John Havlicek Dies
 

When I was first following the NBA in the late 1960's, I wasn't a Celtics fan but I recognized what an incredible basketball player John Havlicek was. He played ferociously and knew how to win. He played the game the way it is supposed to be played. It was with great sadness that I heard that he passed at 79.

Havlicek Stole the Ball!!

Great player, watched him as a young Celt`s fan from the early 70` through the rest of his career. For some reason, Stan "The Man" comes to mind as a comparison. R I P Hondo.

John Hondo Havlicek
 

A consummate professional and Buckeye legend. I believe he still is the Celtic's all time scoring leader. Rest in Peace.

Yes, he is still #1, ahead of Larry Bird.

audio
 

...and the classic call by Mr. Most.

Let me share a moment remembering Havlicek:

When I was a student at Boston University between 1969 and 1972, I was determined to go to the Boston Garden and see NBA games as often as possible. And I learned a little trick. If I went to the box office exactly three weeks before the game I wanted to see, and got there when it opened in the morning, I could buy a seat literally court side for its face value (probably $10-12). This was a down time for the Celtics- Russell had just retired, Cowens wasn't drafted yet, and their center was Rich Johnson. Interest in the team was minimal. I could get such good seats that one night sitting directly behind me- get this- were Red Auerbach and Jim Plunkett! Today you would need to remortgage your house to get those kind of seats. And I was on a student budget.

But I got to see John Havlicek up close and in his prime, and I was absolutely astounded at how good a player he was. Also saw Kareem on a night he scored 53 points, plus many other NBA stars. Some really great memories.

For the 99.9999999999999999999 percent of us who don't have a 1968 Topps Test, this will have to do.

John Havlicek card
 

Well done, Peter.

An All-Star Indeed
 

Attachment 351077

1971-72 xxl???

By an odd happenstance, I got to see his last game.

The Celtics scheduled games in the Hartford Civic Center back then, until during the 78 Blizzard the roof caved in.

Dad was an assistant superintendent for my school, and someone he knew- Maybe the School dept lawyer? Had tickets. The game was rescheduled for the end of the season in Boston Garden. Whoever had the tickets couldn't go then, and offered them to dad. So we went to see the game.

If you watch the video, he doesn't really steal the ball so much as tip it, but who's quibbling. When Bird made his great steal two decades later, also on an inbounds play under the basket, he actually stole it and, with his incredible presence of mind, immediately passed to a cutting DJ for the winning layup.