Congratulations to Justin Morgan for being the first student to tweet a selfie from the December 8th #FindMeFriday location!
A little about this week’s location:
On November 1, 2013, a statue of the Celtics great, Bill Russell was unveiled on City Hall Plaza. Russell played for the Celtics from 1956 to 1969. During those 13 years, Russell won 11 World Champions and still holds the record for the most championship won by any NBA player. In addition to , Russell was a member of the gold-medal winning US Olympic team in 1956, named the NBA MVP 5 times, named Sports Illustrated’s Sportsman of the Year in 1968, and inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame in 1975.
Bill Russell’s accomplishments as a player were undoubtedly significant, but his impact on the NBA extended beyond his jersey. During his last three years with the Celtics, in addition to playing, Russell also served as coach, becoming the first black head coach in the history of the NBA.
A local artist, Ann Hirsch, designed the statue and accompanying elements. Bill Russell’s statue sits on a granite block and is surrounded by 10 other blocks, for a total of 11, representing his NBA championships. Each of the granite blocks features a word or quotation that highlights his accomplishments both on and off the court.
In 2015, two additional statues were added to this Bill Russell legacy site. Russell was a longtime advocate and supporter of youth mentoring programs. One of Russell’s most famous quotes is ” There is no such thing as other people’s children”. On top of the granite block labeled RESOLVE is a girl with her head held confidently high with another quote from Russell, “Never go out there to see what happens; go out there to make something happen.” A statue of a boy can be seen climbing the block labeled REBOUNDING with the quote “Rebounding is about developing the highest level of resilience by changing the flow of the game from reaction to action.”
RESOLVE and REBOUNDING. Two important lessons that can be applied to all aspect of life, especially college! We are fortunate to live in a city with the energy of such an amazing legacy like Bill Russell.
Go Cs and go see your city, my friend! (see what I did there? C…for Celtics…)