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As a coach, spectator and commentator there has never been a more important person than Johnny 'Red' Kerr in the history of the Chicago Bulls. There are some that say the Bulls have little meaningful history before Michael Jordan and my response to that is.....without Johnny 'Red' Kerr, Michael Jordan and the Bulls might not have had any history.
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This isn't which comes first, the chicken or the egg? It's plain and simple.....the Bulls wouldn't have made it as a franchise without Red Kerr. Do not underestimate the importance of Kerr leading his band of misfits into the playoffs the first two years of the Bulls existence and how it allowed the city to warm to a gritty team so quickly. The NBA was like the Wild West back then. Things happened quickly and teams folded/moved even quicker (see: Chicago Packers/Zephyrs). Kerr helped establish the Bulls as a legitimate NBA franchise and that carried them until MJ showed up in the 80's. The best way to build a nice house is to have a good foundation and Kerr built that foundation.
A lot of people think of Kerr as the announcer for the Bulls championship teams, and while he was that, he was so much more. He was a Chicago kid from the start as he starred in the Chicago Public League before moving onto Illinois to play basketball. Kerr had an above average NBA career before being selected by the Bulls in the expansion draft and then retiring so he could coach them at the age of 34.
Just as the Bulls were lucky to have Kerr at the start of their franchise, Kerr was lucky to get into broadcasting. In 1975 Bulls play by play man Jim Durham asked him to speak into the microphone for a few minutes for a couple of games and that turned into a full time gig doing color commentary until 2008. I heard Durham talk about this a few months ago on a Bulls pregame and it was priceless. Kerr was there for all the battles with the Celtics, Pistons, Knicks, Cavs, Hawks (kind of) and Pacers (eh). You could always tell when Kerr was getting excited as the MJ got ready to take over the game.
Red Kerr is going to be missed sorely but his legacy will live on with each game the Bulls franchise plays. People are easily blinded today by the shine on the Bulls six NBA Titles but none of it would have been possible without Kerr. Thank you Red Kerr and Godspeed. |
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2008 Cubs Preview
I wish I remembered the book (I think it's the ABA book by Pluto), but it had some great stories about how tough Kerr was and also how apparently Wilt Chamberlain once broke Kerr's toe in a game. Sorry to read of his passing.