Kevin E. McHale's Basketball Hall of Fame Enshrinement Speech

kevin mchale it was certainly basketballs good fortune when you grew too big to become an effective hockey goaltender you loved your native state of Minnesota you became the best high school and the best college player ever in your beloved state and then went on to an outstanding career as we've just seen in 13 professional seasons with the Boston Celtics your low post game moves are a primer for young players worldwide you were named one of the greatest players in NBA history with the top 50 and now tonight deservedly you receive basketballs highest honor Kevin by virtue of the honors committee and by the power vested in the board of trustees it is a singular honor for me to enshrine you as a player into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame with all its rights and privileges longtime friend and highschool coach from Hibbing Minnesota Gary Addington at our back there's the first turn over yeah there's the first time got hands like the candy what am i doing up here well I tell you what I'm going to keep this short because of two reasons one Matt winning falls asleep every time they go to video man Matt Winnick is sleeping over there wake up and and rot hit him on the back of his head when he falls asleep and the second thing is Bill Walton went for 28 minutes and that is the record and I'm gonna go for I'm not gonna brick what goes record he still got the record for the longest doggone speech ever listened to but uh but you know I have so many people to thank and it's the first time I made notes inside since college so I actually usually just get up here and say whatever but I have so many people to thank and like to start off by thanking Red Auerbach like a lot of people here red is just such a has such a big influence not you know not you know not only I mean by on so many and so many players and you know I thought about Jesus and you play for the Celtics for 13 years and people say who's in trying the Hall of Fame I mean there's a long list of guys you can start off you know with Russell and Casey Jones Sam Jones Havlicek you know you go down a list all the way to Larry Bird and everybody that's in between Collins having I mean you can go down the whole list and Joe Joe whitening and but there's one guy that was there for everything that was Red Auerbach and I tell you what he's uh his fingerprints around 16 championships and I we had talked about Wayne I talked about a red had the unbelievable ability to come to you at times and I was saying encouraging word and I was make what you did feel very special and I remember you thought was telling me I know you just pulling my licks you want to get me for less money and everything else but he would tell me coming off the bench is a good thing you know and and he was right it was a good thing and I'll tell you a quick story about red you know I had I had I was having problems you know I got drafted by the Celtics and I was overseas and you know my agent says and we might play in Italy they sure I said look at man let me tell you something my chances re playing playing Italy or go play for the boss insulting me I'm taking let's just go so I just flew back and I got there and read said got in the office and I flew all day from Italy back to Boston and wretches come on sign the contract practice starts right now I even when I sign I just signed my name gave it to him and said hell I'm here I jump in the car and res driving over from from Boston Garden to Hellenic college Don Jamaica Wayne for you people that know Boston now red was weaned in New York drives in Washington in Boston so man that guy can drive he's talking to me got the cigar going I'm scared to death I'm from Hibbing Minnesota mandersohn buddy drive like that he's going in and out I thought I was going to die I'm thinking oh my god my first day I'm dead you know and we get to practice and we get there to practice in our egos Kathy get physical get quick physically I'd have a physical before you could play so I run in there dr. sylva our team doctor he's got the stethoscope on he's looking at he's already to give me the physical and dr. red comes Ryan assist make it quick so he says you know doc still listening he's been playing a lot I said yeah it'll take down your pants turn your head and cough I did he say okay go play I said hey so the two things I knew that day was if I ever did a bank heist rent was going to be my wheelman and I didn't have a hernia so I was a husband as the start of my selfie career and like I like to think up here's my other presenter is Gary Addington he was my high school coach and the funny thing is Gary looks younger than me not really your taste may say how could you how could you have a high school coach that's younger than you are I call like man a guy's older than me not by much but he's older than me he taught me a lot about basketball a lot about fundamentals I'm just a lot about playing the game and I oh just such a debt of gratitude to Gary and his family and his beautiful wife Carol who's out there and all the nights I used to hang out at Carol's house and make her make me cookies and cakes and everything else did it all paid off I I grew up a lot and so thank you the egg cuz they're just great friends I have another coach out there that got me started Terry muchy a good friend of mine he was a junior high coach you know and I was playing hockey that's no BS and now I'm not the smartest guy in the world you know but I played hockey