He was intense. He was hilarious. He was his own man. Bill Walton was talented, witty, and yes, extremely tall. This author had the chance to meet him as a kid and well remembers his towering frame accompanied, however, with a gentle nature. In some sense, he didn’t seem like the quinteicential #6 BEIR, but then again, neither does Shaquille O’Neal, or Mike Ditka, or a number of other more talkative #6s. And yet, when you saw Bill play basketball, you knew he was different. Fellow Reggie Miller (another “outgoing” #6) said it best when he recently stated on TNT, “There were so many different layers to him.”
Of course, no one could ever forget the story of when UCLA coach Johnny Wooden (#8 BEIL) told Bill Walton to shave his beard and cut his hair before starting the season back in the 1970s. The stubborn young Walton refused, expecting Wooden to give in to his star player. Instead, Wooden simply replied, “Well Bill, we’re gonna miss you.” Bill got on his bike, and in less than an hour he was back completely clean-shaven.
Walton was always on the go, and he had an active mind. “I don’t sleep much,” he once said. “I’m on the go. My mind is racing. My wife says my mind is like the rolling dials on a slot machine. So, yeah, I think about everything.” As a Back brain, dominant Inanimate “thinker”, Bill wasn’t kidding. The minds of #6 BEIRs are constantly processing. As Niednagel wrote some 30 years ago, “BEIRs are inquisitive and exploratory. They want to know ‘Why,’ preferring logical explanation. They will take things apart to investigate the inner workings. Fact gathering helps them learn many details about their interests.”
Walton spent 10 seasons in the NBA, playing for the Trail Blazers, Clippers, and finally the Boston Celtics with Larry Bird (#6 BEIR), Kevin McHale (#15 FCIL), and Robert Parish (#2 BEAR). Danny Ainge (#5 FEIR) was also on that team, and shared a funny (and revealing) story on ESPN recently. When the Celtics were amped and ready for the new season to beat the Los Angeles Lakers (who had just beaten them the year prior), Walton apologetically told the team, “Sorry guys, I’m gonna be gone for the next three or for days. I gotta go to South Dakota for an Indian Reservation sit-in.” Yes sir, BEIRs with convictions can follow them unlike any other design!
We’ll miss you, Bill.
Written by: Staff
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