John Bell and John Havlicek. (Courtesy Bimini Big Game Club)
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More than 50 summers ago, I first laid eyes on John
Havlicek. He and his Ohio State
teammates Jerry Lucas, Bobby Knight, Larry Siegfried, Mel Nowell and Dick Reasbeck,
(whose father drove our school bus in Martins Ferry, Ohio), were playing for
the NCAA Men’s Division National Championship in 1961. The flickering black and
white TV images are still ingrained in my memory, and I can hear my father
pointing out that Havlicek was from the same tiny village where he was
born—Lansing, Ohio (pop. 300). They lost to Cincinnati that day, but the long-ago
tournament was the start my admiration for the rangy 6’5” Havlicek, who went on
to a storied 16-year career in the NBA with the Boston Celtics.
Nicknamed “Hondo”, (a name inspired by a John Wayne movie of
the same name), Havlicek was a local legend in eastern Ohio, and for many,
including me, a lifelong role model. He was one of us, who with other local
sports heroes, baseball’s Joe and Phil Niekro (the winningist brother pitching
combination in MLB history) and football’s
Lou “The Toe” Groza, were the boys who made it out of the mines and
factories and into the limelight of major league sports.
For me Hondo Havlicek was The Man, but until last week, just
a name on my unfulfilled bucket list of people I would like to meet.
As publicist for the historic Bimini Big Game Club Resort
& Marina, I’ve reviewed names of many celebrities to bring to the legendary
Bahamas out-island for some R&R and fishing and diving. Early this month, our promotional partner Bob
Svetich, who hosts a national radio show “The Sporting Life” from Colorado(630
KHOW and iHeartRadio), called and asked how I would feel about bringing John
Havlicek over for some backcountry bonefishing.
Besides his credentials as eight-time NBA Champion and
13-time All Star and a hall of famer, I knew Havlicek was an outdoorsman
hunting and fishing with Curt Gowdy on the old American Sportsman TV Show and fishing
with tarpon fishing legend and hall of fame angler Stu Apte. He was someone who
would fit our Bimini sports celebrity profile to a T.
It was a major coup and with Big Game Club manager Michael
Weber onboard, Bob confirmed and set the date for last week—two days fishing on
Bimini’s legendary flats for grey ghosts and permits.
(Left-to-Right) John Havlicek, Bob Svetich and Eagle Eyes Fred on
the dock at the Bimini Big Game Club. (Courtesy of Bimini Big Game Club)
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Havlicek, who lives on a Jack Nicklaus’ designed golf course
in West Palm Beach, Florida joined us last Tuesday for the 30-minute flight
over to Bimini, courtesy of Tropic Ocean, the Bahamas seaplane carrier.
He was exactly as I pictured him—a regular guy, who despite
his status as NBA and Boston Celtics royalty, is a fella who delights in
recounting the old days, catching blue gill and crappie in the local Ohio
Valley lakes.
First day out on the water, John, guided by Bonefish Tommy
out of Alice Town, worked the flats a couple of miles or so landing a 22lb permit
after a half hour fight and eluding a hard charging and hungry shark with a
deft maneuver to save his catch.
Four knee operations and 74-years non-withstanding Hondo,
according to Svetich, “held his ground and played the fish perfectly.”
“He definitely knew what he was doing,” said Svetich, who
played four years in the Pittsburgh Pirates system as an outfielder.
Hondo also hooked six and landed five bones, ending the day
in late afternoon. The following morning with guide Eagle Eyes Fred at the helm
wind and light rain put a damper and an early close on the day’s fishing.
“With the wind and overcast skies it was tough to see them,
much less reach them,” said Havlicek over dinner that evening.
For the last 32 years, Havlicek and his wife, Beth, have
worked with the Genesis Fund Board of Directors to host the Annual John
Havlicek Celebrity Fishing Tournament on Martha’s Vineyard. Proceeds go to The
Genesis Foundation for Children to help children with special needs.
“Fishing has always been something I’ve enjoyed,” said
Havlicek. “I’ve certainly have heard
about but haven’t had a chance to fish Bimini.
It was great, and the Big Game Club were great hosts.”
With my bucket list fulfilled, it was with some sadness that
I said goodbye to my boyhood hero, a guy that will always be Hondo from
Lansing, Ohio.
I wished him Godspeed and tight lines and headed home with a
net full of memories.
D: John Havlicek with catch (permit). Photo courtesy of Bob Svetich.
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(Left-to-Right) Tropic Ocean Airways pilot Stephen Pieper,
Bob Svetich, John Havlicek, Michael Weber and Rob Ceravolo (Tropic Ocean
founder and co-owner) on tarmac in Fort Lauderdale. (Courtesy of Bimini Big
Game Club)
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