First Tom Seaver, then Eddie Van Halen, now Tommy Heinsohn. Too many of my childhood and lifelong heroes are slowly leaving us and as I've gotten older it feels like kerosene is being aggressively added to that fire. It feels like the California wildfires these days.
Someone please put Rocky Balboa in bubble wrap.
At roughly 2 p.m. on a surprisingly perfect summer-like November day, I heard Glenn Ordway break the news that Tommy Heinsohn had passed away at the age of 86 years old. My heart sunk and an otherwise perfect day quickly became quite imperfect.
Didn't see that one coming.
That's what was truly amazing about Heinsohn though, wasn't it? That I knew he had to have been in his mid-80's but thought I would be listening to him chipping in on Celtics broadcasts for another 20 years. Ten anyway. He was ageless and his presence during Celtics basketball was as omnipresent as the parquet floor or the basketball itself.
Heinsohn had boundless energy, sharp and intelligent wit and never once ever sounded like he lost even a half a step. Not a blip. Tommy was Tommy every time you saw him or heard his unmistakably raspy, loud and passionate voice. He never changed, never should have and God bless him for that.
Many broadcasters are known as 'the voice' of their teams. Heinsohn wasn't the voice of the Celtics, he was the Celtics. He was their messenger. The most unbreakable and constant bridge between the years of the earliest Celtics glory, throughout the full script of their storied history. All the good and the bad spanning over six decades, his voice and loyalty to the green was constant and unwavering. Generations of Celtics fans have a deep connection with Heinsohn, something that may be unique to only him.
I'm quite sure he didn't know me (we had a few brief encounters), but even without those, I loved that guy from the comforts of my home and I know I'm not alone in that camp. I've logged as many living room hours with Tommy on my television as I have with any family member or friends over my lifetime. I'm sad and miss him already.
My guess is that there are roughly four million Bostonian's who feel the exact same way.
During the years of 1997-2003, I worked at the FleetCenter (TD Garden) and was fortunate to just be around the periphery of Heinsohn on many Celtics game nights. I haven't been to the old offices in a while so I'm sure it has changed, but the Celtics used to have a hospitality suite right at the entrance of the FleetCenter offices. It was called "The Celtics Boardroom."
If you timed it right, you would frequently see the Celtics legends rolling in and out and Tommy was a consistent presence there on most if not all game nights. Forty-one games a year, over six years and never once did it get boring to see or hear him. How could it?
His aura was larger than life, he himself was larger than life and you could hear his laugh from across the hallway. Those were pretty lean years for the Celtics, but I can tell you when you saw Tommy hanging around that Boardroom, or making his way to the broadcast, his presence always made me feel like something big was happening or something big was going to happen. He was an event unto himself and it was cool just being near him during those long work days and nights.
Two memories I'll share.
I think it was the 2000 season. The Celtics were a classic middling NBA team, hanging around .500 but not quite good enough to get there. On the outside looking in at the 8th seed for the playoffs for most of the year. It was later in the season and they were still in the mix. The not-so-great Pierce & Walker years. It was a Saturday night and they were playing the Charlotte Hornets. They needed to win. I was a BIG time Celtics Green-Teamer back then so I stayed into watch it. They had to win this game to stay in the playoff hunt. They knew it, I knew it and Tommy sure as heck knew it.
Up 13 late in the third quarter the Celtics started to get sloppy. Missing shots, giving up offensive rebounds and multiple second chances and turning the ball over. You name it. In the span of a few minutes, a 13-point lead was down to one measly possession. You could literally feel the tension through the TV. Tommy was eerily and strangely quiet about the on goings.
Inbounding the ball, Antoine Walker sloppily threw the ball away and into a Hornets' defender's hands for an easy layup. As its happening Tommy bursts out "OH PLEASE NO!!!!!!!!!!!!"
I literally laughed for hours and have retold that story every time the topic of Heinsohn would surface. It's my favorite of so many memorable broadcast moments of his.
In 1998, the FleetCenter Premium Club staff of which I was on, took several of our clients on a seven-day cruise from Boston to Bermuda. We loaded it up with local sports legends, like Bob Cousy, Cedric Maxwell, Rico Petrocelli, Dick Radatz, Johnny Bucyk Sargent Slaughter of the WWF and of course Tommy.
Some big personalities there, but Tommy's is the voice I remember most. First, was at a sports panel discussion in the cruise ship theater. Tommy shot down a fan for having the audacity to suggest that Michael Jordan was the greatest NBA player of all-time. When that sentiment was raised to the panel, Tommy paused, grabbed the mic and said, "Michael Jordan couldn't hold Bill Russell's jock." Brought the house down as Tommy was one to do.
If you've ever been on a cruise ship then you know that after dinner the action is in the casino and that's where you could find all the legends on that trip after their day of shaking hands and kissing babies was over. My friends and I would get a table nearby and just watch those guys tell stories and Tommy was always at the center holding court. It was fun just to be around.
I'm jealous of those who really got to know him, what a special guy, who seemingly made an indelible impression wherever he was. I'll miss him and am grateful that we got to enjoy so much of him for so long, even from afar. That's what made listening to and watching him so special though, because it never felt distant with Tommy. RIP Mr. Celtic.