for a while it's cold in northern Minnesota in the winter is 30 below first time I got in the gym it's 70 degrees we're running up and down he's playing with us he's about 29 years old he's talking trash and that's what I learned to talk trash but he'd say you can't guard this heck I was only this tall of course they couldn't guard that and he was uh he was killing me and we would have so much fun I got done this I'm never gonna go outside play hockey again and so Terry machi I have so much to thank you for and just a great guy you know and while I'm talking about coaches I was fortunate enough to my college coaches here jim Dutcher to a tremendous coach at the University of Minnesota did a great job kept pushing me kept pushing me and like all young guys sometimes you don't want to be pushed that hard but you just kept pushing me and he made me into a much better player and Thank You coach and thank you for coming my first coaching in the league was Bill Fitch and Bill Fitch tried to kill me and he damn near did and the only reason he did because of Casey Jones my next killer used to used to pull me inside and say rook you're a hell of a player he just doesn't know it yet the coach at there that's my guy case and I tell you what one of the finest human beings you'd ever want to meet an entire life Casey Jones is really one of my Casey he is honestly one of my favorite people I don't I don't know in this world how they can get much better than Casey Jones and to play for Casey was a privilege and an honor and I tell you what when you were hot when you were down you were out Casey always had an encouraging word to come up and tap you on the backs a big horse we go again tomorrow we'll get him and he was always just positive and I think that's the reason that our careers were all cut short cuz well played and we're hurt for the guy he'd have been a hit he'd have been like the rest of my to sat down like I should have been and but we all played hurt for case because you know what when Casey Jones asked you to make that playing ball turn and go out there and put you put your heart and so online it was easy to do because he's such a great person so Thank You Casey for everything and and Jimmy Rogers was coaching me and then when full circle the guy who was the most irreverent of us all Chris Ford ended up being my last coach he was a teammate of mine we started out and he complained about Bill Fischer more than anybody in the thing that he's coaching me saying Kevin all that stuff I did you got to forget that you know like oh you're like no man but I tried to forget the best I could and Dave Gavitt was there towards the end of my career running the Celtics and I tell you what there's not a that's another one the finest human beings Dave Gavitt I was a kind of broken-down old horse at that time didn't have too much more to give but I tried and a lot of times it wasn't very pretty and Dave always came out and put his arm around me after every game and said hey big fella I really appreciate your effort and Dave you don't know what that means it was a you know it's a tough time when you're old and you're in you and you're going downhill and you know it but you're still out there fighting and you're still out there thinking maybe I can help his team win games and you're giving everything you got and it ain't working that's a that's a bad deal and Patrick get healthy before you come back but the encouraging words that I got not only from day but from read and just appreciating the effort you know just just made me made me feel so good and I think I got our trainer was here Eddy Lacerte and Eddie tried patching me up more times man I know Eddie's here somewhere and Eddie put Eddie put more patches on me than most people need to and he fought harden in our team doctor Arnie sheller who you know what they not only gave me healthcare they cared about me and I that meant a lot because they really did care how I was doing and and you know how I was playing and it really affected them also and they were just great to work with and I appreciate all the help from Eddie you and Arnie the guys were great you know I've said I've said before that I was really believe them I'm a here in the Hall of Fame because of the guys I played with I really do I mean it's a team game unit one thing in that drill-bits thing you never saw me dribble a ball up the floor it was up to me the ball would never get over half-court so I knew I had to have guards and I knew I had to have people to play with and I had I had such great teammates they they pushed me and you know they made me into the player that I was and they pushed me every every step of the way and you know it's funny could I look like your now and I see Bill Walton and and I remember when I was a kid shows your old bill is when I was a kid I had his picture on my wall you know like it I I go to bed I go to bed I look at go well but that was that was before he lost his mind then he hit nice to my son get long hair in a headband I said man what happened what happened John Wooden's bill long and then he's come full circle now he's a Republican look at him over there so it's funny because teammates teammates have a big big influence on you and there are guys like I said you know I told this story earlier today tiny aren't you I that's not tiny on the tapes and was just good to see him I he was my first point guard in the NBA tiny came down on break one time he comes down and you know he throws me the ball I'm out the button you know free