Bob Cousy Bob Pettit

I do not know why this just popped into my head, but Bob Cousy was one of the NBA greats in the fifties and early sixties. Bob was a slight 5’6” and he did not have the fabulous jump shots of players today. He was in six championships with the Boston Celtics and won 13 MVP awards. I loved seeing him play. He would probably never have a chance in today’s NBA, but he was one of the greats who ever played.

Another great was Bob Pettit, a 6’9” slender (200 pounds) forward for 11 years in the NBA (not considered NBA material because of his slender build) with the Milwaukee Hawks and then the Saint Louis Hawks was the first NBA player to reach 20,000 points. He was an NBA all-star in all 11 seasons. I saw him play in Saint Louis and listened to games on the radio. Bob would often score 50 points a game and he shot from outside. Had the 3-point rule been in force during his time he may have been one of the all-time scorers ever.

I suppose what I am getting to is the fact that so many players who are not big enough to play in the major league teams in sports may be overlooked and could actually improve the games. As my son-in-law Rhett says, “these days a man has to be a super freak of nature to make it to the big time in sports these days.” He is correct and that fact makes me sad for the games. We need to realign our thinking and get talent in the games rather than super freaks of nature.