Before Rondo, before Tiny, before DJ, there was Cous. Robert Joseph Cousy. Celtics legend, NBA Hall of Famer, 6-time NBA Champion…I could go on for days.
As John reminded me earlier today via his Instagram, today is Cousy’s 84th birthday. So if you’re not familiar with Cous, first..shame on you! Secondly, take a moment today to celebrate his legacy. Reflect on all he did for not only the Boston Celtics, but the game of basketball.
Besides all of his on-court accomplishments, Cousy was also responsible for starting the NBA Player’s Association back in 1958. Bob was strongly opposed to racism. In the 1950’s, when Red Auerbach selected the 1st African-American ever in the NBA Draft, Chuck Cooper, Cousy was there to lend support every step of the way. One example-during a preseason road trip to North Carolina in the early 50’s, Chuck Cooper was not able to stay at the team hotel because he was black. Cousy refused to stay at the hotel himself and instead rode an all-night train with Cooper after the game.
You can read much more about Cousy’s career and legacy on wiki’s Cousy page, and a website called Celtic-Nation has a great interview with him on their site. Enjoy a few YouTube clips on Cous below:
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