# John Havlicek has died **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [April 26, 2019, 2:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/john-havlicek-has-died/833063 "2019-04-26T02:13:51Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![ThelmaLou](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thelmalou/32/390_2.png) [@ThelmaLou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThelmaLou)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2019, 2:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/john-havlicek-has-died/833063/1 "2019-04-26T02:13:51Z")
John Havlicek, a Dynamo in Two Eras of Celtics Glory, Dies at 79 > **[John Havlicek, a Dynamo in Two Eras of Celtics Glory, Dies at 79 (Published...](https://www.nytimes.com/2019/04/25/sports/basketball/john-havlicek-dead-boston-celtics-hall-of-famer.html)** > > “Hondo,” as he was called, was a relentless, clutch and consistently proficient player on eight championship teams in a 16-season Hall of Fame career. > [@](#): > > John Havlicek, a relentless force for the Boston Celtics over two decades and two championship eras and one of the greatest clutch stars in N.B.A. history, died Thursday in Jupiter, Fla. He was 79. > > His death was announced by the Celtics. No cause was given, but the team said that he had suffered from Parkinson’s disease… ☹ I saw him play often in the late 70s. He was brilliant. ---
**Author:** ![jaycat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jaycat/32/3015_2.png) [@jaycat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jaycat)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2019, 2:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/john-havlicek-has-died/833063/2 "2019-04-26T02:45:58Z")
I am so sad tonight. Moved to the Boston area in 1969 and saw him play many many times… ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2019, 3:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/john-havlicek-has-died/833063/3 "2019-04-26T03:13:04Z")
Oops, started a thread over in Thread Games. ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2019, 4:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/john-havlicek-has-died/833063/4 "2019-04-26T04:27:32Z")
I’m suddenly stricken by a shameful impulse to seek out that thread and learn how the hell a game can be made of a death announcement (y’know, aside from Celebrity Death Pool, which I do not claim to understand). ---
**Author:** ![Bullitt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bullitt/32/5725_2.png) [@Bullitt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bullitt)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2019, 10:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/john-havlicek-has-died/833063/5 "2019-04-26T10:12:55Z")
The great Hondo is gone. I remember watching him at the end of his playing career and his last two championships in 1974 and 1976 (but I’m not old enough to have watched him steal the ball in 1965 — the “most famous radio call in basketball history, “_Havlicek stole the ball! Havlicek stole the ball!_”). John Havlicek — one of the all-time greats! He was awesome. And not the easiest name to read and pronounce too. Reagan gave it a shot in 1984 and botched it as “Hazzlek”. [President Reagan’s Remarks to the NBA Basketball Champions the Boston Celtics on June 13, 1984 - YouTube](https://youtu.be/y3N7_7l2j4Q?t=03m24s)\* I once visited Hondo’s hometown, Bridgeport OH, across the Ohio River from Wheeling WV (gMap, [Google Maps](https://bit.ly/2XKqAzs)). Bridgeport High School’s front hall trophy case celebrated John Havlicek’s multi-sport prowess — the NFL’s Cleveland Browns drafted him at wide receiver. Rest in Peace, Hondo, and thank you for being great. - — In 1984, the same year Havlicek was inducted into the HOF, President Ronald Reagan welcomed Larry Bird and Cedric Maxwell’s championship Celtics team. With Red Auerbach standing behind him, Reagan read off the names of Celtics greats of yore, Heinsohn, Havlicek, and Cowens — for Tommy Heinsohn, John Havlicek, and Dave Cowens — but instead they came out as Hine-shown, Hazzlek, and Covvins. ---
**Author:** ![ThelmaLou](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thelmalou/32/390_2.png) [@ThelmaLou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThelmaLou)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2019, 10:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/john-havlicek-has-died/833063/6 "2019-04-26T10:13:10Z")
> [@kaylasdad99](#): > > I’m suddenly stricken by a shameful impulse to seek out that thread and learn how the hell a game can be made of a death announcement (y’know, aside from Celebrity Death Pool, which I do not claim to understand). I think he meant “Game Room,” which is the forum for sports-related items. I debated putting this thread there, but I figured more people would see it in MPSIMS, because some people (me, for one) never go to Game Room. ---
**Author:** ![Bullitt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bullitt/32/5725_2.png) [@Bullitt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bullitt)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2019, 10:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/john-havlicek-has-died/833063/7 "2019-04-26T10:28:22Z")
> [@ThelmaLou](#): > > I saw him play often in the late 70s. He was brilliant. Me too, the 1970s towards the end of his career, and yes he was brilliant. Thanks for starting this thread. The old-timer basketball fans may remember the 1980s and Larry Bird, Dennis Johnson, Kevin McHale, and Robert Parrish. But in the 1970s the Celtics won two championships with teams that included John Havlicek, Dave Cowens, Don Nelson, Don Chaney, Paul Silas, Paul Westphal, and Jo Jo White (who is a US Marine\*!). - — Once a Marine, always a Marine. ---
**Author:** ![jaycat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jaycat/32/3015_2.png) [@jaycat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jaycat)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2019, 1:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/john-havlicek-has-died/833063/8 "2019-04-26T13:23:11Z")
> [@Bullitt](#): > > . . . But in the 1970s the Celtics won two championships with teams that included . . . Paul Silas, Paul Westphal . . . “Tall Paul” and “Small Paul,” in the parlance of beloved Celts announcer Johnny Most. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2019, 2:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/john-havlicek-has-died/833063/9 "2019-04-26T14:29:15Z")
> [@ThelmaLou](#): > > I think he meant “Game Room,” which is the forum for sports-related items. I debated putting this thread there, but I figured more people would see it in MPSIMS, because some people (me, for one) never go to Game Room. I not only got the forum wrong, but my thread was about someone named “Dave Havlicek”. :smack: :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![racer72](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/racer72/32/3075_2.png) [@racer72](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/racer72)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2019, 3:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/john-havlicek-has-died/833063/10 "2019-04-26T15:10:01Z")
