Hall of fame NBA player Bill Walton passed away today from cancer. When I was real young I remember him winning a championship with the Portland Trailblazers.

Reason I said semi ot is that he was a huge Stones fan. I met him in 1989 at BC Place in Vancouver, I heard he was following the band around. My friend and I both put out our hands to shake and his huge hand which was the size of a baseball mit, shook both of ours at once!

RIP.

Bill Walton was definitely a Stones fan. I saw him down front in many of the west coast shows.

I remember during the Licks tour he was down front and the people behind him were pissed that they couldn't see because he was so tall.

I shook his hand many times and his hand basically made my had disappear.

I hear he has been to hundreds of Dead shows.

Sad news. Basketball legend and a HUGE music fan.

Best known as a longtime Deadhead, I saw him at Stones and Springsteen shows over the years. Very approachable and friendly.

Safe journey, Bill.

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[www.nba.com]

I have met Bill many times at shows. He had a bunch of my recordings over the years.

Cool that he was a Stones fan. I know that he was a massive Deadhead but never knew about any of his other music inclinations.

Very sad. A genuine down to earth good guy.

Very sad. Cancer is devastating disease. I lost 20 friends/family to this horrible disease. Why is there no cure yet.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2024-05-28 02:21 by babyblue.

RIP. My favorite sports announcer.

RIP Bill.

I met him shortly after he retired from basketball when he was an announcer for the Los Angeles Clippers and I was an intern there. As others mentioned, he had a huge hand to shake.
I asked him for an autograph and asked him to add "P.S. I love the Celtics." (My cousin had asked Bobby Orr to do that for the Bruins years earlier and he obliged, and I asked Billy Preston to do that for the Stones a couple years before and he obliged.)
Bill, though, looked at me (or looked down at me) and said in his big voice, slow and deep, "What's your name?" I told him and he dedicated it to me.
He was so California Cool.
I loved him for his epic years on the Celtics, despised him (school rivalry-wise) for his epic years at UCLA (before my time), but loved him because he was so cool.
Great guy.

Pfff for one second I read 'Bill Wyman RIP'...

I saw Mr. Walton at no less than half a dozen Allman Brothers Shows at the Beacon in NYC. IMO he had excellent musical tastes. A great basketball player and from appearances an even better human being.

RIP Mr. Walton........

Walton was standing right behind me as I entered the Long Beach Terrace Theater for a Bob Dylan show two years ago.

I didn't want to bother him, but I watched how gracious he was to total strangers who approached him during the minute or so while going through security, getting ticket scanned, etc. It sounded like one guy who said they had a mutual friend was proposing some sort of business deal to him.

Unlike other celebrities, he was just too tall to avoid being noticed in public.

RIP

Oh yeah I second Loog droog. Walton was always very gracious with the Allman fans at the Beacon. He was just a regular guy loving the extended jams. In fact on the floor seats, I witnessed this first hand, he would actually slide down in the seat to try not to block anyones view.

[x.com]

I got to know Bill--HUGE Stones fan. Lovely guy.

The Stones set aside tickets that they don't release until near the show. That way I got their tickets, seventeenth row, right on the side of the stage in Los Angeles for the Licks Tour, 2002. Sitting in the next row was Bill Walton. I really liked him as a broadcaster on national NBA games. Was bummed when NBC lost the package and he no longer had a job.

The world lost a great human being this week. Bill Walton was a person we should all remember for his many teachings.

When I moved to Portland at the beginning of the pandemic, I saw signs saying "KEEP PORTLAND WEIRD," and quickly realized how unique the city was. Initially, it was hard to embrace, but over four years, my perspective changed, in part due to Bill Walton, I truly believe.

Walton embraced Portland's eclectic culture when he arrived to play for the Blazers in 1977. His bohemian lifestyle and love for counterculture embodied the city's quirky, artistic, and independent spirit. He encouraged individuality, supported local arts and businesses, and promoted sustainability, reflecting Portland's green ethos. Known for his advocacy and activism, Walton was a vocal supporter of social issues, influencing the city's social consciousness.

Living modestly in different Portland micro-neighborhoods and engaging with the community, he embodied "Keep Portland Weird" long before it became a slogan. Walton's love for the Grateful Dead, his unorthodox style as a sports announcer, and his undying belief in equality further defined his positive impact.

Thank you, Bill Walton, for opening my eyes. I'll miss you.

sad news, I met Bill a few times at Grateful Dead shows, back in my follow the Dead from show to show days, had a beer with him at a bar in Hartford after a show, very kind and funny guy, my he rest in peace.