Bill Sr. and Rose Swisher (born on July 6, 1959), Jacob is arguably the simplest member of the prominent Russell family in almost every sense of the term. On July 31, 2022, shetweeteda series of pictures with her late father, captioned: "Keanu Reeves on death, 'I know that the ones who love us will miss us.'". [109] Russell was also notorious for his refusal to give autographs or acknowledge the Celtics fans, and was called "the most selfish, surly and uncooperative athlete" by one pundit. . I refuse to smile and be nice to the kiddies. [18], Russell was born on February 12, 1934, to Charles Russell and Katie Russell in West Monroe, Louisiana. He married Rose Swisher on 9th December 1956, after dating her for several years. [30] Woolpert's choice of how to deploy his players was unaffected by their skin color. When the reporter asked how, Russell responded: "Because the most important factor is respect. Bill Russell, whose No. It hence comes as no surprise Bill and Rose happily welcomed three kids into their lives over the next six years William Bill Russell Jr. (1957), Jacob Russell (1959), and Karen Russell (1962). Please logout and login again. Pin. Chamberlain often invited Russell over for Thanksgiving dinner; at Russell's place, conversation mostly concerned Russell's electric trains. Bill Russell and his two sons( Source : gq) The eldest of them all, Jacob Russell was born in 1959, making him only nine years younger than his stepmother, who is currently married and lives in Washington. From Michael Jordan's unparalleled scoring . 2023 Cinemaholic Inc. All rights reserved. You can email the site owner to let them know you were blocked. [48], In the draft, Boston Celtics coach Red Auerbach set his sights on Russell, thinking his defensive toughness and rebounding prowess were the missing pieces the Celtics needed. [5], Despite his limitations on offense, as Russell averaged 15.1 points per game, his rebounding, defense, and leadership made him one of the dominant players of his era. [202] Later in Russell's career, John Havlicek said of his teammate and coach that he threw up less often than early in his career, only doing so "when it's an important game or an important challenge for himsomeone like Chamberlain, or someone coming up that everyone's touting. Who is Bill Russell's First Wife? [120] In addition, Russell ran into financial trouble. [60] He alienated Celtics fans by saying: "You owe the public the same it owes you, nothing! He later recalled: "To play good defense it was told back then that you had to stay flatfooted at all times to react quickly. Bill Russell wound up married to his second wife, Dorothy, in 1977. [115] While Russell long had sore feelings towards Boston, there was something of a reconciliation, and he visited the city regularly in his later years, something he never did in the years immediately after his retirement. [16] In 2021, he was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame a second time for his coaching career. #ESPYsABC #ArthurAsheAward @NBA @espn @celtics @BleacherReport @SLAMonline @BostonGlobe @ESPYS pic.twitter.com/AybfEZOzAb, TheBillRussell (@RealBillRussell) May 30, 2019, SWEET . Bill Russell Wife, Girlfriend. The ex-wife of Bill Russell. 2023 Cinemaholic Inc. All rights reserved. The couple grew emotionally distant and divorced. Together, Russell and Swisher had three children: daughter Karen, and sons William Jr. and . These are Karen Kenyatta Russell, William Russell Jr., and Jacob Russell. Bill answered, I played for the Celtics, period I did not play for Boston. Russell averaged . "[214], In 1966, Russell was promoted to head coach of the Celtics. According to Sportskeeda, he resides in Washington State with his wife, Sara Marckx Russell. "[5][121] On November 3, 1979, Russell hosted Saturday Night Live, in which he appeared in several sports-related sketches. '"[203], In a retrospective interview, Russell described the state of mind he felt he needed to enter in order to be able to play basketball: "I had to almost be in a rage. 6 jersey was retired by the Celtics on March 12, 1972. The owner of the Hawks called Auerbach later and demanded more in the trade. NBA legend Bill Russell, who won 11 NBA titles with the Boston Celtics, dies at 88. In a game called as "unreal" and "devoid of emotion", the Sixers lost 127118 on April 5. [20] Russell was closer to his mother Katie than to his father,[20] and he received a major emotional blow when she suddenly died when he was 12 years old. But there's another type who makes the players around him look better than they are, and that's the type Russell was. She works as an attorney, corporate trainer, and political strategist, according to the Huffington Post. [132][133] In 2008, Russell received the Golden Plate Award of the Academy of