D'Allesandro remembers day as Bill Russell's 'bodyguard'
Aug. 1—State Sen. Lou D'Allesandro remembers serving as a bodyguard to Boston Celtics great Bill Russell during a two-day event at the National Guard Armory in Manchester in the late 1960s.
"I thought he was great," D'Allesandro said Sunday of the brush with fame. "We talked a lot. He was very personable."
Russell, an 11-time NBA champion, died on Sunday. He was 88.
"In my opinion he was the greatest player ever," said D'Allessandro, who in 1963 became the first athletic director and men's basketball coach at Southern New Hampshire University (known then as New Hampshire College).
Russell ran the court, was a fierce rebounder and was a great defender, D'Allesandro said.
"He revolutionized basketball," D'Allesandro said. "Nobody hit the boards harder. Nobody led the break like he did and finished it and played every game 100%. The guy was phenomenal, phenomenal ... no player made a mark on the game like he did."
In addition to Russell's 11 NBA titles, he also won back-to-back NCAA championships at the University of San Francisco and also won an Olympic gold medal.
On March 11, 1960, many of the Boston Celtics, including Russell, played an exhibition game in Manchester to raise money for the Sisters of Mercy Building Fund.
Then-coach Red Auerbach oversaw an intrasquad game in which Bob Cousy poured in 28 points, Tom Heinsohn added 23, Bill Sharman scored 12 and Russell tossed in six, according to Union Leader archives. The Celtics would go on to win the NBA championship that year.
D'Allesandro spoke of how Russell endured racism during his time with the Celtics and stood up for civil rights.
"He lived through that," he said. "And not only lived through it, he was such a phenomenal player. He tried to do things to make it better."
He stayed in Boston to coach, leading the Celtics to two championships as the NBA's first Black head coach.
"He left a mark on society in a very positive manner," D'Allesandro said.
D'Allesandro said he recently heard Russell was ailing.
"You expect guys like that to live forever," he said. "I am shocked by his passing. I am deeply saddened."