throw line extended and I see a guy cutting down Lane I throw a bounce pass right in the third row and he runs behind me and says look at rook when I throw you the ball you shoot it so tiny wherever you are you started a monster man I was my last pass I tried so but I figured if tiny told me hey as I called those guys and I got there there was tiny Archibald there was Dave Collins there was Pete Maravich man I mean I went to practice and I called my friends at home and said you unbelievable I'm playing with I mean this is unbelievable and I said you should check out this bird dude oh man I said he's not bad and you know I was lucky enough to go in there with Robert and I always tell a story about Robert my first practice I got there late red damn near killed me getting over the arena and we go up and worse now restriction and chiefs against the wall you know and he's stretching the nicey-nice damn Robert Robert I'm Kevin and he says how you doing how you doing Robert he says I'm not gonna make it you know you got a deep voice I look at me what I'm not gonna make his this man is trying to kill us he said where do you see this practice you know oh we're going up and down and I'm looking I'm thinking man this dude's right I might not make it and then I told him I said 19 years later he was still making it I mean hell he was 40 years old he's still playing so to be able to play with a guy like that to be able to play with a guy like Robert and the gotten it gotten a guy like Larry together you know we were all three different players and all three different people thank God I think three of any one of us would have been too much but together we all combined just effortlessly to play basketball and that's the thing I remember and that's why I credit my teammates so much it was such a it was so effortless when you play the game and play the game properly there is no effort this isn't it's not a hard game to play it's a game of beauty it's a game of movement it's a game of people reading each other and and that's the way we played and that was fun and playing with those guys thank you playing with those guys was never an effort and you know another guy I'd like to thank Cedric Maxwell my old man cornbread he max I came off the bench and here's a good there's a good maxilla so we're playing down in Philadelphia I might go past your time limit bill I'm not sure we were playing in Philadelphia playing at the spectrum and I'm coming off the bench and now dr. Jay has about 17 points with six minutes gone in the first quarter you know max picks up his third foul he just grabs him I can see this starting already so max is his third felony I got a guy go up to the scorer's table I check in and max comes by me and says good luck man he's hot and so so I go home man so he precedes that but 28 at half and I'm running it going in the locker room and I'm a rookie missed my first trip to Philadelphia spectrum I'm thinking you know I pull max s a tightness at max you know what what should I do to get a firehose that's about your only chance bring him down he said hey he went for 45 on I said like that max I was looking for more than that the firehose I said so that was my guy max but I tell you what we had a lot of fun together and you know he was supportive because as you come off the bench you're always taking somebody out and normally it was max and he was always there with the you know a pat on the rump saying hey big fella go out there and get to work and you know that was that was great to play with guys like that so you know my teammates have made such a made me made me into a into the player that I was and I say Larry Larry drove everybody I there are there's been players out there who have I think make their teammates rise to levels maybe you don't even know you can get to and I know that John and Wayne both played with Bill Russell and Bill had that ability to take you and say hey we're going to win and Larry had the same ability Larry had that Larry had that ability to say hey fellas I don't know how I don't know where but I know why we're going to win tonight and we went out and got the job done in that you know playing with a guy like that made me me me a you know I'm a much better player and hopefully somewhere along the line you know we all made each other better that's what it is about in a team game I know there's some of my some of the people that work in the celtics office are here you know we had fun when we when we played back there I would fun doing everything I have fun walking down the street at least I try to we you know a lot of guys that that that that worked in the office used to come out and hang out with us after games and you know Todd and Steve and Mark and I know you guys are here somewhere I you know I just those guys were just fun to work with you know they they they were the ticket guys and they were promotional guys but they were Celtics true and true and red will tell you those guys lived and died when we won they were mark side than we were they come running and jump on you be like hey man he's back they uh they really got into it and then it was a great time to play basketball and with the Celtics at that time you know as a kid growing up in northern Minnesota I was really fortunate I was fortunate to have a mother and father who really cared about me and my mom's here Josephine she's out there and my father passed away soon after I returned back to Minnesota but he'd have been very proud tonight my dad was a man who uh thank you my dad