June Carter Cash
Famous Fiction Authors
Donna Summer
Angelina Jolie
My Ghost Story
I Survived
Babe Ruth
Johnny Cash
Georgia O'Keefe
I Survived
Quick Facts
- NAME: Bill Russell
- OCCUPATION: Basketball Player, Coach
- BIRTH DATE: February 12, 1934 (Age: 79)
- EDUCATION: University of San Francisco
- PLACE OF BIRTH: Monroe, Louisiana
- Full Name: William Felton Russell
- AKA: Bill Russell
- AKA: William Russell
- ZODIAC SIGN: Aquarius
Best Known For
Hailed as the greatest winner in sports, Basketball Hall of Fame center Bill Russell led the Boston Celtics to an unprecedented 11 championships in just 13 seasons.
Quiz
Think you know about Biography?
Answer questions and see how you rank against other players.
Play NowBill Russell. (2013). The Biography Channel website. Retrieved 07:28, May 18, 2013, from http://www.biography.com/people/bill-russell-9467384.
Bill Russell. [Internet]. 2013. The Biography Channel website. Available from: http://www.biography.com/people/bill-russell-9467384 [Accessed 18 May 2013].
"Bill Russell." 2013. The Biography Channel website. May 18 2013, 07:28 http://www.biography.com/people/bill-russell-9467384.
"Bill Russell," The Biography Channel website, 2013, http://www.biography.com/people/bill-russell-9467384 [accessed May 18, 2013].
"Bill Russell," The Biography Channel website, http://www.biography.com/people/bill-russell-9467384 (accessed May 18, 2013).
Bill Russell [Internet]. The Biography Channel website; 2013 [cited 2013 May 18] Available from: http://www.biography.com/people/bill-russell-9467384.
Bill Russell, http://www.biography.com/people/bill-russell-9467384 (last visited May 18, 2013).
Bill Russell. The Biography Channel website. 2013. Available at: http://www.biography.com/people/bill-russell-9467384. Accessed May 18, 2013.
Synopsis
Hall of Fame basketball center Bill Russell was born in Monroe, Louisiana, in 1934. Russell led the University of San Francisco to consecutive NCAA titles before starting his pro career with the Boston Celtics in 1956. Over the course of his 13-year career, Russell steered the club to 11 titles. He retired in 1969 and was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame six years later.
Contents
Quotes
"Concentration and mental toughness are the margins of victory."
Early Years
Considered one of the greatest basketball players in NBA history, William Felton Russell was born February 12, 1934, in Monroe, Louisiana. His early childhood was shaped by poor health, as the sickly Russell battled several different illnesses.
When Russell was 10, his father, Charlie, fed up with trying to navigate a racially charged South, moved his family across the country to Oakland, California, where he found work at a shipyard.
In California, life for the Russell family proved rocky. While Charlie found good work, in 1946 his wife, Katie, became quite sick with the flu and died. Russell was grief-stricken by the death of his mother, who’d been his biggest advocate and pushed him to work hard in school. In the wake of her passing he committed himself to his studies.
Outside the classroom, Russell began playing basketball. His talent did not immediately shine through. Athletically awkward at first, Russell struggled to find playing time on the team at McClymonds High School in Oakland. But by his senior year, his game had picked up enough to earn him a starting spot.
His 6'9" frame earned attention, however. And in the fall of 1952, he tried out as a walk-on at the University of San Francisco and earned a scholarship.
It wasn’t long before the defensively adept Russell proved to be dominating presence, with a scorer’s touch and uncanny ability to rebound. During his three-year varsity career, in which he led the team to consecutive NCAA titles in 1955 and 1956, he averaged 20.7 points per game and 20.3 rebounds.
Russell capped his amateur career by leading the U.S. men’s basketball team to the gold medal at the 1956 Melbourne Olympics.
Pro Career
That same year, in the NBA draft, the Boston Celtics orchestrated a deal with the St. Louis Hawks and traded for the draft rights to the young center. The team’s coach, Red Auerbach, coveted Russell as the missing piece to what he believed could be a championship roster.
With Russell anchoring the middle of the floor, the Celtics finished with the best record in the league in 1957, and went on to win the title over the Hawks in a tense seven-game series. It was the start of an unprecedented championship run for Russell and the Celtics. Over 12 years, the team played in 11 NBA finals, winning 10 of them.
Even against more physically imposing centers, like Wilt Chamberlain, Russell was a defensive and rebounding force. Five times he was named the NBA’s Most Valuable Player, and his 21,620 rebounds are second only to Chamberlain’s career mark.
profile name: Bill Russell profile occupation:
Your Connections
Sign in with Facebook to see how you and your friends are connected to famous icons.
Profile Connections
Included In These Groups
-
African-American Firsts: Athletes
View groupWho was the first African-American boxing champ? How about World Cycling champ? Who was the first African-American to win an Olympic gold medal? What year did Jackie Robinson break baseball's color barrier? Who was Althea Gibson and what first did she achieve? Detail our collection of pioneering African-American athletes for the answers to these and many more questions, and explore our African-American Firsts: Athletes photos gallery.
African-American Firsts: Athletes 16 people in this group
-
Olympic Basketball Players
View groupShaquille O'Neal, Carmelo Anthony and Lebron James are just a few of the most well-known basketball players to have competed in the Olympic Games. The men's and women's national teams, often comprised of some of the top American professional and college players, have proven to be two of the most successful teams from the U.S. Since their first Olympic appearance in 1936, the men's team has taken home a total of 13 gold medals, with the women not far behind, claiming six since their start in 1976. From legendary figures like Michael Jordan to female powerhouses like Lisa Leslie and Sheryl Swoopes, Biography looks at the most famous names who have dominated the Olympic courts.
Olympic Basketball Players 15 people in this group
-
Famous Aquarians 547 people in this group
