This
is the story about basketball and so much more, it’s a story about a man who a
could have won championship and when he could have fired the shot heard round
the world looking down the barrel from twenty feet out, he passed it up.
For
Rodney Clark Hundley basketball was more than a game, it was life, it was a way
out of poverty, a path to prosperity and fame and with that fame came a new
name. Hot Rod Hundley. A name, given to him for the flair and style he
exhibited on the court every night. He was a clown on a basketball court.
Rodney
Clark Hundley was born on October 26,1934.
Hundley’s
parents were Louis Hundley and Cora.
“I
had parents in the biological sense but I never had parents.”
That’s
because his father was never there for him, preferring to spend his time out
drinking and hustling pool in Charleston, WV.
His
mother realized that she would have to try and raise Rod on her own in the
middle of the Great Depression.
She
tried desperately to provide for herself and her son but the lack of her
husband’s support was just too much of a strain on her.
So
she did the only thing she could think of. She went from place to place trying
to find somebody to take her baby boy in.
Hundley
can’t remember much of his parents, he just said,
“I
spent my whole life growing up with strangers”.
Hundley
always had a hard time fitting in at school as well, “It was hard to fit in as
a kid. All my friends had mothers and father s and brothers and sisters. And
homes. I didn’t have any of that. I felt strange in other people’s homes, so I
never developed any real close friendships.”
At
the age of 10 Rod was taken in by an elderly couple Amy and George Sharp.
Hundley
described them as “the best people that I’ve ever known.”
It
was around this time that his life began to take a turn for the better and he
started to focus on the game of basketball. He loved the game and quickly
realized just how good he was at it and began to make plans his future, using
the game of basketball as a means to make a name for himself.
In
a Home Court Magazine article Hundley said that he would even talk to
the basketball “I used to talk to the ball and say “You’re going to get me out
of here, and I’ve been riding that ball ever since.”
Rod’s
hard work paid off as he found himself at the top of many college-recruiting
lists.
“It
seemed like everyone in the world wanted a piece of Rodney Hundley, and I loved
it.”
He
decided to attend West Virginia University. He was named number one in high
school and college and was drafted number one overall by the Minneapolis Lakers
in 1957.
He
signed a one-year contract worth a whopping ten thousand dollars,
In
his first year with the Lakers Hundley appeared in 65 games. His field goal
percentage was just below 32% 174-558 and he averaged 7.0 points per game.
His
best year statically speaking was in the 1959-60 season. Rod got the most
playing time of his career this season, seeing a grand total of 2,279 minutes
of action. He scored 933 points while averaging 12.8 points per game.
In
game 7 of the 1962 against Boston NBA Finals the score was tied with 5 seconds
left and Hundley was wide open from 20 feet away. “It was a moment to last a
lifetime.” Says Hundley, ”I thought about shooting about being the hero, but
Frank Selvy, my teammate was wide open from 10 feet away and I gave him the
ball.” Selvy just missed that wide-open shot and the Lakers lost in overtime
and Hundley never lets him forget it. With a chuckle he says, “I call him on
the phone and say “Nice Shot!” then hang up.”
Throughout
his 6 year NBA career, Hundley played in a total of 53 playoff games.
Rod
went 101-316 from the field 32% and averaged 5.1 points per game.
The
1960-61 season was shaping up to be his best year ever. He was averaging 18
points a game in the first half of the season and led the team in assists.
He
even made the All-Star team.
“I
was on the verge of something great. But just like that it was over . . . coach
Fred Schaus stopped playing me. He never said a word and I never asked why but
I was buried on the bench though, just like that. I couldn’t understand it. One
day I was an All-Star, playing the best basketball of my career and the next
day I couldn’t even start for my own team.”
Hundley
saw less and less time on the hardwood as his career with the Lakers wound
down.
He
announced his retirement the summer after his team lost another NBA Finals
series to the Celtics.
Hundley
had a job lined up working with Converse after his playing days were over.
Back
in those days Converse, would employee former basketball players as regional
representatives across the country.
Part
of the job was to fill orders at the stores, but they also promoted the company
with clinics and speaking engagements.
Rod
was assigned to the market in West Virginia.
“The
job started at $7,500 a year but included a car. It wasn’t what I was making
with the Lakers and it wasn’t L.A. but it was a job.”
Hundley
did get the chance to move back to L.A. with converse and that was a move that
changed everything.
“I
didn’t realize it at the time but that was my big break to get into
broadcasting, because if I hadn’t moved back to L.A. the Lakers never would
have called. And a few months later they called.”
A
few games into the 1967-68 season the Lakers fired Chick Hern’s analyst Al
Michaels. The same Al Michaels who is broadcasting Monday Night Football and he
is also the voice behind one of the greatest calls in American sports history- “Do you believe in miracles? Yes!”
when the United Sates defeated the Soviet Union in 1980.
Of
the many relationships that Hundley had with throughout his career as a
broadcaster none have meant more to him that his partnership with Chick Hern.
