Legendary UCLA coach John Wooden with Bill Walton
Just heard on the radio that Bill Walton had passed. I quickly turned off the radio not wanting to believe what I heard. Maybe I was still groggy having just woken up , I rationalized.
I didn’t check for any details about Walton. didn’t want to. All I know is thst he was one of those transformative figures who come along not very often and can have a big influence on one’ s life .
I went to UCLA in the early 1970s while Bill Walton was turning the basketball world upside down with this other-worldy play. Not to mention that he as an outstanding individual, from all accounts. I went to as many UCLA basketball games ad possible so i could to see this 6’11” Giant( in more ways than one) lead his teams to nearly double the other teams’ scores by halftime, winnib most games with ease. Walton would usually score half the points himself with dunks and distant shots alike. I can’t even remember the names of the othr playe rs other than the player who later became Jamal Wilkes-a good player in his own right who would go on to NBA stardom. but it was Walton who really stood out along with the coach , legendary John Wooden. No other two people could have been more inspirational as a pair. No doubt they fed off each other, no doubt the younger Walton more off Wooden than vice versa
Bill Waltons glory days at UCLA early 1970s
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Though i lived only a few hundred feet from his dorm, I never met Bill Walton but i felt like I knew him While my college years at UCLA wre less than spectacular, academically, at least I had something / someone to bring joy during a somewhat dark chapter of my life. Walton seemed like the born leader I wasn’t, though I would later learn it wasn’t always as it appeared, with Walton having his own serious demons.
I would eventually graduate UCLA – though it would take me a couple extra semesters following probation after failing pre-med ( for reasons not all my own doing). Walton would almost simultaneously leave UCLA for the “big time.”
As great as Walton was tbroughout college , leading UCLA to national championships each of the three years i was there (1972-74), the NBA was another story. it wasn’t that Walton couldn’t adapt to the level of NBA play. it’s that those long legs pounding up and down the courts csn take a toll on one.
.Walton, hobbled by injuries, making the best of pro career with Portland Frailblazers
Today’s radio Commentator also noted that Walton had to have some 30 different leg operations. Though he had spurts of auccess in the big tine, he was never able to put together a successful full season in the NBA, as I recall.
Bill Walton would retire early from basketball. I remember how he was a fan of the Greatful Dead and how he would show up as just one of the folks, at concerts. I appreciated that down-to-earth nature of his. Plus, i was a music person, too. Walton had that same way about him as did Robin Williams, as well as other characteristics. I remember going to comedy shows where the great Robin WILLIAMS would show up, out of the blue, to cheer on his fellow comedians and tslk to fans in the audience.. Both Walton and Williams could be seen around town- both lived or spent time in the Bay Area, where I live, and were friendly to everyone, I’ve been told by many.
What he couldn’t do on the pro courts, he achieved fame again as a national basketball commentator in his favorite ‘deadhead’ colors
When Walton would later become what I thought to be an excellent basketball and sports commentator I would follow him, on air, too. Always loved his in-depth insights as well as his personal reflections. Life wasn’t all about sports for Walton just as it wasn’t all a laughing matter for Williams.
Walton was always into helping others who didn’t have it so good- even though Walton didnt always have it so good. (Same for Williams, whose profession was bringing cheer to people.)
It was a big part of Walton’s life to hold basket all clinics for the kids and support the charities. and that’s how he spent much of his time when he would have otherwise been playing peofessional basketball.
The radio commentstor went on to note Walton’s “bedridden depression” of which I wasn’t really aware. It belied that ‘sunny disposition” that probably fooled many.of us. The Commentstor, too, aptly noted thst Walton may have been trying to hide m thst “other side.” It’s a bit disconcerting. So many will think ‘they had it all’ but, frankly , it could be harder for those who get adoration one moment and come home to depression the next. Robin Williams was also known to have suffered from depression, though also did a good job hiding it. likewise, in the music field there were many, people like personal favorite Del Shannon , who took his own life while dealing with similar demons.
So, this little bit of news has hit me hard today . I’ve definitely reached the time in life when we begin to see our favorite “heroes” of youth depart the scene. It seems like yesterday when they were so vibrant and now they’re suddenly gone from us, Another piece of us taken away, as it were.
The media will generally publish they’re pre-written obituaries and some remaining contemporaries will offer a few thoughts. and then, for most people, folks like Walton and Williams will be forgotten , While a new generation Emerges that may likely never know the name Bill Walton or even Robin Williams.
Since I hit the seven decade mark, Ive been especially conscious as to NOT forget and even commemorating people like Walton and Williams by various means. In my lifetime I can’t think of Two more worthy people. There are others, of course, like in the music arena we lost just due to Covid.
Fast, Fleeting Society
So,with Memorial Day just in our rear view mirror, I write in my journal and try to find ways to remember and perpetuate not only celebrity lives but family members and friends who’ve passed, many prematurely. For me, playing and even singing the music -I’m a big fan of 50s and 60s artists- is not only a cathartic experience but it keeps these dear departed ‘alive’ in an otherwise fast-paced, ‘disposable ‘ society- and sometimes I even find others who feel the same way where we can share our mutual interests, be it music or movies or sports or the written word….
They say that life speeds up the older we get. I can see this in my own life and am doing what I can to slow it down… such as , by savoring each day and making a point to try to do something significant – whether a contribution financially or otherwise or sharing a journal, etc. For the first year in my life I keep a diary- and I havent missed a day this year chronicling deeds of significance . it’s about time, I say….
And, now that I’ve gotten this off my chest, I think I AM going to read more about Bill Walton, maybe even watch some old basketball footage , bittersweet as it may be, and even read the media reports and remembrances before they disappear from the headlines tomorrow. But I’ll be thinking of Bill Walton and others for all my remaining days as I thank them for adding to my life’s journey.
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More tributes to the great Bill Walton from his contemporaries > https://youtu.be/3RUltLzXoh8?si=uFjAoYJud03r325W
‘1) He brought joy to everything. Youbknew itbwas going to be a good time when Bill Walton was around. 2) He was a great source of encouragement.
Bill Walton’s email message to another sports broadcaster (Ernie ______l after losing his mother:
‘Be glad for what you had for so long. Live your life in tribute and honor to and for that magificent angel. We love you. Thank you. Heel on. Shine on.’ -BW
and more ( Walton 45 minute tribute)
‘
More tributes to the great Bill Walton from his contemporaries > https://youtu.be/3RUltLzXoh8?si=uFjAoYJud03r325W
‘1) He brought joy to everything. Youbknew itbwas going to be a good time when Bill Walton was around. 2) He was a great source of encouragement.
Bill Walton’s email message to another sports broadcaster (Ernie ______l after losing his mother:
‘Be glad for what you had for so long. Live your life in tribute and honor to and for that magificent angel. We love you. Thank you. Heel on. Shine on.’ -BW
and more ( Walton 45 minute tribute)
‘
