“The Bombadier From Baton Rouge”–Bob Pettit 

One of the bright spots for me after moving back to St. Louis in 1956 was St. Louis Sports … the Cardinals of course, but also the St. Louis Hawks. The Hawks had excellent teams and often contended for the NBA Championship against the dreaded Boston Celtics.

“Bob Pettit was the star of the Hawks. Pettit was the NBA’s first ever MVP, an 11-time NBA All Star, and 4-time All Star game MVP. Pettit led the Hawks to the 1958 title over the Boston Celtics, scoring 50 points in the final game and winning the MVP.  Bob retired in 1965 as the leading scorer in the history of the league. He was inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame in 1970. INCREDIBLE !!!

“Pettit was two victories short of being a three-time NBA champion. (The first meeting, won by Boston in 1957, came down to double overtime of Game 7. The second ended with a championship for the Hawks, interrupting Boston’s run of nine titles in 10 seasons. The Hawks also dropped NBA Finals matchups with the Celtics in 1960 (in seven games) and 1961 in five.”) Ouch!!!

So Dave, why all this talk about Bob Pettit; he retired over 60 years ago. Well, I just saw a report that Big Bob, “The Bombardier from Baton Rouge”, passed away at the age of 93. Another part of my youth has disappeared. I can still mention the Hawks and Pettit and Kiel Auditorium, to my brother Tommy (who’s 86) and we’re right back there. It really hit me. As long as “Big Bob” was around, I was still in touch with  this time of my life and my youth.

I loved the Hawks. In addition to  Pettit,  the Hawks had Cliff Hagen (Lil Abner) and  Clyde “Boom Boom” Lovellete , Dougie Martin, and Jack “Mack” McMahon. And what about “Easy Ed McCauley”, and “the Old Rancher” – Jack Coleman. St. Louis fans loathed the Celtics and their dreaded coach Red Auerbach. Auerbach once punched the Hawks owner Ben Kerner in the nose at a game; fans from Boston & St. Louis would throw eggs and worse on the court during heated games. These were tough games and tough guys. Alex Hannum, the Hawks coach, was a 6’7” former WWII Marine sergeant… he didn’t put up with any funny business.  

Gee, is there any spiritual angle to this BLOG? Is this simply some trivia from my youth? Hmmmmm, let me think. Well, since this BLOG is primarily written for my kids and grandkids, I guess this bit of history might be of some interest to them down the road. Kiel Auditorium, The Arena, the old Busch Stadiums and Sportsman’s Park…. are no longer around and now the face of the old St. Louis Hawks has passed. He was a great player and a good man. He gave me a lot of joy when I was just a young kid. Thanks Bob… maybe we’ll play a little one on one in heaven one day …but you’ll need to spot me a few points. 

P.S. When I taught chemistry at Koinonia Academy back in the ‘80’s, I wanted the students to be well rounded, not just brilliant science nerds, so I offered an extra credit question on the exam…. “Who won the 1958 NBA Championship and who was the MVP?” Hmmmmm,  I wonder if they still remember the answer?