Saw him play against the Sonics in Seattle in the early 70’s. Havlicek and Spencer Haywood battle back and forth all game. At the end of the game the two stood at mid court, shook hands then gave each other a hug. The crowd gave them a standing O in appreciation. RIP Sonics… ---
**Author:** ![DummyGladHands](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/49beb7/32.png) [@DummyGladHands](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DummyGladHands)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2019, 3:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/john-havlicek-has-died/833063/11 "2019-04-26T15:33:36Z")
Did I read at one time that physiologically he was different, like a larger heart or lungs or something?? Loved Hondo. ---
**Author:** ![ThelmaLou](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thelmalou/32/390_2.png) [@ThelmaLou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThelmaLou)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2019, 4:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/john-havlicek-has-died/833063/12 "2019-04-26T16:41:55Z")
In the mid-70s, I had a Spurs season ticket back when ordinary mortals could afford them. For those in the know, this was at the old HemisFair Arena BEFORE the roof was raised. Even the cheap seats were great seats 'cause the venue was so small. Back then the Spurs were new to the NBA and _couldn’t get NO satisfaction_, despite having a not-bad team, James Silas was the captain, George Gervin (“the dusky, pencil-thin guard from the Motor City,” as my seatmate described him), Coby Dietrich, Billy Paultz (“the Whopper” at 6’11"), and my personal heartthrob, Louis Dampier from Kentucky. Anyhoo, I was new to professional basketball, and enjoyed watching the Spurs play week after week. I learned what I was watching and became quite a fanatical fan (but never became a Baseline Bum). Then the Celtics came to play. Oh. This is what basketball was \*\*supposed \*\*to look like. :eek: I get goosebumps remembering that moment of epiphany. It was beautiful. Later that evening, some friends and I went down to the Riverwalk and there, walking toward us, was John Havlicek (in a coat and tie BTW, even though it was right after a game). I was 20-something and possessed _not one ounce_ of poise or self-confidence, and he walked right on by. It’s one of my medium-sized regrets that we didn’t stop him and ask him to come for a drink. Rest in peace, Hondo. ---
**Author:** ![Sternvogel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bc79bd/32.png) [@Sternvogel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sternvogel)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2019, 5:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/john-havlicek-has-died/833063/13 "2019-04-26T17:14:51Z")
> [@DummyGladHands](#): > > Did I read at one time that physiologically he was different, like a larger heart or lungs or something?? Loved Hondo. Yes, his lungs were so large they couldn’t fit on a single X-ray plate. ---
**Author:** ![Bullitt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bullitt/32/5725_2.png) [@Bullitt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bullitt)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2019, 12:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/john-havlicek-has-died/833063/14 "2019-04-28T12:05:32Z")
> [@Chefguy](#): > > I not only got the forum wrong, but my thread was about someone named “Dave Havlicek”. :smack: :rolleyes: Only John Havlicek’s _ **very** _ closest friends got to call him Dave! 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Bullitt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bullitt/32/5725_2.png) [@Bullitt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bullitt)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2019, 12:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/john-havlicek-has-died/833063/15 "2019-04-28T12:13:28Z")
That’s a nice story, **ThelmaLou** , and just think, that would’ve been extremely cool if things were a little different and then you shared with us the night you hung out with Hondo, having drinks on the Riverwalk with him and just shooting the breeze. ---
**Author:** ![ThelmaLou](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thelmalou/32/390_2.png) [@ThelmaLou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThelmaLou)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2019, 12:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/john-havlicek-has-died/833063/16 "2019-04-28T12:35:14Z")
> [@Bullitt](#): > > That’s a nice story, **ThelmaLou** , and just think, that would’ve been extremely cool if things were a little different and then you shared with us the night you hung out with Hondo, having drinks on the Riverwalk with him and just shooting the breeze. I know. Instead I post about regret and lost opportunity. \<_sigh_\> Story of my life. ---
**Author:** ![peedin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peedin/32/14095_2.png) [@peedin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/peedin)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2019, 7:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/john-havlicek-has-died/833063/17 "2019-04-29T19:00:23Z")
Does anyone else remember the commercial he did for Diet Rite Cola? I can still sing the song. Yes sir, I’m not a on a diet… [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/uksspwceSxQ/hqdefault.jpg "Diet Rite Cola commercial - with John 'Hondo' Havlicek") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uksspwceSxQ) ---
**Author:** ![jaycat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jaycat/32/3015_2.png) [@jaycat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jaycat)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2019, 12:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/john-havlicek-has-died/833063/18 "2019-04-30T00:14:49Z")
[quote=“peedin, post:17, topic:833063”] Does anyone else remember the commercial he did for Diet Rite Cola? I can still sing the song. Yes sir, I’m not a on a diet… [/QUOTE] That was great. Never saw that before. ---
**Author:** ![Bullitt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bullitt/32/5725_2.png) [@Bullitt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bullitt)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2019, 1:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/john-havlicek-has-died/833063/19 "2019-04-30T01:38:39Z")
> [@jaycat](#): > > That was great. Never saw that before. Neither did I. Thanks for that, **peedin**. ---
**Author:** ![peedin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peedin/32/14095_2.png) [@peedin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/peedin)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2019, 12:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/john-havlicek-has-died/833063/20 "2019-04-30T12:15:18Z")
My brother and I used to sing and dance to the commercial.