John Havlicek, the Energizer Celtic years before there was an Energizer Bunny, the epitome of hustle during his 16 NBA seasons, died on Thursday in Jupiter, Fla., and I still can’t believe it.
For John Havlicek will always be 25 years old and stealing Hal Greer’s inbounds pass to save the Boston Celtics in Game 7 of the 1965 Eastern Conference Final. Or 36 years old and banking a running leaner off the glass to keep the Celtics alive in the triple overtime thriller that was Game 5 of the 1976 NBA Finals.
John Havlicek, one of the greatest Celtics ever, dead? What a sad day. We have lost a real sports hero, a gentleman on and off the court, a role model if ever there were one. He turned 79 on April 8 and according to various media reports had suffered from Parkinson’s disease for several years.
“He was a champion in every sense,” the Celtics said in a statement, “and as we join his family, friends and fans in mourning his loss, we are thankful for all the joy and inspiration he brought to us.”
Joy and inspiration? I’ll say. Those of us old enough to remember No. 17 running, running, running, always running, will mourn his passing, but we will also relive the thrills Hondo – so nicknamed because he resembled John Wayne — gave us during his spectacular career.
First, foremost, and forever was that memorable Game 7 at Boston Garden in 1965. The Celtics clung to a 110-109 lead over the Philadelphia 76ers, their bitter rivals, with five seconds remaining. All the Celtics had to do was get the ball in play and run out the clock. But Bill Russell’s inbounds pass hit the guy wire supporting the backboard, and it was Philadelphia ball. The Celtics appeared doomed. During a timeout, the anguished Russell appealed to his teammates to do something.
Greer, standing to the left of the basket, tossed a pass to Chet Walker. Havlicek, counting down the seconds Greer had to put the ball in play, glanced back just in time to tip the ball to Sam Jones, who dribbled out the clock. Boston’s play-by-play man, the gravel-voiced Johnny Most, went wild. His call, the greatest in NBA history and perhaps second in all of sports history to Russ Hodges’s “The Giants win the pennant!” in 1951, still produces goose bumps 54 years later.
“Greer putting the ball in play. He gets it out deep, and Havlicek steals it! Over to Sam Jones! Havlicek stole the ball! It’s all over! It’s all over! Johnny Havlicek is being mobbed by the fans.”
Yes, fans stormed the court, hoisted Havlicek to their shoulders, and tried to rip the jersey from his back. Russell squeezed through the throng, stretched for his savior, and embraced him. The Celtics went on to defeat the Lakers in five games.
Eleven years later, Boston and Phoenix played for the championship. Havlicek’s runner from the left off the glass at the buzzer gave the Celts an apparent 111-110 double overtime victory, but the officials put a second back on the clock. Phoenix called a timeout it did not have, and Boston made the technical foul free throw for a two-point lead. The Suns Garfield Heard caught the inbounds pass and buried a long jump shot over Don Nelson, sending the game into the third overtime. Reserve Glenn McDonald scored six points, and the Celtics won, 128-126. Havlicek played 58 of the 63 minutes. Two days later in Phoenix they won their 13th championship. It was Havlicek’s eighth and last.
Havlicek was a pro’s pro. Humble, dedicated, hard-working, fiercely competitive, organized, disciplined, durable. He was a three-year starter in college and played on Ohio State’s 1960 NCAA Championship team. Red Auerbach drafted him seventh in 1962. Joining a team of established stars like Russell, Bob Cousy, Frank Ramsey, Sam Jones, K.C. Jones and Tom Heinsohn, he welcomed the role of Sixth Man, coming off the bench to run opponents ragged. As the veterans aged and retired, Havlicek became a starter, a bigger star and a leader.
John Havlicek came to play every day. He took the court for 1,270 of a possible 1,303 regular-season games, more than any Celtic. Five times he played all 82 games, including his last season. He logged 81 games three times and 80 games twice. He averaged 36 minutes per game and 39.9 minutes in 172 playoff games. He scored 26,395 points, still the Celtics record. He was a 13-time All-Star and the MVP of the 1974 Finals. He was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in Springfield, Mass., in 1984 and was named one of the 50 Greatest Players in NBA History in 1997.
Havlicek had it all. Great talent. Tremendous work ethic. A storied franchise. A legendary coach. Hall of Fame teammates. Off the court, a beautiful wife and two beautiful children. Yet he retained the same understated demeanor he developed as the son of small-town Ohio shopkeepers.
Havlicek’s final game was Sunday, April 9, 1978, the day after his 38th birthday, against the Buffalo Braves at Boston Garden. CBS televised the game, and the halftime tribute, despite the Celtics 31-50 record. Havlicek looked embarrassed by all attention and humbled by the cheers of the 15,276 spectators. He played 41 minutes and scored 29 points in his finale, which, coincidentally, featured two Rhode Island connections. Ernie DiGregorio, the former Providence College star, was the backup point guard for the Celtics and did everything he could to get the ball in Havlicek’s hands. Marvin Barnes, Ernie D’s running mate at PC, was a forward for Buffalo and had 10 points and 6 rebounds before fouling out.
John Havlicek earned league-wide respect during his career and retained that respect as a businessman and motivational speaker after his retirement. He was not a basketball lifer, hanging around the game. When he did return to Boston Garden for special events, he was as meticulous as he was as a player. And still humble.
Jerry West, longtime star and executive of the Los Angeles Lakers, summed up John Havlicek this way, as quoted by veteran Boston Globe sports writer John Powers: “The guy is the ambassador of our sport. John always gave his best every night and had time for everybody – teammates, fans the press. He is simply the ideal everybody expects an athlete to be.”
Amen. Rest in peace, Hondo.
