BASKETBALL PLAYER AND COACH

College and Olympics.

The University of San Francisco won NCAA championships in 1955 and 1956 during Bill Russell's junior and senior years; they were 29-0 during his last year, and Russell won most valuable player (MVP) awards in five of the last six college tournaments he played in. The out-standing college player of the time, he was chosen for the 1956 Olympic basketball team, which won an Olympic gold medal after an eight-game series in which the narrowest margin of victory was thirty points. Russell also qualified for the Olympic team as a high jumper, but he withdrew so that another athlete could have the honor of representing his country.

Contract with the Celtics.

When he turned professional Russell was the most-sought-after player of the year. The Harlem Globetrotters, who played at clowning basketball exhibitions for pure entertainment, offered him a one-year contract for...