The Frank Ramsey Interview
By:
Michael D. McClellan
|
Tuesday, August 13th, 2002
November
8th, 1958. Elgin Baylor scores 64 points and the
Minneapolis Lakers defeat the Celtics 136-115. The
payback game came three months later, as the Celtics
destroy the Lakers – and the record books – by
scoring 173 points. It was also the game that Bob
Cousy recorded an amazing 28 assists. Is that
score correct?
[Laughs.] Yes it is. That should
tell you something about the pace of the game - it was a
wide open affair with a lot of fast breaks. And we
scored all those points without the three point shot.
In no particular order,
tell me about Walter Brown and Red Auerbach.
Walter Brown was an honest man who always kept his
word. He was a very upstanding person and a fine
man to work for. There wouldn't be a need for
lawyers if everyone in the world were like Walter Brown.
Red is very much the same type of person. He came
across as a boisterous, but deep down he was a
pussycat. Every year we would play one of our
games in College Park, Maryland. Red, of course,
lived in Washington, D.C., and after the game he would
take the whole team over to his house for cold
cuts. He and his wife Dottie would serve us Coke
and cold cuts.
The gruff person that everyone knows, that's the coaching side of Red Auerbach. That's the one always arguing the calls, always doing anything to win. But that was just one side of him.
I remember one time when we were in Chicago to play a game, and (NFL quarterback) Sid Luckman came into the locker room. He was Red's friend, and they had a mutual business interest. Sid asked Red if he could borrow twenty bucks. Red pulled out $100 instead. I asked him why he gave Sid the hundred dollar bill when he could have given him a twenty instead. I'll never forget his reply. Red said: "Sid will forget the twenty as soon as I give it to him, but he'll always remember the hundred." [Laughs]. That was classic Red Auerbach.
I’ve read where you Red’s first choice to takeover the coaching reins when he retired. Can you tell me about that?
It was discussed but it never went beyond that.
When I retired, Red tried to get me to play one more
season. He said that after the season we would sit
down and talk about my future with the team. It
was a very generous offer, but I decided to move back to
Madisonville. My father wasn't in good health, and
I had three children to raise. I decided that it
was better for me to stay home.
Have you remained close
to any of the players from those great championship
teams?
I talk to them all of the time. I made great
friends during my career with the Boston Celtics.
We were a very close-knit team - our wives were all
friends, which helped, because we didn't have nannies to
help take care of the children. If a player's
child was sick and needed to go to the doctor, the other
wives would be right there to help. That closeness
was a really nice benefit, because we were together so
much - on trains, buses, airplanes, you name it. I
watch teams today and I don't think there is the same
closeness.
We played a lot of cards in those days, and that was a lot of fun. There was no petty jealousy. Everyone just wanted to win, and we all respected Red as the leader.
Tell about the day you were inducted into
the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of
Fame.
I was inducted in 1981. It was a very
special day for me. I had a lot of family in
attendance, and a lot of friends. There were a lot
of people from Boston there to show their appreciation,
which was very nice.
A question for
historical perspective: Where were you when the
terror attacks occurred on September 11th?
I was here at the bank, working.
Final
Question: You’ve achieved great success in your
life, and you’ve done so with a great deal of dignity,
pride and class. 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?
Have respect for everyone. Be fair in
everything - business, athletics, and life. Always
work hard, and play by the rules.
