Bob Cousy
Bob Cousy was born on August 9, 1928, in Manhattan, New York, and grew up as a citizen of the United States during a period when professional basketball was establishing itself as a major American sport. He attended Andrew Jackson High School before going on to study at the College of the Holy Cross, where his playing career developed ahead of his entry into the professional game.
Cousy played point guard for the Boston Celtics from 1950 to 1963, a thirteen-year tenure during which he won six NBA championships and was selected as an NBA All-Star thirteen times. He earned the NBA Most Valuable Player Award and received multiple All-NBA Team honors. His command of the assists category was particularly distinctive: he led the NBA in assists for eight consecutive seasons and was the first player to reach the career milestones of 4,000, 5,000, and 6,000 assists. These achievements earned him the nickname "The Houdini of the Hardwood." He briefly returned to playing during the 1969–70 season with the Cincinnati Royals. Beyond his playing career, Cousy also worked as a basketball coach and appeared as an actor. He received the John Bunn Award, the NBA All-Star Game Kobe Bryant Most Valuable Player Award, and the Presidential Medal of Freedom. The Library of Congress records his name as "Cousy, Bob, 1928-," reflecting that no death date has been formally registered.
Quotes by Bob Cousy
Bob Cousy's insights on:
We ran an up-tempo, transition-style of game at Boston College – very similar to what we ran when I played for Arnold.
You have to remember that coaching wasn’t sophisticated back then – you didn’t have the camps, clinics and all the technical advances that are available today – so from that standpoint, playing with a cast on my arm was a fortunate event in my life.
That seemed to be the case with most of the teams based in the smaller towns – the fans were more rabid, and they wanted to literally kill the opposition.
We played every night. Sometimes we’d stay overnight after a game, but we’d usually drive on to our next destination.
Back then every small town had a gym, and if itseated more than 2,000 then we’d be interested in playing in it.
I once heard that Paul Seymour said as much as winning an NBA Championship, he’d like to see the Celtics lose a game after Auerbach brought out the cigar so he could go up to Arnold and stuff the cigar in his face.
We lived in Yorkville, which is located on the East End of Manhattan. It’s further east than Hell’s Kitchen, and back then it was the kind of place where the roaches and cockroaches were big enough to carry away small children.
Race wasn’t an issue. My family was French, but Yorkville was a melting pot of races and cultures.
