A TRUE LEGEND PASSES

By Marc Lawrence,PlaybookSports.com — Bob Pettit checked out yesterday at 93.

First MVP in league history. First man through the 20,000-point door. Eleven seasons, eleven All-Star trips, one franchise, no excuses.

The Hawks. St. Louis. A town the cameras forgot.

He was 6-9 and built like a fence post that had learned how to score. Power forward before the position had a birth certificate. He faced the basket when the bigs were still living with their backs to it. He almost never sat. He just kept coming.

Rookie of the Year in Milwaukee. MVP the next winter at 25.7 a night. Scoring title in ’59 at 29.2. Walked away at 26.4 and 16.2 — all-time scoring king, second on the boards. Four All-Star Game MVPs. Only Kobe ever tied that ticket.

Hawks beat Russell’s Celtics. Only banner that franchise ever hung. Four Finals against Boston. Two Game 7s. Two wins shy of three rings. The Celtics were a machine. Pettit was the wrench they couldn’t quite throw.

Baton Rouge. Late bloomer who missed varsity until his junior year, then took a state title and never looked back. LSU for three seasons. SEC scoring champ every one of them. Springfield with Pistol and Shaq.

The Hall called him sleek. Skilled. A big man who changed the forward spot. They also said he would not be outworked. That was the whole opera.

Wilt. Russell. Oscar. Baylor. Pettit ran with all of them when half the country still needed a radio to know the score. Then he went home, attended LSU games. Did the banking, sat in the stands like a civilian.

The work was already loud enough.

RIP, Bob. It was an honor watching you play.