{"id":849130,"date":"2026-08-09T13:14:11","date_gmt":"2026-08-09T13:14:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/849130\/"},"modified":"2026-08-09T13:14:11","modified_gmt":"2026-08-09T13:14:11","slug":"bob-cousy-turns-98-im-in-double-overtime","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/849130\/","title":{"rendered":"Bob Cousy turns 98: ‘I’m in double overtime’"},"content":{"rendered":"

He entered public consciousness as a high school basketball star and has created a brand that, in his 90s, has included the awarding of the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the placing of a statue outside Worcester\u2019s DCU Center, and the naming of a public thoroughfare in his honor. With the full blessing of Governor Maura Healey, a fully paid-up member of the Bob Cousy Fan Club, you can now go to Worcester and put yourself on \u201cBob Cousy Pass.\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n

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\"InIn July, a ceremony, attended by Governor Maura Healey, was held at Holy Cross to dedicate “Bob Cousy Pass” to the Celtics legend.John Tlumacki\/Globe Staff<\/p>\n

You also can have a toast in his honor because on Sunday Bob Cousy turns 98.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m in double overtime,\u201d he jokes.<\/p>\n

The good news is that, though he is wheelchair-bound, he is in full command of his mental powers. He is as irreverent and funny as ever.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe fact is he keeps up to date with just about every development, whether it\u2019s politics or the Celtics,\u201d says former Suffolk University men\u2019s basketball coach and athletic director Jim Nelson, an early Cousy Boston College recruit who is one of the many Cousy players to have kept close touch over the years.<\/p>\n

Cousy spent six seasons coaching BC<\/a> after retiring from the Celtics in 1963. His record was 114-38 and he took the Eagles to two NCAA Tournaments, and two NITs when that still meant something. It\u2019s where a certain awestruck student radio play-by-play broadcaster from New Jersey first established a relationship with a legitimate idol. But we digress. <\/p>\n

You can\u2019t exaggerate Cousy\u2019s role in basketball history. He was a freshman bench player for a Holy Cross NCAA championship team in 1946-47. He then became a national sensation who electrified basketball fans with a flamboyant \u2014 but always efficient \u2014 style of play. If he didn\u2019t introduce the behind-the-back dribble and behind-the-back pass, he perfected them and became synonymous with them.<\/p>\n

Says Nelson, \u201cYou\u2019d be in a pickup game and if you threw a behind-the-back pass, someone would yell, \u2018Who do you think you are? Cousy?\u2019 \u201d I can assure you that the same things were taking place in Trenton, Toledo, Tulsa, and Tacoma. Everyone knew who Bob Cousy was in the 1950s and \u201960s.<\/p>\n

Bob Cousy was the godfather of all modern point guards. He led the NBA in assists eight consecutive seasons<\/a>. Keep in mind that in his day there were no bogus assists on 25-foot 3-pointers. An \u201cassist\u201d was something leading to a layup. And no one was his equal in the matter of long, lead \u201ctouchdown\u201d passes. He was the maestro in running a fast break.<\/p>\n

Oh, and he\u2019d stick his 20 points a night, too.<\/p>\n

All this led to 13 All-Star Game appearances, two All-Star Game MVPs, and the 1956-57 MVP award. But these accolades aren\u2019t what mean the most to him.<\/p>\n

\"AmongAmong his many awards, Bob Cousy twice was named MVP of the NBA All-Star Game.John M. Hurley\/Globe Staff<\/p>\n

\u201cWinning six championships is right up there,\u201d he asserts.<\/p>\n

The Cooz is neither vain nor naive. He knows who was most responsible for his six and the Celtics\u2019 first 11 titles. There was this guy named Russell . . .<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Boston Celtics were known all over the world,\u201d Cousy says. \u201cWe were accepted as the gold standard of the sport. And all that is because of a guy named Bill Russell<\/a>. There\u2019s no question about that.\u201d<\/p>\n

There also is no question that the pre-Russell Celtics were struggling in a hockey town and were being kept afloat by their point guard by the time Russell arrived in 1956. \u201dThe Celtics wouldn\u2019t be here without him,\u201d team owner Walter Brown said at the time.<\/p>\n

The ultimate Cousy legacy will reflect a man with a great social conscience, who, as Healey says, \u201chas handed out many metaphorical assists along the way.\u201d This would include staunch support of Black teammate Chuck Cooper<\/a>, when the latter encountered classic Southern segregation problems during an exhibition season. It also would include his going to bat for all his contemporaries by becoming the first president of the National Basketball Players Association. And among his charitable endeavors was his long-standing fight to combat cystic fibrosis. <\/p>\n

You might legitimately include \u201cInternational Ambassador of Basketball\u201d to his honorary titles. He and Red Auerbach made multiple trips abroad to spread the hoop gospel, one result being that he and Auerbach became more than just coach and point guard. \u201cThose trips changed our relationship,\u201d Cousy acknowledges.<\/p>\n

It must be pointed out that Cousy invariably referred to Auerbach as \u201cArnold,\u201d Red\u2019s wife, Dot, being the only other person to do so. But that was just Cousy being Cousy.<\/p>\n

Don\u2019t forget Cousy\u2019s Celtics announcing career. His banter with Gil Santos<\/a> was priceless. My favorite moments came when the Celtics were playing any team employing journeyman center Benoit Benjamin. The Cooz would tap into his French heritage and regale us with his evaluation of \u201cBen-Wah\u201d Benjamin.<\/p>\n

Another endearing Cousy legacy is his 80-year love affair with the city of Worcester. He entered Holy Cross in 1946 and he has never lived anywhere else. He has lived in the same house now for many decades. That made for many pre-turnpike trips on Route 9 with fellow Crusader and Celtic Tom Heinsohn, for one thing. The city earned his gratitude, among other things, \u201cby protecting my two daughters and not making them be \u2018Bob Cousy\u2019s daughters\u2019 in school.\u201d<\/p>\n

That the Cooz is the NBA\u2019s longest-living icon is downright symbolic. It has certainly not gone unnoticed in the league office.<\/p>\n

Closing honors go to NBA commissioner Adam Silver: \u201cBob Cousy represents the foundation of NBA basketball and is one of the true pioneers of our league. He has the unique perspective of someone who has witnessed the NBA\u2019s evolution from its earliest days into the global game it is. From a personal standpoint I cherish our friendship and how engaged he has remained with our league. There are very few people in the basketball community who are as universally respected and admired as Bob.\u201d<\/p>\n

So there you go. All together now, \u201cWe love ya, Cooz!<\/a>\u201d<\/p>\n

Bob Ryan can be reached at robert.ryan@globe.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"He entered public consciousness as a high school basketball star and has created a brand that, in his…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":849131,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[574],"tags":[64,63,726,2870,85],"class_list":["post-849130","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-basketball","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-basketball","tag-celtics","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/849130","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=849130"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/849130\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/849131"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=849130"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=849130"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=849130"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}