EPISODE · Mar 17, 2022 · 35 MIN
Bill Walton - Part 1
from In Conversation with Lesley Visser · host bill walton, lesley visser
Bill Walton said the Celtics saved his life. He was a kid from La Mesa, California, who didn't have a TV at home, but would catch Celtics games wherever he could. It was his dream to play on the parquet floor, and when it finally happened in 1985, Walton thought he was so terrible "a disgrace to basketball" that he apologized to the team. Bird and McHale told him not to be so hard on himself, there were 81 games to go. The 1986 Championship team was the happiest time of his professional life. The cycle was complete - Walton was still the pot-smoking Grateful Dead-loving guru he'd been at UCLA, but now he won titles with both John Wooden and Red Auerbach. And stay tuned for why he rubbed dirt from Larry Bird's driveway on his chest.
What this episode covers
Bill Walton said the Celtics saved his life. He was a kid from La Mesa, California, who didn't have a TV at home, but would catch Celtics games wherever he could. It was his dream to play on the parquet floor, and when it finally happened in 1985, Walton thought he was so terrible "a disgrace to basketball" that he apologized to the team. Bird and McHale told him not to be so hard on himself, there were 81 games to go. The 1986 Championship team was the happiest time of his professional life. The cycle was complete - Walton was still the pot-smoking Grateful Dead-loving guru he'd been at UCLA, but now he won titles with both John Wooden and Red Auerbach. And stay tuned for why he rubbed dirt from Larry Bird's driveway on his chest.
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Bill Walton - Part 1
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