Short answers, pulled from the story.
Bob Cousy was famous for introducing no-look passes, behind-the-back dribbles, and ambidextrous ball-handling to professional basketball at a time when the game was dominated by set shooters and deliberate play. He was nicknamed "the Houdini of the Hardwood" and is regarded as the first great point guard in NBA history. He led the league in assists for eight consecutive seasons and won six NBA championships with the Boston Celtics.
Bob Cousy won six NBA championships with the Boston Celtics, in 1957, 1959, 1960, 1961, 1962, and 1963. He played his entire thirteen-year Celtics career from 1950 to 1963, appearing in 924 regular-season games.
Cousy's retirement ceremony on the 17th of March, 1963, was called the Boston Tear Party because the crowd's emotional response overwhelmed him and extended his planned seven-minute farewell to twenty minutes. A South Boston water worker named Joe Dillon broke the tension by calling out "We love ya, Cooz," prompting the crowd to cheer. President John F. Kennedy also sent a telegram praising Cousy's career.
In Game 2 of the 1953 NBA Playoffs against the Syracuse Nationals, Cousy scored fifty points in a four-overtime game that ended 111-105. He made thirty free throws in thirty-two attempts, a still-standing playoff record, and played sixty-six minutes total despite an injured leg. The NBA placed the performance alongside Wilt Chamberlain's hundred-point game as one of the finest individual scoring feats in league history.
In 1954, Cousy organized the National Basketball Players Association, the first players' union among the four major North American professional sports leagues. At that time, NBA players had no health benefits, no pension plan, and no minimum salary, with the average annual pay at eight thousand dollars. Cousy served as the association's first president until 1958.
Bob Cousy was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 1971. That same year, the Boston Celtics retired his number fourteen jersey, hanging it in the rafters of the Garden. Cousy was also named to the NBA 25th, 35th, 50th, and 75th Anniversary Teams, one of only four players ever selected to all four.