Achievement. [6][7][8][9] Standing at 6ft 10in (2.08m) tall, with a 7ft 4in (2.24m) arm span,[10][11] his shot-blocking and man-to-man defense were major reasons for the Celtics' dominance during his career. William Russell Jr. Bill Russell Jr was the first child of the 11-time NBA champ. In the 1961 NBA playoffs, the Celtics defeated the Syracuse Nationals 41 in the Eastern Division Finals. [211], Chamberlain outscored Russell 30 to 14.2 and outrebounded him 28.2 to 22.9 in the regular season, and he also outscored him 25.7 to 14.9 and outrebounded him 28 to 24.7 in the playoffs. When their family uprooted to Oakland, California, they lived in the projects. [1] Boston defeated the Cincinnati Royals 41 to earn another NBA Finals appearance and then won against Chamberlain's newly relocated San Francisco Warriors 41. I was able to separate the Celtics institution from the city and the fans. Tonights event will be hosted by Tracy Morgan, and will air live on ABC from 7-10pm ET from the Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles. [96], Celtics coach Red Auerbach retired before the 196667 NBA season. [17] Shortly after his death in 2022, the NBA retired Russell's #6 jersey league-wide, making him the only player in NBA history to receive the honor. The Celtics won, earning their first NBA championship. [154] He was selected three times to the All-NBA First Teams (1959, 1963, 1965) and eight Second Teams (1958, 196062, 1964, 196668), and was a 12-time NBA All-Star (19581969). equal . "[109][207] When his white Celtics teammate Frank Ramsey asked whether he hated him, Russell stated that he had been misquoted but few believed it. [20] Russell stated that his father became his childhood hero, later followed up by Minneapolis Lakers superstar George Mikan, whom he met when he was in high school. When I started to jump to make defensive plays and to block shots, I was initially corrected, but I stuck with it, and it paid off. In the first two games, Russell ordered his players not to double-team West, who used the freedom to score 53 and 41 points in the Game 1 and 2 Laker wins. Children. @NBATV before Game 6 of 2013 #NBAFinals. In addition to Macauley, who was the Celtics' premier player at the time, he wanted Cliff Hagan, who had been serving in the military for three years and had not yet played for the Celtics. After much debate, Auerbach agreed to give up Hagan and the Hawks made the trade. In the piece, she explains how she experienced such privilege in her life at times, but how she was also met with periods of intense racism and sexism. [194][195] For his promotion to coach, the Celtics paid Russell an annual salary of $25,000 which was in addition to his salary as a player. [143] By winning the 1956 NCAA championship with USF and the 1957 NBA title with the Celtics,[144] Russell became the first of only four players in basketball history to win an NCAA championship and an NBA championship back-to-back, the others being Henry Bibby, Magic Johnson, and Billy Thompson. The duo shares three children together. Bill Russell, the most prolific winner in the history of American sports, died Sunday. [49] Boston's chances of getting Russell seemed slim because they had finished second in the previous season and the worst teams had the highest draft picks, and the Celtics had slipped too low in the draft order to pick Russell. Russell regarded Auerbach as "the greatest of all coaches". There are several actions that could trigger this block including submitting a certain word or phrase, a SQL command or malformed data. His marriage with Rose produced 3 children of which one, Karen Russell is a renowned television pundit and lawyer. [222] When Russell originally retired, he demanded that his jersey be retired in an empty Boston Garden. [5], For his achievements, Russell was named "Sportsman of the Year" by Sports Illustrated in 1968. Auerbach agreed to trade Macauley, who had previously asked to be traded to St. Louis in order to be with his sick son, if the Hawks gave up Russell. Tune in July 10, this is a special honor! [137] Russell attended Game 5 of the 2009 NBA Finals to present Bryant the NBA Finals Most Valuable Player award. Russell also ignored Heinsohn's request for an autograph on behalf of his cousin and openly said to Heinsohn that he deserved half of his $300 Rookie of the Year check. 85.235.64.191 "[60] Before the 196162 season, Russell's team was scheduled to play in an exhibition game in Lexington, Kentucky, when Russell and his black teammates were refused service at a local restaurant. [5] Chamberlain said Russell's timing as a shot-blocker was unparalleled. Born to William Bill Russell and his college sweetheart Rose Swisher a year into their marriage (December 9, 1956) on November 2, 1957, William Bill Felton Russell Jr. was their firstborn.