OT: R.I.P. Frank Ramsey, The Original Sixth Man

[Actual Pats Fan]

In his first season with the Celtics, during one game Bill Russell caught an elbow under the hoop and running back down the court, reached into his mouth and pulled out a knocked-out tooth.

"Hey, man, look what they did!" he cried.

Whereupon Frank Ramsey came over, reached up and pulled an entire set of falsies from his mouth, and smiling a toothless grin, said, "It's no big deal...Let's play!"

Frank would often invite Russ to visit him at his home in Kentucky, and Bill would shake his head saying, "Are you crazy?" Russell grew up black in the Deep South. Finally, many years later, he came to the Ramsey home.


Frank Ramsey Biography


As we all know, one of the things that make our Patriots special is the willingness of players to take a subordinate role, for the betterment of the team, at the expense of individual glory. It's a culture that I really hope continues even after Bill finally hangs up his headset. And I hope that of lot of these Pats are recognized and honored, like Frank.

With Cooz, Tommy and Dirty Harry ("Do I Feel Lucky?")

 

[dustcover]

I remember Frank for a couple of reasons. Allow me to share. Ramsey, Cliff Hagan and Lou Tsioropoulos all graduated from Kentucky in 1953 and, as a result, became eligible for the NBA draft. All three players were selected by the Boston Celtics—Ramsey in the first round, Hagan in the third, and Tsioropoulos in the seventh. All three also returned to Kentucky for one more season despite graduating. After finishing the regular season (one in which Ramsey averaged 19.6 points per game) with a perfect 25-0 record and a #1 ranking in the Associated Press, Kentucky had been offered a bid into the NCAA Tournament. However, then-existing NCAA rules prohibited graduate students from participating in post-season play; the Wildcats declined the bid because their participation would have forced them to play without Ramsey, Hagan and Tsioropoulos, thus jeopardizing their perfect season.

But Frank, Cliff, and Lou, nonetheless joined the Celtics and my hopes for the team in the earliest stage of my fandom got a dynamic boost.

So you can imagine my disappointment when after Hagan's 2 years in military service, the trio of Ramsey, Tsioropoulos, and Hagan was dismantled as Hagan and 'Easy' Ed Macauley were traded to the St. Louis Hawks for the draft rights to some, unknown to me, center out of San Francisco.

My disappointment was not appeased in the least in 1958, when Hagan in his second season in the NBA with the Hawks, led by Bob Pettit, won the NBA championship (one of the five Western Conference titles the Hawks won during his tenure with them), defeating the Boston Celtics 4 games to 2 in the NBA Finals.

In the meantime, Auerbach, often credited throughout basketball with creating the sixth man, realized that Ramsey was one of the Celtics' best players, but Ramsey felt more comfortable coming off the bench and Auerbach wanted him fresh and in the lineup at the end of close games. So Ramsey became the first in a series of sixth men who won championship rings with the Celtics. In ensuing years the Celtics have had numerable 'sixth men' including, at various points in their respective careers, the likes of Havlicek, Paul Silas, Kevin McHale, Bill Walton, and James Posey, but Ramsey was the first, the original sixth man, and in my mind will always remain the best of the lot.

Thanks for letting me share.

R.I.P. F.R.

 

[maust]

RIP Frank Ramsey and congratulations on a life well lived. The Original 6th Man is now firing up a well earned Hoyo de Monterrey with Red in basketball Valhalla

 

[captain stone]

In his first season with the Celtics, during one game Bill Russell caught an elbow under the hoop and running back down the court, reached into his mouth and pulled out a knocked-out tooth.

"Hey, man, look what they did!" he cried.

Whereupon Frank Ramsey came over, reached up and pulled an entire set of falsies from his mouth, and smiling a toothless grin, said, "It's no big deal...Let's play!"

Frank would often invite Russ to visit him at his home in Kentucky, and Bill would shake his head saying, "Are you crazy?" Russell grew up black in the Deep South. Finally, many years later, he came to the Ramsey home.


Frank Ramsey Biography


As we all know, one of the things that make our Patriots special is the willingness of players to take a subordinate role, for the betterment of the team, at the expense of individual glory. It's a culture that I really hope continues even after Bill finally hangs up his headset. And I hope that of lot of these Pats are recognized and honored, like Frank.

With Cooz, Tommy and Dirty Harry ("Do I Feel Lucky?")

Love that picture of them with Clint Eastwood; I assume that the photo was taken while Rawhide was on the air.

 

[DarrylS]

Tommy has changed a bit, eh???

Ramsey as HOF'er shows us how much the game has changed, difficult to imagine an player with a lifetime scoring average of 13.4 could make the HOF today.....

When I was in HS the Celtics used to tour the NE area during the preseason, one time they visited Rogers High School in Newport(1963 or '64) and played the Lakers(Baylor, Jerry West etc.)... it was a good time. Ramsey was somewhat overshadowed by Cooz, Tommy and Russell.

 

[Actual Pats Fan]

Love that picture of them with Clint Eastwood; I assume that the photo was taken while Rawhide was on the air.

"...Ah reckon so..."