Letters to Sports: Bill Walton was one of the greatest human beings

Bill Walton wears a red wig during an ESPN broadcast of a UCLA-Arizona men’s basketball game in February 2020. (Rick Scuteri / Associated Press)

Bill Walton was a life force like no other. He happened to also be one of the greatest basketball players of all time, but that was secondary to being one of the greatest human beings of all time.

Living in Los Angeles my whole life, I have been surrounded by some of the most famous people in the world, and in all my time here, I have never seen so accomplished a person be so generous of spirit, so giving of his time, so genuinely interested in being kind to everyone he met.

Having attended scores of UCLA basketball games, I have personally witnessed Bill staying for hours after every game to make sure every autograph, every photo and every interaction with every fan was given his full attention.

How ironic then that his favorite band was “The Grateful Dead,” when it was so obvious that he was always so grateful to be alive.

William David Stone

Beverly Hills

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I’ve been watching basketball for more than 50 years and without a doubt Bill Walton played the game with more enthusiasm than any other player I’ve ever seen. I wasn’t too crazy about Bill’s broadcasting style, but Bill was the best NCAA player I’ve ever seen, with Lew Alcindor, who became Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, coming in a close second. Like Bill’s UCLA teammate, Greg Lee, Bill left us way too soon.

Vaughn Hardenberg

Westwood

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Whether arguing with John Wooden about his long hair, marching in Vietnam anti-war protests, or extolling the virtues of the Pac-12 as the ‘Conference of Champions,’ the gregarious Bill Walton was so much more than a legendary basketball player. Now the big redhead moves upstairs and shares his love for UCLA and the Grateful Dead while challenging anyone who dares test his knowledge of almost any topic imaginable to a game of Trivial Pursuit. Rest easy, big guy. You will be missed.

Marty Zweben

Palos Verdes Estates

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For four days straight, six years in a…

Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/letters-sports-bill-walton-one-113020374.html

Author : LA Times

Publish date : 2024-06-01 11:30:20

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