1. William Theodore Walton III was an American basketball player and television sportscaster.
106 Facts About Bill Walton
1. 2.
Bill Walton is a member of the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame and the National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame.
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Bill Walton rose to prominence in the early 1970s as UCLA's starting center for coach John Wooden.
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The 6-foot-11-inch Bill Walton won three consecutive national college player of the year awards, while leading UCLA to NCAA championships in 1972 and 1973 and an 88-game winning streak.
5.
Bill Walton played in 468 out of 1,148 regular season games across his 14-year NBA career.
6.
Bill Walton's career was rehabilitated during two seasons with the Celtics at the end of his career.
7.
Bill Walton was named to the NBA's 50th and 75th anniversary teams.
8.
Bill Walton was a fan of the Grateful Dead, as a self-described "Deadhead", and often mentioned them in his broadcasts.
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Bill Walton hosted several podcasts and satellite radio programs featuring the music of the Grateful Dead.
10.
Bill Walton was born and raised in La Mesa, California, the son of Gloria Anne and William Theodore "Ted" Bill Walton Jr.
11.
Bill Walton was raised with siblings Bruce, Cathy, and Andy.
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The Bill Walton home was on a hillside on Colorado Avenue, just below Lake Murray.
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Bill Walton's father Ted was a music teacher and social worker and his mother Gloria, a librarian.
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Bill Walton's parents had interests in art, literature, politics, and music.
15.
Bill Walton took music lessons, and although his parents were not sports-oriented, Bill Walton followed in the footsteps of his older brother Bruce, who had gravitated toward sports.
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Bill Walton first played organized basketball under Frank "Rocky" Graciano, who coached at Bill Walton's Catholic elementary school.
17.
Bill Walton was taller, but frail as he had not filled out his growing frame.
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Bill Walton was unable to play a complete game without resting.
19.
Rocket players learned that to get into the Helix gym they could call the teenage Bill Walton, who had his own gym key.
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Bill Walton overcame all obstacles and led Helix to 49 consecutive victories in his two varsity seasons.
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In 1970, Bill Walton was featured in "Faces in the Crowd" in the January 26 issue of Sports Illustrated, his first national media recognition.
22.
Bill Walton was recruited by many colleges, but quickly accepted UCLA's scholarship offer to play basketball for the Bruins and Coach Wooden.
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Bill Walton played for UCLA under Coach Wooden from 1971 to 1974.
24.
Bill Walton had 19 points and 11 rebounds against Long Beach State.
25.
Bill Walton was named the 1972 NCAA basketball tournament Most Outstanding Player.
26.
Bill Walton had 28 points and 14 rebounds against Arizona State, on 13 of 18 shooting, and 9 points and 14 rebounds against San Francisco, taking only 7 shots.
27.
Bill Walton had 14 points, seven rebounds, and nine assists against Indiana.
28.
Bill Walton set the record for most points in an NCAA championship game, which still stands, and was the tournament's most outstanding player.
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Bill Walton then limped off the floor, receiving an ovation from the 19,301 fans.
30.
Bill Walton probably had one of the best games anybody ever had in the history of college basketball.
31.
Bill Walton was a consensus All-American alongside Ernie DiGregorio of Providence, Ed Ratleff of Long Beach State, David Thompson of North Carolina State, and Kermit Washington of American.
32.
Bill Walton played wearing a back brace, as he had suffered a major back injury in a fall against Washington State the week before.
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Bill Walton was undercut by a Washington State player and broke two bones in his spine, which remained damaged until corrective surgery in 2009.
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Bill Walton, who missed a 12-foot shot off an inbounds pass to win the game as time expired, finished with 24 points and nine rebounds.
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Bill Walton tallied 17 points, nine rebounds, and four assists against San Francisco.
36.
Bill Walton played 50 minutes and scored 29 points, adding 18 rebounds and 4 assists in the loss.
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Bill Walton was a dynamic big moment guy, and I just wish I could have risen to the occasion.
38.
Bill Walton played 20 minutes in his last game for UCLA and Coach Wooden.
39.
Bill Walton was named 1st Team All-American alongside Marvin Barnes of Providence, John Shumate of Notre Dame, David Thompson of North Carolina State, and teammate Wilkes of UCLA.
