Fellow DW teammate John James Marshall wrote about Boston Celtics great John Havlicek yesterday, which you can read below. DW is a big, huge, large Havlicek fan. When he passed last week at age 79, we took a knee. Not a casual or figurative or mental knee but a honest to goodness knee. DW felt it had the wind knocked out of it.
He was so fun to watch play. SO fun. But two things people might not know.
Pictured here is a glove, a John Havlicek signature model. But he played basketball? I know, right!? The thing is, he was an all-around stud athlete. At Ohio State, football coach Woody Hayes would introduce him as the best QB in the Big 10, except that he didn’t play football, no matter how often Hayes begged. He did play college baseball (infielder) and at one time owned John Havlicek All Sports Products; the pictured glove is one of those very products. It was found at either a garage or estate sale and given to me by my friend Bill. I can’t tell you his last name; that would be indiscreet. Johnson. Bill Johnson. Good man.
AND…the former high school all-state QB almost played pro football as a receiver. Tried out for the Cleveland Browns. The New York Times, in its Havlicek obit, reported this:
“But after a disappointing initial contract offer by (Celtics coach/GM Red) Auerbach, Havlicek accepted an invitation by Paul Brown, the Browns’ coach, to try out as a wide receiver. The Browns wanted to take advantage of his height, a shade over 6 feet 5 inches. After playing in two preseason games, Havlicek was a late cut by the Browns and soon after joined the Celtics in training camp.”
I saw one of my favorites, Louisiana Sports Hall of Famer and former Browns star receiver and coach Dub Jones in Ruston Wednesday and asked if he knew Havlicek. (I already knew the answer.) Mr. Dub lit up like a Christmas tree. The Browns flew Dub to Cleveland to work out Havlicek and coach him. Could he have played in the league?
“Oh yes,” Dub said. “Just not for our team.” The Browns had Warfield and other stud receivers then and were the best team in the league.
But that’s how good of an athlete this guy was. He brought DW much joy. Still does.