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(OT)Paul Arizin Dies - another Philly "Great" gone

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  • #1

    (OT)Paul Arizin Dies - another Philly "Great" gone

    Paul Arizin dead at 78.


    Arizin, was a local guy who couldn't make his high school team but stuck at it and was voted "Collegiate Player of the Year" by the time he graduated Villanova. He and Neil Johnston formed the nucleous of a strong Phildelphia Warrior's team in the early 50's and were later joined by another local, Tommy Gola from LaSalle. Together, they won the NBA Title in'56. Arizin later played on the Warriors with another local school boy who enjoyed some modest success in the NBA... Wilt Chamberlin, who attended Overbrook High before going to Kansas.

    Arizin was a great jump shooter who had very little arc on his shot...when hot, he was a machine. (As a kid, I mimicked his line drive jump shot, thus assuring that I too didn't make my high school BBall team).

    A 10 time All Star, in 1996 he was voted one of the 50 best players in NBA history.

    Paul took a 2 year vacation from the NBA, from '52 to '54, to serve his country as a Marine in Korea...a diversion very, very few pro athletes or politicians seem inclined to take advantage of anymore.

    Paul Arizin apparently died in his sleep at his home in Springfield, PA (a Philly suburb)...a local boy to the end!



    RIP Pitchin' Paul
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  • #2
    RIP
    "Philly fans are great....It's the only place where you pull up on the bus and you've got the grandfather, the grandmother, the kids and the grandkids - everybody flicking you off. At other stadiums, they give you the thumbs-down. Here, they give you the middle finger.”
    — Michael Strahan

    "No one likes us, no one likes us, no one likes us, we don’t care, we’re from Philly, F—-ing Philly, No one likes us, we don’t care!”
    - Jason Kelce with the best championship speech ever

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    • #3
      Arizin was one of my first "heroes" back when it made sense to have such a thing. First saw him play at the Arena at 46th and Market at a doubleheader (used to love those) in 1956, the year they won a title. He and Neil Johnston sat near us during the first game. I was 9 years old and just cutting my teeth on Philadelphia sports. Great player and human being, nothing like today's overpaid prima donnas. Never forget when he hit one of those famous ramikakle jumpers where he kicked his legs up to backskid on his follow through, came running down the court and coughed in my direction. Funny how we remember those little moments of childhood. He lit up the Minneapolis Lakers that night, and was a hero until his last year in Philly in 1962, when Gottlieb took the team west and Paul refused to go with them. What I loved about the NBA back then was all the locals that played high school or college in Philly that ended up on the Warriors. The "heroes" were much more connected to the city. He was always just a human being first and b-ball player second.

      RIP indeed.
      Sonny J

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