40.
Bill Walton received the USBWA College Player of the Year and Naismith College Player of the Year as the top college basketball player in 1972,1973, and 1974.
41.
Bill Walton earned Academic All-American honors in 1972,1973 and 1974.
42.
Bill Walton left UCLA to begin a new life in professional basketball and kept a lifetime friendship with Coach Wooden.
43.
Bill Walton rarely talked about basketball, but generally about life.
44.
Bill Walton never talked about strategy, statistics or plays, but rather about people and character.
45.
Bill Walton was drafted by the American Basketball Association's Dallas Chaparrals in the 1973 ABA draft as an underclassman in an attempt to lure him from UCLA.
46.
Bill Walton was the number one overall pick by the NBA's Portland Trail Blazers in the 1974 NBA draft.
47.
Bill Walton led the NBA in both rebounds per game and blocked shots per game as he was selected to the NBA All-Star Game, but did not participate due to an injury.
48.
Bill Walton was named to the NBA All-Defensive First Team and the All-NBA Second Team for his regular-season accomplishments.
49.
Bill Walton averaged 17.3 points, 12.3 rebounds, 4.3 assists, and 4.3 blocks in the first round series against the Bulls.
50.
Bill Walton then suffered a broken foot, ending his regular season.
51.
Bill Walton nonetheless won the 1978 NBA Most Valuable Player award and the Sporting News NBA MVP, as well.
52.
Bill Walton played in his only NBA All-Star Game in 1978 and was named to both the NBA's First All-Defensive Team and the All-NBA First Team.
53.
Bill Walton was injured and lost for the remainder of the playoffs in the second game of the first-round series against the Seattle SuperSonics.
54.
Bill Walton did not get his wish and sat out the entire 1979 season in protest.
55.
Bill Walton eventually signed with the San Diego Clippers when he became a free agent in 1979.
56.
In five seasons with Portland, Bill Walton played in 209 games, averaging a double-double of 17.1 points and 13.5 rebounds, with 4.4 assists and 2.6 blocks.
57.
On May 13,1979, Bill Walton signed as a veteran free agent with the San Diego Clippers; the Portland Trail Blazers received Kevin Kunnert, Kermit Washington and a 1980 first-round draft pick as compensation ordered by the NBA.
58.
Bill Walton ignored doctors who said he would never play again and underwent surgery to restructure his left foot in 1981.
59.
At age 32, Bill Walton wished to move to a winning franchise and reached out to teams after the season ended in 1985.
60.
Bird said that if Bill Walton felt healthy enough to play that it was good enough for him, as opposed to Lakers GM Jerry West, who was hedging his interest in Bill Walton pending a doctor's report.
61.
On September 6,1985, Bill Walton was traded by the Los Angeles Clippers to the Boston Celtics for Cedric Maxwell and a 1986 1st round draft pick.
62.
Bill Walton described doctors looking at his X-rays at the hospital after he arrived in Boston:.
63.
Bill Walton averaged 7.6 points, 6.8 rebounds, 2.3 assists, and 1.2 blocks in 19 minutes, and finished with a career-high 56.2 field goal percentage.
64.
Bill Walton became the only player to have won an NBA Finals MVP, Sixth Man Award, and regular season MVP.
65.
Bill Walton averaged 8.0 points, 6.7 rebounds, 1.0 assists, and 2.2 blocks in 19 minutes, in helping the Celtics win the championship.
66.
Bill Walton played in only ten games during the season.
67.
Bill Walton attempted a comeback in February 1990, but injuries intervened and he retired as a player.
68.
At age 17, just out of high school, in the summer of 1970, Bill Walton was selected to represent the US national basketball team at the 1970 FIBA World Championship.
69.
Bill Walton was selected to the 1972 US Olympic basketball team, but declined to participate.
70.
Bill Walton averaged a career double-double of 13.3 points, 10.5 rebounds, with 3.4 assists and 2.2 blocked shots, averaging 28 minutes.
71.
Bill Walton overcame a stuttering problem at age 28 with the help of legendary broadcaster Marty Glickman, after a lengthy conversation between the two at an event.
72.
Bill Walton worked for CBS's NBA coverage during the NBA Finals as well as college basketball coverage for the network during the NCAA Tournament in 1991 and 1992.