Every
time the late Chick Hern is mentioned around Hundley he gets choked up because
the man taught Rod the art of broadcasting.
“I
have so much respect for him.” Hundley said in an interview with David Locke.
“The
best education in the world is to work with Chick Hern”
Rod
worked as Hern’s analyst for two years.
“Chick
gave me the best piece of broadcasting advice I’ve ever received.
He
said, always pretend you are broadcasting for the blind. Describe where the
ball is and what people are doing with it. . . The blind depend on me to show
them what’s happening and if they feel like they are there, then everyone else
will too.”
That’s
not the only trick he used from Chick, Hundley stole all of his lines.
Frozen
rope, belt high dribble, it’s in the old refrigerator, yo-yo dribble and many more.
Rod
is fond of telling the story of when Chick found out about this, “He said I
hear you’re stealing some of my lines and I said not some of them Chick all of
them.” There was one line of Hern’s that still brings a smile to Rod’s face.
If
a player ever threw a bad pass that went out of bounds Chick would say, “The
mustard fell out of the hot dog!”
Rod
didn’t want to be an analyst for the rest of his career; he wanted the top job
and would get his shot with the New Orleans Jazz in 1975-1979.
After
their six-season stint in New Orleans the team was moved to Salt Lake City
Utah.
Hundley
called the move “the best kept secret in New Orleans” and told Locke the story
of how he got the news, “I got a knock on my door early in the morning and
there was a man standing there he said ‘Are you going with them?’ I said going
where with whom? “He said the Jazz are moving to Salt Lake City Utah and I said
what! He had a newspaper and I didn’t even know we were moving. And he said if
you’re going with them I want to buy your place you bought it right when I
wanted it 4 years ago. I said I tell you what, come back in about 2 hours ok I
need to make some phone calls and sure enough we were moving. It
was the best kept secret in New Orleans.”
Hundley
broadcasted 3,051 games for the Jazz and he has provided the soundtrack to many
historic moments in the franchise’s history.
And
then there was one of the most memorable shots in team history. John Stockton’s
buzzer beater in Houston,
Hot
Rod reminisces about how he called that historic play,
“At
the time that was the biggest play in Jazz history but I never gave any thought
to how I was going to call it. I probably should have but I just let it flow.”
Hot
Rod retired at the end of the Jazz’s playoff campaign in 2009. The Jazz fell to
the Los Angeles Lakers in the first round 4 games to 1.
Hot
Rod’s final broadcast took place in L.A. where it all began for him,
In
the final minutes of the game during a dead ball the Lakers and their fans gave
Hot Rod a standing ovation. His picture was plastered on the big screen with
the words "Once a Laker Always a Laker."
Rod’s
wife Kim, said that he loves meeting with people and talking to them about
basketball. She said that Rod never wants to be forgotten. The Jazz
organization made sure that would never happen.
The
following season, the Utah Jazz honored Hot Rod at the halftime of the
Jazz/Kings game and even unveiled the brand new Hot Rod media center, which is
now home to much of his memorabilia. There’s even a timeline on the wall
documenting Hot Rod’s remarkable career.
In
a tribute video played at halftime Jim Nantz said,
“You’re
a hall of famer, a hall of fame broadcaster and a hall of fame friend. I love
you dearly.”
John
Stockton said, “There’s none better than Hot Rod Hundley.”
In
front of a packed arena Craig Bullerjack handed Rod the microphone one more
time,
“This
is one of those rare moments you get to be honored like this. . . The people in
the great state of Utah stop and say hello, let’s go Jazz, you gotta love it
baby. Those things are part of my life. I’ve been all over the state of Utah
and people (from) all walks of life and it’s been a big part of my life . . .
this is my kinda town!. . . I am so glad of being a part of this and you people
have made my day. I love every one of you, God bless you.”
With
his family gathered around him and Tina Turner’s “You’re Simply the Best”
blaring in the background Rod pulled on the rope that unveiled his banner that
will forever more hang in the rafters of the Energy Solutions Arena alongside
Jazz greats John Stockton, Karl Malone, Jeff Hornacek and others.
With
a smile on his face the clown of the court couldn’t resist pretending to throw
up a hook shot from half court and the crowd went wild.
Hundley
is enjoying retirement in Arizona with his wife Kim. He hasn’t been following
the NBA too closely since his retirement though. He still enjoys meeting
people, and talking to them about the game that he loves and the Jazz. It’s
spending that time with the fans and reminiscing that he truly enjoys and his
wife says that truly humbles him and she says that he doesn’t mind it in the
least. He doesn’t want to be forgotten. In fact he dreads the day when people
no longer ask about Hot Rod Hundley.
Note:
Sources:
· Rod’s Hundley's
autobiography
· Magazine article Home
Court from 1998
· 2 interview episodes
from David Locke’s Locked on Sports Podcast
· Various YouTube clips to
highlights and such that I’ve hyperlinked to in the article
· My recollections from a 2-hour
visit with Hot Rod
· NBA.com and utahjazz.com
to double-check a few points. The stats came from the back of his autobiography.
