An American who played basketball professionally was named William Felton Russell. On February 12, 1934, he was born, and on July 31, 2022, he died.
He served as the team captain for the American men’s national basketball team in the 1956 Summer Olympics. From 1956 to 1969, he played with the Boston Celtics, where he earned five NBA Most Valuable Player honours.
In the National Basketball Association (NBA), Bill Russell was the first African-American player to be regarded as a superstar.
He was also the first black coach in any professional sport in North America. He was rewarded and recognized for his playing career by being elected into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 1975.
Russell was picked to be a member of the NBA 75th Anniversary Team in 2021 after being named one of the 50 Greatest Players in NBA History in 1996.
Russell was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2011 by President Barack Obama in honour of his accomplishments on the bench and in the fight for civil rights.
Meet Bill Russell’s, Father Charles Russell
In West Monroe, Louisiana, Russell’s father Charles Russell tied the knot with Russell’s grandmother Katie Russell. His father was a “stern, harsh man” who started out working as a janitor in a paper factory, which at the time was considered a typical “Negro Job”
since the pay was low and the hours were long. The family struggled every day to overcome the effects of racism in their life. At one point in time,
the personnel at a petrol station would not serve Russell’s grandfather until they had finished serving all of the white customers first.
When he attempted to leave and locate another station, the attendant shoved a shotgun in his face and threatened to murder him if he did not stay and wait his turn.
If he did not stay and wait his turn, the attendant would kill him. His father uprooted the family and relocated them to Oakland, California. They had been living in Louisiana.
During their time there, they were unable to find work, and as a result, Russell spent his boyhood moving from one public housing complex to another.
In order to be closer to his children, who were essentially orphaned, his father changed careers and started working in the steel industry instead of driving a truck. According to what Russell said, his father became his hero when he was a youngster.
