Bob Cousy at 95: ‘I'm the luckiest S.O.B. on the planet'

WORCESTER -- The walls of Bob Cousy’s home office are lined with an incredible assortment of basketball memorabilia, but your eyes can’t help but gravitate to the shiny gold and silver orb that recently became a centerpiece.

The NBA announced two years ago that the Eastern Conference champions would receive the Bob Cousy Trophy and a version designed for the Celtics legend unexpectedly showed up on his doorstep. While visitors marveled at the pristine keepsake this week, Cousy, who turned 95 years young Wednesday, admitted he's very invested in seeing it return to Boston.

"The Celtics won the first one of these, which really thrilled me," said Cousy, the trademark inflection in his voice slowly rising. "I was hoping they were going to win it back-to-back."

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Sixty years removed from his Celtics retirement and the famous, “We love ya, Cooz!” moment inside the Garden, Cousy is still an avid Celtics fan and admits that, at an advanced age, he’d selfishly like to see the team raise another banner alongside the six he helped put in the rafters.

Cousy calls his office a, “collage of a lifetime,” and it could serve as its own museum. Next to the shiny new Cousy trophy sits his Hall of Fame statue. A little further down is the Presidential Medal of Freedom that he received in 2019. Photos with Muhammad Ali and various presidents dot the room.

Cousy’s favorite books sit above the various sneakers, bobbleheads, and trading cards. One wall is covered with a handcrafted collage featuring the NBA’s original top 50 players from its 50-year celebration in 1997. Each player’s handwritten autograph sits below their photo on a one-of-a-kind creation.

“The only people in black-and-white (photos) are me and (former Celtics teammate and road roommate Bill) Sharman,” quipped Cousy.

So what does 95 mean to Cooz?

"It’s a number,” said Cousy. "I’ve said often over the years, I am literally the most fortunate, luckiest S.O.B. on the planet. Everything in my life has kind of fallen together. Whether it's faith -- hopefully there’s a big guy up there watching this interview or what -- but, going through life, all of us have to rely on hopefully good luck or fortune or faith or whatever we want to call it. Most of the bounces have gone my way.

"And so I sit back and just think of how fortunate I've been in having, not only a fruitful life, but a productive, interesting life as well, in terms of playing a child's game."

Listening to Cousy tell stories would fascinate any visitor. But allow us to reveal our biases. This writer was born in Worcester and, like Cousy, still calls the area home. Visits to family that lived near the Cousy residence would often culminate with slow drives past the tree-lined yard (and maybe even an occasional climb onto the rock wall that ran along the perimeter), all in hopes of a glimpse of the Houdini of the Hardwood.

Cousy is still the biggest celebrity in Worcester (apologies to Joyner Lucas and Denis Leary). Mobility issues don’t allow him to venture far now but he still attends Thursday-night gatherings at Worcester Country Club, where he quips that him and his crew, all 80 years and older, “solve all the world’s problems.”

He’d love to visit the Garden again but it’s simply not in the cards. He politely declines invites whenever co-owner Steve Pagliuca phones. Cousy was asked to give a commencement speech for Worcester State University graduates during a ceremony at the DCU Center, where a second area statue of Cousy was recently erected. Instead, he filmed the address at his home and, continuing to showcase his sense of humor, implored graduates to wipe the pigeon droppings off his statue while departing the arena.

Cousy laughed when, dining out in the area soon after, a young waitress dropped by the table to let Cousy know that she and classmates had honored his request.

While Cousy still pridefully boasts about his basketball accolades, from Holy Cross' 1947 NCAA championship to those six NBA titles, he readily admits that there was a lot of good fortune along the way. From a chance scholarship offer that pried him out of Queens, N.Y., and delivered him to Worcester, to the driving school he established here that left Cousy steadfast that he would never report to the Tri-Cities Blackhawks, who originally drafted him into the NBA in 1950.

I wasn't going to go [to Tri-Cities]. ... I wasn't going to go to Chicago. ... I wasn't going to go anywhere but Boston.

