Nobody was ever sure what made Martin great. He was too small to cope with the huge stars of the game, yet he often played them to a standstill.
Tag Archives: 1950s NBA
Clair Bee: The Busiest Bee in Baltimore, 1954
But things have been happening in Baltimore lately. Pro Football came back for another try. Major league baseball returned after an absence of half a century. And a 53-year-old gentleman with squinting eyes and an athlete’s shuffle came to town.
Red Auerbach: Hothead on the Boston Bench, 1956
As provincial as the next town, Boston likes winning teams, and although the Celtics have been close many times, they’ve never taken the big prize. Some critics say it is Auerbach’s fault.
Dolph Schayes: The Boy from Syracuse, 1953
All the near riots which have occurred in the New York-Syracuse series. Almost always, at the bottom of the basketbrawl pile, you’d find a big National with the number 4. That was Adolph Schayes.
Al Cervi: Old Pro from Syracuse, 1952
Cervi would hardly know what to do if he couldn’t run around and take sets and layups with the boys before the game, and he is quite sure he might go crazy if he had to sit on the bench all night, coaching only by remote control.
Jim Pollard—In Mikan’s Shadow, 1951
Pollard’s spectacular driving, jumping shots, and baffling ballhandling provide plenty of thrills around the circuit, but it is Mikan who makes off with all the records.
Carl Braun: Perennial Freshman, 1953
Lapchick could go on for hours talking about Braun, the 25-year-old Manhasset, N.Y., athlete who was picked up from Colgate University after he turned professional when he signed with the New York Yankee chain as a pitcher for a $4,000 bonus in 1947.
Bob Pettit: So Steady He’s Overlooked, 1964
“Bobby has the greatest desire of any athlete who ever lived,” says Marty Blake, general manager of the Hawks. “It is remarkable St. Louis should have had two such athletic heroes as Stan Musial and Pettit cut out of the same mould.”
George Mikan: How I Play the Pivot, 1952
If you are a big, tall fellow who plays the pivot in basketball, your job is to score.
Wilt vs. Russell: The Rivalry Begins
When Wilt the Stilt Chamberlain was unveiled last summer against a backdrop of the NBA stars against whom the seven-footer will play this winter, only one word described him: Fantastic.
From Way Downtown 