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Bill Walton was infamously on the call with Mike Breen for The Malice at the Palace, considered the worst brawl in NBA history, with even Bill Walton, barely able to contain his disgust, calling it "a disgrace" on commentary.
74.
Bill Walton frequently worked alongside Dave Pasch while calling Pac-12 games.
75.
Bill Walton's commentary had been noted for his frequent use of catchphrases and hyperbole.
76.
Bill Walton typically was paired with Steve "Snapper" Jones for national NBA games because he and Jones had a point-counterpoint banter during games and a chemistry that earned them praise with critics.
77.
Bill Walton hosted his own satellite radio show, One More Saturday Night, heard on Sirius Radio's Jam On and XM Radio's Grateful Dead channel.
78.
In 2001, Bill Walton received an Emmy Award for "Best Live Sports Television Broadcast".
79.
Bill Walton met his first wife, Susie, while they were attending UCLA and he was a sophomore.
80.
Bill Walton entered the corporate world and earned his MBA from Stanford University's Graduate School of Business.
81.
Bill Walton attended Stanford Law School starting in the fall of 1981 while with the Clippers but did not graduate.
82.
Bill Walton has been highly successful in the oil business.
83.
Adam Bill Walton played at Louisiana State University, Pomona College and the College of Notre Dame in Belmont, California.
84.
Bill Walton was a college assistant coach at San Diego Mesa College.
85.
Bill Walton's sister Cathy was a youth swimmer and played some basketball at the University of California.
86.
Bill Walton maintained a close lifetime friendship with coach John Wooden, visiting him often.
87.
Bill Walton considered himself a fan and friend of the writer Ken Kesey.
88.
Bill Walton, who had a service dog, wrote the foreword to the 2015 book Unconditional Honor: Wounded Warriors and their Dogs by author Cathy Scott.
89.
Bill Walton was a fan of the Grateful Dead, whose concerts he started attending in 1967, while he was still in high school.
90.
Bill Walton attended more than 850 Grateful Dead concerts in his lifetime.
91.
Bill Walton traveled with the band to Egypt for its 1978 performances at the Giza pyramid complex.
92.
In 2001, Bill Walton was inducted into The Grateful Dead Hall of Honor.
93.
Bill Walton wrote the liner notes for the Grateful Dead live albums Dave's Picks Volume 5 in 2013 and Dave's Picks Volume 48 in 2023, both of which feature concerts recorded at UCLA's Pauley Pavilion during Bill Walton's tenure on the university's basketball team.
94.
Bill Walton narrated Fire on the Mountain, an action sports documentary featuring Grateful Dead songs, which aired on ESPN in October 2020.
95.
Bill Walton was an amazing person, singular, irreplaceable, giving, loving.
96.
Bill Walton was the biggest Deadhead in the world and used our music as the soundtrack to his life.
97.
Bill Walton was famously arrested during an anti-Vietnam War protest during his junior year at UCLA.
98.
Bill Walton, who spoke at Yippie leader Abbie Hoffman's memorial service and funeral, acknowledged spending time with Hoffman when he was a fugitive in the late 1970s.
99.
Bill Walton was known as a vegetarian and a meditation practitioner.
100.
Bill Walton died from colorectal cancer at his home in San Diego, on May 27,2024, at the age of 71.
101.
Bill Walton's family was in attendance, and the Celtics players wore black shooting shirts bearing Bill Walton's name with a tie-dye background while their jerseys had a black band with his name on the shoulder.
102.
Bill Walton had cameo appearances in the films 88 and 1, Celtic Pride, Little Nicky, Forget Paris and Semi-Pro, and appeared as Sven the Wise in the 2011 Capital One Visigoth SportsNet commercials.
103.
Bill Walton lent his voice to video games NBA 2K5 and NBA ShootOut 2004.
104.
Bill Walton appeared in the premiere of the third season in the reality TV show Shark Tank on January 20,2012, where he helped to sell the "Clean Bottle", a water bottle that unscrews at both ends for easier cleaning.
105.
Bill Walton appeared in the music video for the song "Swish Swish" by pop musician Katy Perry featuring rapper Nicki Minaj.
106.
Bill Walton played a color commentator alongside fellow broadcaster Rich Eisen.