Hall of Fame Professional Basketball Player and Coach. He played the center position for the National Basketball Association's Boston Celtics from 1956 to 1969. He also coached three different NBA teams (Boston Celtics (1966-1969), Seattle SuperSonics (1973-1977) and Sacramento Kings (1987-1988). He played college basketball at the University of San Francisco and led the Dons to two consecutive NCAA basketball championships (1955 and 1956). In 1956, he played on the gold medal-winning U.S. men's basketball team at the Summer Olympics in Melbourne, Australia. He was drafted by the St. Louis Hawks with the 2nd pick in the 1956 NBA Draft but was traded to the Boston Celtics soon after. He went on to star for the Celtics for fourteen years, four of them as a player-coach, before retiring in 1969. In 1966, he became the first African-American head coach in NBA history when he succeeded Red Auerbach at the helm of the Celtics. During his tenure with the Celtics, he helped them win 11 NBA Championships and received numerous other honors and awards. His playing career statistics included 14,522 points, 21,620 rebounds, and 4,100 assists. In 1971, he joined the NBA broadcast team on ABC and worked the Game of the Week. A year later, the Celtics retired his number "6." He went on to later coach both the Seattle Supersonics from 1973 to 1975 and the Sacramento Kings from 1987 to 1988. He was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 1975, and in 2011, he was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by President Barack Obama. In 2022, the NBA retired Russell's Number 6 throughout NBA basketball, which was only the third such type of universal number retirement in America's four major sports leagues, joining Jackie Robinson's 42 and Wayne Gretzky's 99. Bill Russell died of natural causes at age 88 in 2022.
Hall of Fame Professional Basketball Player and Coach. He played the center position for the National Basketball Association's Boston Celtics from 1956 to 1969. He also coached three different NBA teams (Boston Celtics (1966-1969), Seattle SuperSonics (1973-1977) and Sacramento Kings (1987-1988). He played college basketball at the University of San Francisco and led the Dons to two consecutive NCAA basketball championships (1955 and 1956). In 1956, he played on the gold medal-winning U.S. men's basketball team at the Summer Olympics in Melbourne, Australia. He was drafted by the St. Louis Hawks with the 2nd pick in the 1956 NBA Draft but was traded to the Boston Celtics soon after. He went on to star for the Celtics for fourteen years, four of them as a player-coach, before retiring in 1969. In 1966, he became the first African-American head coach in NBA history when he succeeded Red Auerbach at the helm of the Celtics. During his tenure with the Celtics, he helped them win 11 NBA Championships and received numerous other honors and awards. His playing career statistics included 14,522 points, 21,620 rebounds, and 4,100 assists. In 1971, he joined the NBA broadcast team on ABC and worked the Game of the Week. A year later, the Celtics retired his number "6." He went on to later coach both the Seattle Supersonics from 1973 to 1975 and the Sacramento Kings from 1987 to 1988. He was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 1975, and in 2011, he was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by President Barack Obama. In 2022, the NBA retired Russell's Number 6 throughout NBA basketball, which was only the third such type of universal number retirement in America's four major sports leagues, joining Jackie Robinson's 42 and Wayne Gretzky's 99. Bill Russell died of natural causes at age 88 in 2022.
Bio by: Mr. Badger Hawkeye
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Gravesite Details
Beside his third wife, Marilyn Russell, who died in 2009.
Family Members
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