Jack Ramsay - Sporting News photo

NBA BEAT - REMEMBERING JACK RAMSAY

James Loving - National Radio Text Service

Jack Ramsay was a tough man with a generosity of warmth and intelligence. The basketball Hall of Fame member was an excellent communicator and teacher in his career as a NBA, college coach and broadcaster. His two NBA title winning teams the 1967 Philadelphia 76ers where he functioned as their General Manager and the 1977 Portland Trailblazers that he led as their coach are a testament to his contribution to the game. Ramsay passed away this week at the age of 89 after battling cancer for a decade and a half

ONE OF THE BEST... LAID TO REST

Tuesday, April 29, 2014

It was a sad day when we heard about the passing of Jack Ramsay Monday, April 28. Ramsay was a major force in NBA and college basketball. He was loved and respected by those he taught and administered in the game. As a player he didn't excel to the heights that he did as a teacher. His underlying philosophy was being in good condition.

Hall of Fame player Bill Walton who was a member of the Ramsay coached Portland Trailblazers said that Ramsay would write on the blackboard during a practice three words, run… run… run. Ramsay's 1976-77 Trailblazers were one of the most exciting teams in the history of the game.

With their 49-33 record they finished the regular season 2nd in their division four games behind the Los Angeles Lakers. The squad was basically a very young but enthusiast group of players that loved to play the game. They came together during the playoffs with their exciting brand of fast break basketball. In a then 22 team league and a more abbreviated (by today's standards) playoff schedule they knocked off the Chicago Bulls 2-1 in the first round, the Denver Nuggets 4-2 in the semifinals and swept the Lakers 4-0 in the Western Conference Finals.

In the League Finals Ramsay and his team ironically were to face the Philadelphia 76ers whom Ramsay was the General Manger of for their title winning 1966-67 team that many feel were the greatest team in basketball history for one season which would be my link to Ramsay. Portland knocked off the Julius Erving led 76ers 4-2 to win their only NBA title in the teams history.

Ramsay had his ups and downs as a coach with stints including 1955-1966 Saint Joseph's Hawks, 1968-1972 Philadelphia 76ers, 1972-1976 Buffalo Braves, 1976-1986 Portland Trail Blazers and 1986-1988 with the Indiana Pacers. During his last nine seasons in Portland, the Blazers only won two playoff series. He also coached the Western Conference side in the 1978 All-Star Game.

Ramsay took over as coach of the Indiana Pacers for the 1986-87 season, leading them to only their second non-losing record as an NBA team. However, he was never able to duplicate that success, and he resigned during the 1988-89 season after only 7 games (and an 0-7 start). At that time, he was second on the all-time wins list for NBA coaches, trailing Red Auerbach. His overall NBA coaching record was 864-783 qualifying him to be recognized by the NBA as one of their All-Time Great Coaches.

Ramsay was a hard worker. As a result to his education he was referred to as the Doctor. He received his bachelor's degree from Saint Joseph's College in 1949, and his master's and doctorate degrees (the latter in education) from the University of Pennsylvania in 1952 and 1963, respectively.

After coaching in the high school and minor-league ranks for the early postwar years, he became head coach at his alma mater, Saint Joseph's College, in 1955. In his first season, Ramsay would lead the Hawks to their first Big 5 crown and their first-ever postseason berth (in the NIT). Ramsay would remain there through 1966, leading the Hawks to six more Big 5 crowns and ten postseason appearances (including a Final Four) in all.

When I became a sports journalist I had the fortune of meeting the man that I was familiar with but never met. At that time, during the 90's, he was a broadcaster for the Miami Heat that were partially owned by Billy Cunningham a member of Ramsay's title winning 76ers squad. We talked about our Philadelphia basketball connections most importantly about another former 76er on that title wining 1967 team Wally (aka Wali) Jones who was my teammate at Temple Prep. Ramsay looked surprised when I shared this information with him. When I showed him a photo of the Temple team he replied that, "I didn't know that."

His response seemed strange since at the time when Wally and I were Temple Prep teammates Ramsay was the coach of St. Josephs University also in Philadelphia. Our conversation took place in the Los Angeles Clippers press room with, strange enough, Bill Walton Ramsay's center on the Portland title winning team in the room who was at that time a television analyst and in the media. Stranger still was at time Jones was also on the Miami Heat executive staff as a VP of Community Relations. It was that situation that inspired me to write a column about NBA Trivia - The Philly [Philadelphia] Connection.

It was that period of time that I assumed he knew about Jones attending Temple Prep since Jones was highly recruited. After Temple Prep, Jones played for another Big 5 team Villanova University. In a strange way the Dr. learned something from me.

Ramsay recognized Jones' talent when Jones made the NBA All-Rookie 1st team following his rookie season with the Baltimore Bullets. On September 22nd 1965 Ramsay traded center Johnny 'RED' Kerr to acquire the guard who became the Sixers starting guard on that 67 title winning team. Kerr is listed by the NBA as one of their All-Time Great Players.

What was most interesting at the time of my conversation with Ramsay was he was in his 70's but appeared to be in great shape and as strong as a bull. We talked about conditioning and in the process he seemed energized speaking with fire in his eyes. Throughout my career covering sports I've discussed the topic of physical fitness with only three people that exemplified the subject, John Wooden who is the greatest coach in college basketball history winning 10 NCAA titles, Nolan Ryan who pitched seven no hitters in the MLB (Major League Baseball) and Jack Ramsay.

Wooden passed away just a few days before reaching the age of 100. Ramsay passed away this week at 89 following battling cancer for more than a decade and a half which is shocking since it was a cancer that brought him down not from him being a person that neglected his body.

In his 20 seasons as an NBA coach, Ramsay made the playoffs 16 times. He was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 1992. He attributed a lot of his coaching philosophies to his time in the Navy during World War II, where he worked in underwater demolition, the forerunner of today's Navy Seals. He wrote about it on ESPN.com in 2011.

"I learned how important physical conditioning is. I learned how to focus on an objective in spite of all kinds of hazards. I learned how to deal with stress, too," he wrote. "If you make a wrong move with explosives, it could be deadly. If you're there when they blow up the beach, you get blown up, too. So you need to get your job done correctly ... then pull the fuse with enough lag time for you to clear the area completely and get picked up by the small boats.

"I also learned that my connection with my team members was best handled by being in there with them," he added.

There are people that a journalist interviews or has conversations with that they will never forget. Jack Ramsay is on that list. He will be remembered for his generous smile, warmth, intelligence and character. Jack Ramsay one of the best in basketball history... will be missed.