just he just worked hard you know I mean working the mines work for US Steel for 42 years and he just worked hard and he worked hard to take care of his family and you know he didn't work hard for people who come up to him and say did a good job pat him on the back he worked hard for us and he was uh he was good as anybody could ever had he was a special man and uh dad my older brother John he's 16 months older than me and he's over there and used to beat the hell out of me and so and all I want to do is hang around with him so I'll be on my bike traveling behind him you know and then he would just dish me and they beat me up he and his friends were a couple years older than me the next day I'd be riding my bike they'd beat me up again and one thing I learned how to beat was persistent and but you're hanging out with John and just trying to catch up and keep up with him and his friends really really made me competitive and I think that's you know I get a lot of my competitors plus my mother my father was a pretty laid-back guy not my mom on the other hand man she she she chasing around the house with that frying pan and that frying that the cord for the frying pan had she'd be on your case if she caught you believe me it hurt so and then maybe that's why maybe that's why I end up with good feet running around that little house we had on and then my sisters Patty and Trisha there and they're there they're great you know and having an older brother you know do all that you know I was fairly successful and did a lot of stuff he always supported me and it was great and my mom and dad came to a lot of games at the University of Minnesota my dad you still have to work in the morning they drive down it's about a three and a half hour drive from Hibbing down and my sisters would be up there alone and my mom and dad would drive down and then they drive back every night after games and my dad would get home and my mom had to drive with dad try to get a little sleep and he'd get home at 3:30 4:00 in the morning then he'd go to work next morning and he'd be up bright and early and he'd get the job and I know my sisters were up there cheering for me and thank you for everything I got they got a lot of friends over here too I got some friends that made plastic playing basketball a lot harder because those guys used to meet me on the road and go I tell you what the next morning they'll shoot arathi put your best game face on act like you were all bright-eyed and bushy-tailed but those guys over there they went at it hard our games were a big event for those guys and I noggin I told me you guys are killing me you're gonna shorten my career but those guys all came and they're great and I seemed either one of the sweetest shooting players ever scotty webmin over there and scotty was uh Scott he was a guy that could knock it down he used to put on some shooting exhibitions in practice that was just that was just phenomenal and I guess you know to close this thing up first of all I thank everybody that came a lot of people from Hibbing came a lot of people another way to come here and it's a you know it really means a lot to me to have you people here it just it just makes this day so complete to be able to share it if I stood up your knee that didn't have this award to share with anybody I would feel terrible but I have literally tons of people to share this with in people that means a lot to me and I've never really publicly I guess I should have really thank my wife Lynne we've been married now for 17 years and she put up with me for all seventeen but more than that two and you know she put up with the highs and lows and and everything else in between and Thank You Lenny for everything and thank you for being there all the time and I love you and I guess my biggest accomplishment in my life are those five kids come on up here you five kids come here are you guys good up here this is a familiar little fellas Tommy then his brothers Mikey and then there's Joey and Tristan the older and then sasha is my nine-year-old this right here means more to me than a championship rings anything else in the world these are these are my little fellas girls and guys and you know what all I can say all I can say is that I'd ask my wife's come up but she wouldn't come up then she'd get mad at me and the whole deal so I'm just going to have her sit over there why'd you embarrass me like that and so what I really like to say is just thank you so much thank you for the haul you know for inducted in the Hall of Fame thank you thank you okay thank you to all my teammates all my coaches all the people that made this day so very special for me and as you can see I know I truly am blessed to have played 13 years at the Boston Celtics - now I run a team the only thing that scare me about running a team or do you see how dark Wayne's hair was we started running that team man I'm going Gregor for sure way there's no question about it and they have to have these five children and have a beautiful wife and have friends that really truly care into making the Hall of Fame and to be enshrined a place 90 miles away from where I played and to play for the best organization in the history of the NBA with led by Red Auerbach what more can I say I've truly been blessed thank you so very very much

Channel: OfficialHoophall

Views: 441,071

Keywords: Kevin E. McHale, Speech, Basketball Hall of Fame, Enshrinement, basketball, history

Id: bi1jVoSpUpk

Length: 22min 43sec (1363 seconds)

Published: Thu Mar 22 2012