Rod Hundley
Rod Hundley
Rodney Clark "Hot Rod" Hundleywas an American professional basketball player and television broadcaster. Hundley's life revolved around the game of basketball. His love and talent for the game led him to achieve honors in high school and most notably during his college years. At West Virginia University, Hundley played to packed crowds at the Old Field House. His dribbling antics and daredevil maneuvers on the floor led to his popular nickname, "Hot Rod". He later became known as a broadcaster...
ProfessionSportscaster
Date of Birth26 October 1934
CityCharleston, WV
I was staying in a hotel on Canal Street, on the 16th floor, and I opened up the windows and it was just black outside,
Everyone was acting like it was a party, ... They were used to it, and here I was saying, 'What am I doing here?'
It was like being in South Bend, Indiana home of Notre Dame with that crowd,
They had a nice team, a nice game and they beat a great team. The fans were into it. And that gym. I couldn't believe it. We had people beating on us all around. There was hardly room for us. People were in front of us. And there was a lot of noise.
I remember when they first said we were going to go to Stockton to do the game for Pacific and Long Beach State, ... We did a couple of Long Beach State games, but they said Stockton, California, Pacific and I thought, 'Where?'
I love the city. I still have a lot of friends there. It's a remarkable, different place and I always look forward to going back there.
If we played Boston four-on-four, without Russell, we probably would have won every series. That guy killed us. He's the one who prevented us from achieving true greatness.
My biggest thrill came the night Elgin Baylor and I combined for 73 points at Madison Square Garden. Elgin had 71 of them.
We were so happy to be alive. There was a motel there pretty close. We had a big cup of coffee. Everybody had a room to themselves. But nobody wanted to go to bed. Everybody wanted to stay up and drink coffee and have doughnuts. We had made it. The weather was perfect when we woke up the next morning.