Bob Cousy

"I wasn't going to move my family -- I’d just gotten married -- and go to somewhere called Tri-Cities,” said Cousy. "That’s who drafted me. And when they called me and said, 'Hey, congratulations, No. 1 pick,’ I said, 'Jesus, I was a pretty good student, what the hell is the Tri-Cities?’ And that didn’t endear me to the good folk of Tri-Cities, because the Tri-Cities Bugle had me in the headlines saying, 'Cousy says, 'what the hell is the Tri-Cities?'"

For the record, Tri-Cities was based in Moline, Illinois, and included a nod to nearby Rock Island and Davenport. Red Auerbach coached the team during the 1949-50 season before being recruited to Boston by owner Walter Brown. Their paths were seemingly destined to cross.

“I wasn't going to go [to Tri-Cities],” said Cousy. “And then they traded me to Chicago. I wasn't going to go to Chicago. I was earning a good living already in Worcester, teaching ladies to drive. So I wasn't going to go anywhere but Boston and I got picked.

“The other two -- there were three of us in the hat [for a draft] when they dispersed Chicago when they went bankrupt -- Max Zaslofsky, won the scoring championship, and New York wanted a good Jewish player. Wow, they went and had a party when they got him. And then Andy Phillip, he became a Hall of Famer, point guard, a good one, went second to Philly. And the only thing left in the hat, other than the band, was moi.”

Brown called Cousy the next day to arrange a meeting. His office was bustling with activity, so Brown pulled Cousy into a nearby bathroom where they negotiated a $9,000 annual salary (Cousy asked for $10,000 then took Brown’s counteroffer). Six years later, the Celtics drafted Bill Russell and the rest is history.

Cousy’s legacy goes well beyond his on-court success. In 1954, he helped create the National Basketball Players Association and served as its first president. Cousy takes great pride in watching Celtics star (and current NBPA vice president) Jaylen Brown land a record five-year, $304 million contract.

“My last year, they told me I was the highest paid player in the league, I made $35,000,” said Cousy. “One of the things I’m most proud about is starting the Players Association, because that somehow has lent itself, 60 years later, in terms of the interaction between the Players Association and the owners, to guys signing $300 million contracts for five years for playing a child's game.

"So I celebrate that. Really. I'm not sitting here pissed off as hell because they're making all that money and I didn’t. I'm so pleased that I had a hand, I think, in setting the table for this.”

Cousy’s mark on the league is indelible. With his unrivaled court vision and flashy ball-handling, he was far ahead of his time and was the perfect complement when Russell arrived. Items like the Cousy trophy ensure his legacy will live on each year.

“It allows me to be part of the legacy of this wonderful league and sport that I was involved in, intimately, for 30 years. Or still am, in some ways,” said Cousy. “It gives me a place in history. Hopefully the league will stay alive and the Celtics will be able to win it all."

Cousy is heartened to hear Jaylen Brown express a desire to give back to the community with his new contract extension. Cousy tears up telling stories about raising funds for the Nativity School and Big Brothers Big Sisters of Central Mass. & MetroWest.

The secret to longevity? Cousy suggests again it’s largely good fortune and good genes. His mind remains sharp, even if his body won’t let him take the daily laps he once walked around his circular driveway. He jokes how his buddy Arnold (Auerbach) got him hooked on smoking cigars during European trips but he gave that up cold turkey after 20 years.

Cousy still enjoys the occasional Beefeater or some white wine, especially while reflecting on the Saturday night dinners that he and his bride, Missie, enjoyed over 63 years of marriage before she passed in 2013.

Cousy’s two daughters, Marie and Ticia, and their husbands were with him to toast 95. That group included two more birthdays this week, so there’s plenty to celebrate. And more chances to add memories to a home already filled to the brim with them.

“All we have left at this point is our imagination, to bring us to where we want. And [the office mementos] helps bring me where I need,” said Cousy. ‘It’s an ego thing but I lived it. As I’ve already said, I'm the luckiest S.O.B. in the world.”