Baltimore Bullets – From Way Downtown

Terry Dischinger: Two Toots for ‘Terrible Terry,’ 1964

This serious fellow had been in the habit of coming out first in anything that he undertakes.

The ‘New’ Elvin Hayes, 1973

He knew he had something to prove this season in Baltimore. Leading the Bullets to a championship would be the best way to silence his many critics. That’s why in 1972, the Big “E” stood for Effort.

Gus Johnson: ‘I Sometimes Amaze Me,’ 1966

Triggered by the magic words, all pro, his voice grows stronger and his words come faster, and suddenly there seems no chance that in the interest of safety, he will abandon the style that made him Gus the Great. ”You don’t see Bill Russell or Wilt Chamberlain gliding through the air and shoving it in there like I do,” Gus says firmly.

Don Ohl: For Ohl Lang Syne, 1962

Now, Don’s confidence has returned. Understandably cautious early in the 1964-65 season, his first in Baltimore, he finished with a rush and was named the Bullets’ most valuable player.

Mike Riordan: Bags on the Run, 1973

For the next year, during the 1968–69 season, Mike’s uniform stayed clean and dry; mostly, he just mastered the art of giving fouls, an art now extinct, killed by a rule change.

Wes Unseld: Oh, That Knee, 1974

“I was put in a cast, came back and played some, and then went back in a cast. I said, ‘Damn, somebody is not telling me something.’

Jack Marin’s Guide to NBA Cities, 1971

Marin, like the vast majority of professional hoopsters, is sensitive to each particular town visited by his team.

The Curious Case of Earl The Pearl Monroe, 1969

Earl the Pearl will always get attention. What he has got to do, of course, is to stop getting attention for the wrong reasons—like being misunderstood.

Wali Jones: Outlaws & Holdouts, 1974

Let me tell you something—when you worry, three things happen. You get baldheaded, you get fat, and you have a heart attack. As for me, I’ll just keep on being an outlaw and doing the best I can.

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.