As one of Pittsburgh’s seventeen professional basketball fans I sometimes feel the urge to write about the NBA. November 5, 1946 is the anniversary of the NBA’s first shattered backboard, and the culprit was none other than Chuck Connors. Connors played The Rifleman on television, and acted in many other roles, but before he took up acting his passions were baseball and basketball. He was a good enough baseball player to reach the majors for brief stints, and he played a full season as the center of the Boston Celtics.
When most sports fans think of shattering backboards the vision of Darryl ‘Chocolate Thunder’ Dawkins comes to mind. As a teenager in the 1980’s Dawkins seemed larger than life, and watching highlights of his most awesome dunks still fills me with awe.
Both Connors and Dawkins receive excellent coverage in our suite of biography databases. You can also read about Dawkins in his autobiography:
Scott Pyle
2 Comments
November 5, 2008 at 11:44 am
Scott, count me in as #18. I especially love watching footage from the 70’s and 80’s. There were some awesome players and games.
November 5, 2008 at 12:25 pm
And just to add to his humongous resume, Chuck Connors is also in the video posted on this website a couple of days ago, though not in a role he’d brag about, perhaps …
Who knew American suburbs could be so inspiring?
http://eleventhstack.wordpress.com/2008/11/03/who-knew-american-suburbs-could-be-so-inspiring/
Don