The Dave Cowens Interview
By:
Michael D. McClellan
|
Saturday, March 5th, 2005
You
slept on a park bench in Boston Common following that ’74 championship
against the Bucks. The story has become urban legend, and is a wonderful
example of your spirit and uniqueness. Please take me back to that night in
the Common, and what winning that championship meant to you.
We won the championship on May 12th, which was Mother’s Day. It
was an afternoon game, so we flew back to Boston and headed straight for the
big celebrations around town. My brother was with me – we spent the evening
walking through the masses of people, and then around 8PM we jumped in his
car and went home. I was too hyped to sleep, so I drove back into Boston,
stayed out late and visited with friends around town – we drank champagne,
celebrated the big win, had a great time. It was either very late or very
early, depending on how you looked at it, and I was dead tired from all the
excitement. I didn’t want to take a chance on driving, so when I saw the
bench I decided to catch some Z’s. When I woke up on Monday morning I
learned that there was a parade being organized. That’s where I went.
The Celtics won the NBA Championship again in 1976, defeating the Phoenix
Suns in a series most noted for that triple-overtime thriller on the Boston
Garden parquet. Do you think that game unfairly overshadows the
accomplishments of that championship team?
At times it seems as if that's the only game anyone has ever watched me play
in – that and the Milwaukee game, when I dove on the floor [laughs].
Obviously, that is the one game that everyone remembers. It was a crazy
game – we got up big and then let it slip. It was a classic coaching chess
match – the bench played a huge role. Glenn McDonald was incredibly
important, and that series is what he is best remembered for. He came into
the game and played loose. He always kept himself ready to play.
At the end of the second overtime we thought it was over. All we wanted to do was get the heck out of there, and that’s what we did. We all got off the floor. Bob Ryan later told me that Havlicek had his shoes off, and that someone else had their ankle-tape cut off. There was pandemonium going on. I saw the game on film a few years ago, and Dennis Awtrey and Ricky Sobers were punching people. Then to get everyone off the floor and Gar Heard comes back and hits that shot to send it into triple overtime. That is what was so amazing about the game, to have so many things like that happen.
Please tell me about the late Johnny Most, and what he meant to the Boston
Celtics.
Johnny was the team’s true Sixth Man. Everybody knew him – he was a
mainstay of the club, as much a part of it in some respects as Red. He had
that unique voice. It was a gift. How he spoke, the things he said…he was
the Boston Celtics’ biggest proponent.. He was also a major league homer,
just like Chick Hearn was with the Lakers, and you needed that. He had one
of the most famous voices in sports.
Eight
games into the 1976-77 season you
temporarily retired from the Boston Celtics. How did Red handle this
situation?
He didn’t try to change my mind or stand in my way. He said that he wanted
me to remain on the team, but that he understood my reasons and respected my
decision.
You have
been a tireless champion of the New England Sports Museum since your
retirement from basketball in 1983. Please tell me a little about your
involvement with the museum.
I’ve been involved in some capacity since it was a fledgling in ’83 – back
then I was the chief cook and bottle washer [laughs]. The goal is to
collect, protect, preserve and display the history of sports in the region.
There is so much history when you talk about sports originating in New
England. Kids today remember the last three or four years, but don’t really
have an idea of what happened in the sporting world during 1920s. The
museum is a way to give them some history about sports in different eras.
There are thousand of hours of rare film and video footage, and a photo
library covering wide range of sports. There are uniforms, trophies, medals
and equipment. It has everything from the history of the Boston Red Sox to
John L. Sullivan.
Had you
never played basketball and the world had never heard of Dave Cowens, what
would you have liked to have done with your life?
I would have probably entered the service, or done something in
construction.
Final Question: You’ve achieved great success in your life. You are
universally respected and admired by many people, both inside and outside of
the NBA. If you could offer one piece of advice on life to others, what
would that be?
Maintain
humility. Do good for others. Rise above adversity.
Compete and achieve.
