William felton russell biography philosophy

(b. 12 February 1934 in Monroe, Louisiana), basketball player whose two NCAA titles, Olympic gold medal, and eleven National Basketball Association (NBA) championships qualify him as one of the greatest winners in American team sports history.

Russell is one of two sons of Charles Russell, a factory worker, and Katie Russell, a homemaker.

The three most important influences on young Russell—his father "Mister Charlie," his mother Katie, and his grandfather, whom he knew as "the Old Man"—embodied strength and independence. In different ways each preserved an essential dignity despite living among the racial codes of Jim Crow Louisiana.

When Russell was nine, his father left his factory job and moved his family to Oakland, California, for the opportunities in industry spurred by American involvement in World War II. Three years later Katie died unexpectedly. Shy and gangly, Russell retreated into books.

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