Han spelade 13 säsonger för Boston Celtics och vann NBA elva gånger. I was the MVP at the Final Four. Only Zack Wheat played more games as a Dodger and no one in the West Coast portion of Dodgers history has played more games. FACT CHECK: Is “Text RBG to 50409” a Scam? Since Russell had previous negative experiences with white authority figures, it was nice for him to hear encouragement from his white coach. His father gave up his trucking job and became a steel worker to be closer to his semi-orphaned children. He is one of just two NBA players (the other being prominent rival Wilt Chamberlain) to have grabbed more than 50 rebounds in a game. During a separate incident, a police officer once approached and stopped his mother for wearing “white women’s clothing” when she was wearing an outfit she made herself. He then rejoined Lasorda and the Los Angeles coaching staff in 1994 and was considered by general manager Fred Claire and team owner Peter O'Malley to be the heir apparent to Lasorda's job. Russell played his entire 18-year, 2,181-game career with the Los Angeles Dodgers as the starting shortstop for four National League pennant winners and one World Series championship team. He wasn’t impressed by the young player’s performance, but saw Russell’s potential. Jones and Hal Perry. However, the owner of St Louis called Auerbach later and demanded more in the trade. In 2007, he was enshrined in the FIBA Hall of Fame. However, Boston's chances of getting Russell seemed slim. Russell was equally notable for his rebounding abilities. His college coach, Phil Woolpert, became the first coach of a major college basketball squad to train three African-American players: Bill Russell, K. C. Jones, and Hal Perry. He also hit .337 over five National League Championship Series. Russell has stated that his father became his childhood hero, later followed up by Minneapolis Lakers superstar George "Mr. Basketball" Mikan, whom he met when he was in high school. He played shortstop exclusively from 1974–1983 and alternated playing time at second base, shortstop and the outfield for his final three seasons. Not only did he want 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. Social Media Star Zaywoah Dead: Who Is He? That did not happen ... My junior year in college, I had what I thought was the one of the best college seasons ever. Russell batted .263 over his regular season career, and – coincidentally – posted the same average in 23 World Series games in 1974, 1977, 1978, and 1981. He also participated in the high jump; Track & Field News ranked him as the seventh-best high jumper in the world in 1956. We won 28 out of 29 games. Russell finished the 1996 season, compiling a record of 49–37 and bringing the Dodgers home in second place, earning the NL wild card spot in the playoffs before being swept in three games by the Atlanta Braves in the Division Series. Bill William Felton Russell (born February 12, 1934) is a American retired professional basketball player who played center for the Boston Celtics of the National Basketball Association (NBA) from 1956 to 1969. Decades later, Russell explained that his experiences hardened him against abuse of all kinds. Jones, Russell's former USF teammate. Throughout his career, he has earned a net worth of $10.0 million, and won more championship rings than Michael Jordan and Shaquille O’Neal combined! Bill Russell was born to Charles and Katie Russell in West Monroe, Louisiana. Because large numbers of blacks were moving to Oakland, California during WWII to look for work there, Russell's father moved the family out of Louisiana when Russell was eight years old and settled them in Oakland.