The Harold Furash Interview
By:
Michael D. McClellan | Wednesday, March 30th 2005
Frank Ramsey told me that he negotiated his first
contract directly with Red Auerbach, and that the deal
was worked out in the Red Sox dugout at Fenway Park.
When you first started following the Celtics, did you
think the game would ever become as big as it has?
HAROLD FURASH
No.
No one could have predicted that. Even in Cousy's later
years we'd talk about the chances of selling out the
Garden. Today, the game has become an international
sport with $2 billion in sales of NBA licensed
products. That's a tremendous amount of money. And it
isn't just the basketball league – all sports have
become financial monsters, with TV being the catalyst
behind it all. Just look at the NFL. It's on as many
as four nights a week during the season, which was
unheard of when television was in its infancy. So no
one could have predicted how big all of this would have
become.
There is such an influx of foreign players in the NBA
today. People tend to forget that Red Auerbach and Bob
Cousy helped to pioneer this trend by holding basketball
clinics overseas. Did you ever talk to either of them
about these trips, and if so, are there any stories that
stand out?
HAROLD FURASH
[Laughs]. I remember one particular trip to China,
where unborn mice are considered a delicacy. Imagine
trying to get Red to eat one of those, and you get the
idea of what some of those trips were like. There were
always stories to tell.
Red
was a great collector of things from foreign countries.
He would pick up something everywhere he went. Well, I
remember when John Thompson got married – for some
reason the wedding was held early, around 10AM, and the
reception wasn't held until 4:30PM. And since the
wedding was in Washington, Red invited all of us over to
his house during the time in-between. Satch [Sanders]
went over, Willie Naulls, and a bunch of others. So Red
proceeded to show us the house from the attic on down,
and everything he'd acquired on those trips overseas.
Stuff from Arabia, Hong Kong, you name it. He pulled
out a chamber pot that he was especially proud of,
supposedly from 1769, and someone immediately took one
look at it and asked him how it could have gotten the
date stamped on it like that. Red was furious when he
realized that he'd been duped [laughs].
In 1957, the Celtics drafted Tom Heinsohn and swung the
deal to land Bill Russell, launching the greatest
dynasty in the history of professional sports. Were you
there for that dramatic, double-overtime Game 7 win
against the St. Louis Hawks that produced Boston’s first
championship banner?
HAROLD FURASH
Yes,
and I remember it well. It was a close game all the
way, and one of the most exciting games that I've ever
seen. Tommy was the leading scorer for the Celtics – I
think he finished with 37 points and 23 rebounds – while
Bob Pettit was the high-scorer for the Hawks. Pettit
had close to forty points in that one, and a year later
he would score 50 points with Russell hobbled by an
ankle injury. Cousy and [Bill] Sharman didn't have
great scoring days, but they were effective handling the
ball.
The
game came down to the last play, with Hawks'
player/coach Alex Hannum throwing a length-of-the-court
pass to Pettit. The ball hit off the backboard, and
Pettit missed the shot at the buzzer. It was a very
tough loss for the Hawks, and a great win for the
Celtics.
Let’s play word association. I’ll name several former
Boston Celtics, and I would like you to tell me what
comes to mind about each. First, Ernie Barrett.
HAROLD FURASH
Shot
that one-hander off the wrong foot, with the left knee
up and the right hand releasing.
Bill Sharman.
HAROLD FURASH
The
best shooter that ever lived.
Jim Loscutoff.
HAROLD FURASH
An
extremely powerful individual.
Ed Macauley.
HAROLD FURASH
A
real gentleman.
Bones McKinney.
HAROLD FURASH
A
comedian. He did something he called the 'turkey trot',
and you couldn't help but laugh.
Togo Palazzi.
HAROLD FURASH
Good
friend and a good person. Not fast enough for the
backcourt, not big enough for the frontcourt.
Bob Brannum.
HAROLD FURASH
The
toughest to ever play the game, with a memory like an
elephant.
Bill Russell.
HAROLD FURASH
The
best basketball player ever.
Jack Nichols.
HAROLD FURASH
Another fine gentleman. Like Cousy, a very classy
person. Nichols went on to become a dentist.
Satch Sanders.
HAROLD FURASH
Quiet, dignified, and very dedicated to both his family
and his race.
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