On this day in Boston Celtics history, champ center Robert Parish saw his jersey raised to the rafters alongwith banners he assisted win as his No. 00 was retired by the Celtics in 1998.
In a event at the halftime of a videogame versus the Indiana Pacers (that was likewise Larry Bird’s return to the city for the veryfirst time as head coach of that company), Robert “Chief” Parish had his jersey raised to the rafters of the Fleet Center (now, TD Garden). The videogame was a homecoming of sorts, as besides the return of Bird as coach of the Pacers, Kevin McHale was likewise in participation.
He was at that time the vice president of the Minnesota Timberwolves.
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McHale (per the Baltimore Sun’s Jerry Bembry) had this to state about the occasion:
“It was a excellent minute, excellent to see Robert’s number retired and fantastic to see Larry here training … We invested a lot of time on that court together. Those days are all in the past now. All we can do now is sit back and watch everyone else play.”
Bird minimized his return, rather stressing the event, and Red Auerbach assisted Parish raise the jersey to the rafters.
Former Boston Celtics star Robert Parish waves to the fans throughout his number retirement event in Boston Sunday, Jan 18,1998 (AP Photo/Victoria Arocho)
Said Chief of the experience (again per Bembry):
“As Red and I were raising the flag, I was flattered for the recommendation, that the Celtics idea sufficient of Robert Parish to retire his number … It ranks right up there with winning a champion, being picked as one of the 50 biggest professionalathletes in the NBA.”
“It’s certainly a emphasize in my profession,” he included.
Virginias Junior Burrough (4) and colleague Martin Walton commemorate their 67-58 triumph over Kansas in the NCAA Midwest Regionals, Friday, March 24, 1995, Kansas City, Mo. (AP Photo/Cliff Schiappa)
Today is likewise the birthday of previous Celtics huge guy Thomas Harol