Cousy will be remembered as one of the most exceptional passers and playmakers in pro basketball history, a 6-1 point guard who led the Celtics to six world championships between 1957 and 1963. He was one of the first razzle dazzle players the NBA ever produced and nobody had sharper peripheral vision in that era.
Born to French immigrants in New York, Cousy spoke French for the first five years of his life. When he was 13, Bob fell out of a tree and broke his right hand. It forced him to play basketball left-handed until his hand healed, to a point he became effectively ambidextrous. Later, Cousy described this accident as a "fortunate event" because he became a better player.
A three-time All-American at Holy Cross in Worcester, Massachusetts, where he still lives, Bob was acquired by the Celtics in a dispersal draft when a team in the NBA folded. That was in 1950. Cousy did not win his first ring until almost seven years later after future Hall-of-Famers Bill Russell, K. C. Jones and Tom Heinsohn were taken in the 1956 draft by Boston.
Bob was the league's MVP in 1957, made 13 straight All-Star teams, and led the NBA in assists for eight years in a row. Noted for his behind-the-back dribbles, no-look behind-the-back and half court passes, Cousy was magic nearly three decades before Magic. A superb dribbler, he could keep the ball (with no shot clock in those days) until a play developed or he would drive to the basket or shoot from the outside, averaging over 18 points a game in his NBA career.
Bob Cousy retired when he was 35, was inducted into Basketball's Hall of Fame in 1971, and was named to the NBA's 50th anniversary All-Star team.
Number 14 was some player.
Ross Porter
I've made it easier for you to contact me.
