Moses Malone has died at Age 60
- Thread starter RG33
- Start date
Damn. Growing up a Sixers fan, this is a sad, sad news. Loved Moses and his buckets of sweat. R.I.P.
I was an utter hack playing basketball in elementary school. But, I had a coach who insisted that rebounds were as important as anything else in the game. I obsessed on them and Moses Malone was my role model.
Totally unique player in pro basketball history. If memory serves me correctly, Moses went straight from high school to the ABA and made an immediate impact as a teenager. Then on to the NBA with Houston. Boston fans got to meet him in the NBA Finals during Bird's second season. Didn't he say something really ribald that Bird responded to in equally colorful fashion?
As a Sixers fan, I remember Mo for his prediction prior to the 1983 playoffs. Asked how he saw each series going, Moses said, "Fo, Fo and Fo." You needed an interpreter sometimes because Moses retained his Virginia accent and never pretended to be a Rhodes Scholar. He was one of a kind and loved in every city he played in. Boston Celtics loyalists may may have Moses but true hoop fans saw him as the greatest rebounder ever. Better than Wilt or Ruseell when it came to cleaning the boards. Wide body, big ass and plenty of ups.
As a Sixers fan, I remember Mo for his prediction prior to the 1983 playoffs. Asked how he saw each series going, Moses said, "Fo, Fo and Fo." You needed an interpreter sometimes because Moses retained his Virginia accent and never pretended to be a Rhodes Scholar. He was one of a kind and loved in every city he played in. Boston Celtics loyalists may may have Moses but true hoop fans saw him as the greatest rebounder ever. Better than Wilt or Ruseell when it came to cleaning the boards. Wide body, big ass and plenty of ups.
It's the life of NBA players from the '80s too......that was a HARD lifestyle out there!
Can someone please check in with Harvey Catchings and Caldwell Jones?
Can someone please check in with Harvey Catchings and Caldwell Jones?
He said he could take four players from his hometown (Edit: Petersburg Virginia) and beat the 1981 Celtics.terrynever said:
He was the best player in the NBA in that 1981-83 time frame between peak Abdul-Jabbar/Dr. J and peak Bird. Absolutely incredible. That 1983 Sixers team gets overshadowed in history by the Celtics/Lakers but that was a great great great team, basically wire to wire no doubt champions. I think he himself has been forgotten, a little bit, by history as well. Malone at his peak, I believe, was as good or better than any center since.
HomeRunBaker said:
Too late on Caldwell:
http://www.cbssports.com/nba/eye-on-basketball/24721089/caldwell-jones-dies-at-64-after-heart-attack
Great observation about Moses and the 1983 Sixers. Julius was beyond his prime but Toney was right in the middle of his brief reign as an unstoppable shooting guard with deep range. The Celtics traded for DJ in part to stifle Toney, right?snowmanny said:
Most guys at the foul line would drip perspiration. When he went to the foul line line his chin was the equivalent of a water faucet, the sweat was so continuous. A true hard worker and tough as nails player. Even in his Bullets' days, a force to be reckoned with.
As a kid growing up in Western MA. the most accessible basketball broadcasts we had here in the early 70s was New York Nets games on WPIX. Got to see a lot of great ABA players and became a Sixers fan as I continued to follow Julius Erving into the NBA. Was thrilled when Moses Malone joined him a few years later, made an immediate impact and helped to lead the Sixers to the NBA title. Hard to believe that was 33 seasons ago and the big man is gone at just 60 years old.
Moses was before my time, but he is still one of my favorite players of all time. Moses was one of the most lovable players of all time, a lot of people rudely commentated on his intellect during his playing career, but overlooked the fact that he was a tremendous team leader and his teammates loved him.
Moses didn't really have any great athletic skills, he was kind of an undersized center and don't have great hops. But he loved rebounding more than anybody else in the history of the game. Unlike Rodman or Jerry Lucas who came off as constantly chasing numbers, Moses did it because he just loved getting them. The best thing about Moses is that in quiet arenas you could hear him in the rafters, grunting and banging against the other bodies.
Moses didn't really have any great athletic skills, he was kind of an undersized center and don't have great hops. But he loved rebounding more than anybody else in the history of the game. Unlike Rodman or Jerry Lucas who came off as constantly chasing numbers, Moses did it because he just loved getting them. The best thing about Moses is that in quiet arenas you could hear him in the rafters, grunting and banging against the other bodies.
Any Celtic fan of the era HATED Moses Malone... but every Celtic fan of the era RESPECTED Moses Malone.
As hard-working a player as I've ever seen, and played selfless basketball on a pretty selfish team.
Fo' Fo' Fo' for you, Moses. R.I.P.
As hard-working a player as I've ever seen, and played selfless basketball on a pretty selfish team.
Fo' Fo' Fo' for you, Moses. R.I.P.
snowmanny said:
He did, and Larry Bird responded at the championship rally at City Hall Plaza by telling the massive crowd, "Moses can eat shit."
I saw several stat sources that listed his playing weight at 215 pounds. That can't be right unless that was his weight out of high school and sources just stayed with what had been previously listed.
Yeah, never believe weights especially. Moses probably weighed 250 in his prime. 215 was high school.YTF said:
That is the remark I remember. Classic Larry Bird. I think even Philly fans had to like Bird when he said that. In fact, it was hard not to like a guy who played such a beautiful unselfish style. The Sixers were not known for passing the ball well, except for Cheeks.The Allented Mr Ripley said:
terrynever said:
Moses was on the Rockets when he made that remark.
But as a Philly fan, I can assure you we never liked Larry Bird. NEVER!
