Bill Walton has passed

[norcalramfan]

I met him in a convenience store in Cotati once, he was doing summer school at Sonoma State. Asked him if he was Bill Walton and he said yup. End of convo. I also saw him play at the Long Beach Arena against a Tarkanian led Long Beach State team during the '72/'73 season. Another legend gone.

MSN

 

[RhodyRams]

Hall of Famer Bill Walton, 71, dies of cancer

Bill Walton, who won two NCAA titles with UCLA and two NBA championships during a Hall of Fame career, died Monday at age 71 after a prolonged battle with cancer.

www.espn.com

 

[FaulkSF]

Thanks for posting @RhodyRams . Despite being a Lakers fan I actually enjoyed hearing Bill Walton announce games.

Now he’s able to rest and dunk on the grim reaper. This is his biggest opportunity to throw one down on him big man. Throw it down!

RIP Big Bill, you can listen to as much Grateful as you want and hang out with your hero Jerry.

 

[Neil039]

His body failed him on the court. He was a determined and driven man off of it. He was the example of what can be taken away doesn't define you.

RIP Mr. Walton.

 

[Selassie I]

Dude was like a human cartoon character.

Gone way too soon. RIP

 

[RamFanWA]

I moved to the Portland area a year or two, after the Trailblazers championship season ('77) and Bill had achieved legendary status in the Pacific Northwest by then. He was indeed a character and was often around town at various events. And character is an understatement!

RIP, Bill.

 

[Ellard80]

heard a story today that he was backpacking across the country- and found out he was the #1 pick when he stopped at a gas station to get snacks.

 

[fearsomefour]

I ran into Bill Walton walking with Luke, who was a teenager at that point, on the beach in Ocean Beach.
I said "Hello Mr Walton"....he smiled (OB is a hippy beach town and at that time I had hair down to my rib cage) and made a comment about what a perfect, beautiful late afternoon it was in San Diego and how great it is we get to see it....Luke looked bored with his little speech. Haha.
He seemed a very genuine and nice guy.

 

[SWAdude]

My sister and her boyfriend at the time (who became a life long brother to me) went to UCLA the same time Bill played there. He went to the coffee shop she was a waitress for and she was around him many days. She said you would never know he was something special except being 7 feet tall and well known. I adopted the Bruins as my College team of which I am loyal to all their college sports teams.

Saw Bill at several Grateful Dead concerts and the last one I saw at Levi stadium during the Fare Thee Well tour in 2015. He was obviously always easy to notice.

I loved the color he gave to the games he announced. So genuine.

I enjoyed him in the pros even when he played for the Celtics (I'm a life long, hate Lebron, Lakers fan). That was a fun time to see him really come back and be relevant.

This is just another one that made me take a breathe when I found out he passed.

He was certainly a one of a kind gentleman.

 

[snackdaddy]

Always liked Bill Walton. Its a shame his feet/ankles were so bad it shortened his career. RIP BW.

 

[Faceplant]

I recently watched the 30 for 30 "Luckiest Guy in the World" about him and it was great. My wife really enjoyed it as well. He was a special dude. RIP.