Bob Cousy
Bob Cousy fell out of a tree when he was twelve years old. The fall broke his right hand and forced him to play left-handed until it healed. He described the accident as a fortunate event that made him effectively ambidextrous on the court. This injury shaped his entire playing style before he ever stepped onto an NBA floor.
Cousy grew up in the Yorkville neighborhood of Manhattan's East Side during the Great Depression. His father Joseph worked as a cab driver and moonlighted for extra income. The elder Cousy had been born in Belfort, France, and served unwillingly in the Imperial German Army during World War I. After his first wife died of pneumonia, he married Juliette Corlet from Dijon. They lived on a potato farm in Lachapelle-sous-Rougemont before immigrating to the United States while Juliette was pregnant with Bob.
At the time of the 1930 census, the family rented an apartment in Astoria, Queens, for fifty dollars per month. The younger Cousy spoke French for the first five years of his life. He started speaking English only after entering primary school. He spent his early days playing stickball in a multicultural environment. He regularly played with Black, Jewish, and other ethnic minority children. These experiences ingrained him with a strong anti-racist sentiment.
Holy Cross entered the 1947 NCAA Tournament as the last seed in the eight-team tournament. They defeated Navy fifty-five to forty-seven in front of a sell-out crowd at Madison Square Garden. Joe Mullaney led the team in scoring with eighteen points. The Crusaders then faced CCNY coached by Nat Holman in the semifinal game. Led by George Kaftan's thirty points, Holy Cross easily defeated the Beavers sixty to forty-five.
In the championship game, the Crusaders faced Oklahoma coached by Bruce Drake. It was another sold-out game at Madison Square Garden. Kaftan scored eighteen points in the title game. This was far more than enough for the team to defeat the Sooners fifty-eight to forty-seven. Cousy played poorly that day, scoring only four points on two-for-thirteen shots. Holy Cross became the first New England college to win the NCAA tournament.
On their arrival back in Worcester, the team received a hero's welcome from about ten thousand cheering fans who met their train at Union Station. Coach Doggie Julian had initially limited Cousy's playing time during his sophomore year. Cousy wrote a letter to coach Joe Lapchick of St. John's University considering a transfer there. Lapchick warned him that transferring would require sitting out a year under NCAA rules.
Cousy turned pro and made himself available for the 1950 NBA draft. The Boston Celtics had just concluded the 1949, 50 season with a poor twenty-two wins and forty-six losses record. They held the first draft pick but snubbed Cousy for center Charlie Share. Coach Red Auerbach said he did not want to please local yokels. The Tri-Cities Blackhawks drafted Cousy as the third overall pick.
Cousy refused to report to the Blackhawks because he wanted to establish a driving school in Worcester, Massachusetts. He demanded a salary of ten thousand dollars from owner Ben Kerner. When Kerner offered only six thousand dollars, Cousy walked away. The Chicago Stags folded shortly after, and league Commissioner Maurice Podoloff declared three players available for a dispersal draft. Celtics owner Walter A. Brown reluctantly gave Cousy a nine-thousand-dollar salary.
Averaging seven point seven assists per game, Cousy won the first of his eight consecutive assists titles. These numbers came despite the fact that the NBA had not yet introduced the shot clock. The static nature of the game put prolific assist givers at a disadvantage. Powered by Auerbach's quick fastbreak tactics, the Celtics won forty-six games. They beat the Syracuse Nationals two games to zero in the 1953 playoffs.
Game two of the 1953 playoffs ended one hundred eleven to one hundred five in four overtimes. Cousy scored twenty-five points after four quarters. He hit a clutch free throw in the last seconds of regulation. He scored all four of Boston's points in the second overtime. He scored eight more points in the third overtime including a twenty-five-foot buzzer beater.
In the fourth overtime, he scored nine of Boston's twelve points. Cousy played sixty-six minutes total during the contest. He made thirty free throws out of thirty-two attempts. This performance remains one of the finest scoring feats ever recorded in league history. It stands alongside Wilt Chamberlain's one-hundred-point game as a testament to endurance and skill.
Despite this heroic effort, the Knicks beat Boston in the next round for the third time in a row. Cousy attributed the shortcomings to fatigue stating that they would get tired in the end and could not get the ball. Coach Auerbach sought a defensive center who could get easy rebounds and initiate fast breaks. He eventually drafted Bill Russell to solve these problems.
In 1954 the NBA had no health benefits or pension plan for its players. The average player earned eight thousand dollars per season which equals eighty-two thousand dollars today. To combat these conditions, Cousy organized the National Basketball Players Association. It became the first trade union among those in the four major North American professional sports leagues.
Cousy served as its first president until 1958. His efforts secured basic benefits for early professional athletes who faced financial instability after their careers ended. The union fought for minimum salaries and better working conditions across the league. These changes laid the groundwork for modern player rights and collective bargaining agreements.
During his playing career he finished with sixteen thousand nine hundred sixty points and six thousand nine hundred fifty-five assists. He won eight of the first eleven assist titles in the league. All of them came consecutively during his tenure with Boston. This dominance helped popularize modern guard play and raised the profile of the entire sport.
At age thirty-four, Cousy held his retirement ceremony on March seventeenth, nineteen sixty-three, inside a packed Boston Garden. The event became known as the Boston Tear Party when the crowd's response overwhelmed him. His planned seven-minute farewell went on for twenty minutes. Joe Dillon, a water worker from South Boston, screamed We love ya Cooz breaking the tension.
President John F. Kennedy wired to Cousy stating that the game bears the indelible stamp of his rare skills. He received the Presidential Medal of Freedom from President Donald Trump on August twenty-second, two thousand nineteen. A statue of Cousy was installed outside the DCU Center in Worcester, Massachusetts. It was dedicated in June 2021.
On November sixteenth, two thousand eight, his college uniform number seventeen was hoisted to the Hart Center rafters. During halftime of a game between Holy Cross and St. Joseph's, the numbers of Cousy, George Kaftan, Togo Palazzi, and Tommy Heinsohn became the first to hang from the gymnasium ceiling. In December 2025, Holy Cross announced they would be renaming their basketball court in his honor.
Continue Browsing
Common questions
How did Bob Cousy become ambidextrous on the court?
Bob Cousy became effectively ambidextrous after falling out of a tree at age twelve and breaking his right hand. The injury forced him to play left-handed until it healed, which shaped his entire playing style before he ever stepped onto an NBA floor.
When was Bob Cousy's retirement ceremony held and what happened there?
Bob Cousy held his retirement ceremony on March seventeenth, nineteen sixty-three inside a packed Boston Garden. The event became known as the Boston Tear Party when the crowd's response overwhelmed him and extended his planned seven-minute farewell to twenty minutes.
What year did Bob Cousy win the Presidential Medal of Freedom from Donald Trump?
Bob Cousy received the Presidential Medal of Freedom from President Donald Trump on August twenty-second, two thousand nineteen. This honor recognized his contributions to basketball following his Hall of Fame career and advocacy for player rights.
Why did Bob Cousy refuse to report to the Tri-Cities Blackhawks in 1950?
Bob Cousy refused to report to the Tri-Cities Blackhawks because he wanted to establish a driving school in Worcester, Massachusetts. He demanded a salary of ten thousand dollars from owner Ben Kerner but walked away when Kerner offered only six thousand dollars.
How many assists titles did Bob Cousy win consecutively during his tenure with Boston?
Bob Cousy won eight consecutive assist titles during his tenure with Boston. These numbers came despite the fact that the NBA had not yet introduced the shot clock which put prolific assist givers at a disadvantage.