Bill Russell died on Sunday at the age of 88.
The NBA Hall of Famer, considered by many to be the sport’s greatest player (and certainly big man) of all time, is best known for winning 11 championships in 13 seasons with the Boston Celtics, including eight in a row since 1959 by 1966, the 6-foot-10 center was a five-time MVP, a 12-time All-Star, a two-time NCAA champion at the University of San Francisco and an Olympic gold medalist in 1956. He was also awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2011.
It wasn’t until his playing career ended, however, that he took up golf.
Speaking to GolfChannel.com’s Rex Hoggard in 2014, just months after open-heart surgery, Russell explained how he got into golf. It was his first or second All-Star Game—he couldn’t remember—and he and the other contestants were gifted sets of golf clubs.
However, Russell was not at all eager to break into his new set.
“I put them in the garage right away,” said Russell, who didn’t put them away for years until he hung up his basketball shoes.
“As I got older, I had a little time on my hands, so I thought maybe I’d play golf,” he added. “So I got the clubs out and they were right-handed. I didn’t even know that all this time.
For the record: Champion and Mentor, Bill Russell
When he finally bought a left-handed set, Russell scratched his competitive itch in matches against friends. But the quality of golf demonstrated by those early foursomes, Russell admitted, was not particularly good.
“No one can play,” he said. “If you shoot 101, you win all the money. A high score would be 160.”
Russell later played in several pros, including the PGA Tour’s annual stop at Pebble Beach and occasionally with avid golfer Michael Jordan. One such round during the heyday of Jordan and the Bulls created one of the best slapstick stories ever – and making the story even better, Jordan, for the first time, was on top.
As Russell once said, “I think he’s a great player and I have the utmost respect for him. We were out in the middle of the golf course; they had just won the championship. He says, “You know we’re going after your record.” I said, “Who?” … You know, we’ve won 11, but we’ve won eight in a row. I don’t think you’ll live long enough to get one of these.
Bill Russell with Lee Elder
When Russell had surgery to replace a valve in his heart, he was on the golf course almost every day. After Russell’s surgery, it took months for him to return to the game.
“My heart was not very friendly to it,” he said. “It wasn’t a big loss after all. I was never that good anyway.
It wasn’t good on hardwood either. He was great. Great for all time.
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