RIP, Moses, our deliverer.
To be exact, there was a sign held by a fan that said "Moses eats shit", and Bird referred to that sign in his speech, saying, "Moses does eat shit"The Allented Mr Ripley said:
http://basketbawful.blogspot.com/2007/01/quotables-starring-moses-malone-and.html
I didn't write that clearly enough.Remagellan said:
I am a Philly fan who moved to RI in 1982. It didn't take me long to really enjoy Bird's game. I hated the Celtics when they played Philly but too many nights watching Bird and his team in the 1980s against everyone else made me appreciate his beautiful game.
Well, you had a perspective those of us in Philadelphia lacked. Most of us never got over the refs swallowing their whistles at the end of Game 7 of the 1981 ECF and allowing the Celtics to use thuggish tactics to steal that game. Back then I hated the Celtics as much as I've ever hated the MFYs.
But I'm sure Celtics fans had similar feelings about our players, particularly Moses, who was very physical yet never seem to foul out. I used to joke back then that the only reason why Marc Iavaroni was on the team was to put his hand up whenever a defensive foul occurred near Moses.
But I'm sure Celtics fans had similar feelings about our players, particularly Moses, who was very physical yet never seem to foul out. I used to joke back then that the only reason why Marc Iavaroni was on the team was to put his hand up whenever a defensive foul occurred near Moses.
Yes, that was one of the games that sticks in your head forever. The Havlicek stole the ball game was one of my first lessons in a season ending badly. Not repeating with Wilt in 1968 and then trading him for three stiffs ... Rooting for the 76ers is the hardest thing to do for a Philly fan. ... But Moses gave us that one magical season, the 76ers' last title, 32 years ago.Remagellan said:
Yup, backup center Rick Robey to the Suns for one time Finals MVP Dennis Johnson. Available for so little because he had become a locker room lawyer in Phoenix, turned out he just didn't like losing. Celts management knew getting past Philly would require someone to guard Toney so got one of (maybe the) best big defensive guard in the league. For practically nothing.terrynever said:
Godspeed Moses
Johnny Most used to call Toney the Boston Strangler. When he was hot, he was unstoppable. Bad feet did him in.terrynever said:
I never considered Malone a villain like I did any number of Lakers. Moses was a ferocious competitor who loved to ball. He was one of the opponents who actually brought out the best in the Celtics. Loved watching him compete.
Only guy who sweat more than Youk and Patrick Ewing.
I was there. Larry punched the DOES.Lose Remerswaal said:
But the memory I have from that rally: some moron shinnied all the way up the flagpole in the Plaza. We were all staring up like WTF???
We're looking at you Shawn Bradley!TheoShmeo said:
60 years old, that sucks. Way too young. The tail end of his career coincides with the very beginning of my basketball watching life so I don't have much to go by way of personal experience watching him, but I've always had a soft spot for guys who rebound the shit out of the ball and play fuck you defense. The unglamorous stuff. RIP big fella.
GeorgeCostanza said:
Caldwell Jones passed away a few months ago, so it has been a tough year for Sixers centers.
Found dead in his hotel room of an apparent heart attack, per today's WaPo.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/morning-mix/wp/2015/09/14/how-moses-mumbles-malone-skipped-college-to-save-his-family-and-rule-the-nba/
Edit: By the way, the article also contains an excellent discussion of Moses's decision to skip college to go straight to the ABA. The cause of death is mentioned as an aside early in the article; I mention it here because it's the only place I've seen a cause reported.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/morning-mix/wp/2015/09/14/how-moses-mumbles-malone-skipped-college-to-save-his-family-and-rule-the-nba/
Edit: By the way, the article also contains an excellent discussion of Moses's decision to skip college to go straight to the ABA. The cause of death is mentioned as an aside early in the article; I mention it here because it's the only place I've seen a cause reported.
Great insights on the hardship draft. Most of us around in the early 1970s bought the college line. Moses made us think twice. He paved the road for so many other poor kids who had no use for college. And in the end, he handled himself well and became a mentor to young players, including Charles Barkley.
My heart doctor says that for 25 percent of people with the disease, the first inkling is when they drop dead. Sad to see anyone die alone in a hotel room instead of with family.
My heart doctor says that for 25 percent of people with the disease, the first inkling is when they drop dead. Sad to see anyone die alone in a hotel room instead of with family.
Moses deserved better from the Sixers front office. That 82-83 Sixers team was one of the best single season teams ever, and they had 3 first round picks in 1984. Hit a home run with Barkley, but really blew the #10 pick (Leon Wood, leaving John Stockton, Michael Cage and Kevin Willis on the board, among others). Then, two years later, they traded the number one overall pick for the immortal Roy Hinson, and shipped Moses out for Jeff Ruland. That team should have been heading into the late 80s with an older but still effective Moses, Charles Barkley, and Brad Daugherty up front.
Was (Not Wasdin) said:
They called it "Kevin McHale-itis" at the time. Hinson had played well against McHale when he was on the Cavs so they thought they were getting a checker for McHale. And the Moses trade came out of a moment of idiocy by the owner Harold Katz. Moses was hurt during the 1986 playoffs, and Katz liked the way the Sixers played without Moses in their seven game loss to the Bucks in the conference semifinals. (Ignoring the fact the Sixers likely would have won the series had Moses been healthy.)
Those two trades ended the Sixers run was serious title contenders, and ensured that the Barkley era would ultimately end badly.
Humorous re-cap of the Moses trade and other Harold Katz blunders here: http://phillysportshistory.com/tag/jeff-ruland/