Robert Parish was not a "stiff"

[Roy Hobbs]

Hobbs, you hopped on me yesterday about this same thing. And while I could appreciate your point, I think you were a bit overboard.

I, for one, was certainly old enough to watch Parish when Red traded for him. At the time, we couldn't understand why the Warriors traded him and the 3 pick (McHale) for the 1 pick, which they used on Joe Barry Carroll (a total mutt, which I knew from having seen him at Purdue). I don't remember whether we actually read any quotes attributed to the Golden State management that they saw Parish as a big disappointment.  But that's how we interpreted it, since they had given up on him for an unproven Carroll.  And that still seems like a fair assumption.

But more to your point, I don't remember anyone saying at the time that Golden State thought Parish was a stiff. Before he arrived in Boston, I remember knowing that Parish was a talent, and that Red had pulled off at least a good deal (later, we realized it was a tremendous one). And of course, we didn't have the Internet in those days, so there wasn't anybody saying anything idiotic like that on some blog.

Yours was just one post of many that underrated Parish, no kidding.  However, I don't think you used the "stiff" word.

I can appreciate that people have a misconception of a player due to something they read 25 years ago.  However, all the relevant information is out there now to correct those faulty points of view, and threads like this one are meant to correct it.

I'm sorry if you felt jumped on, but posts like these aren't meant as a personal attack (which is why I didn't name names or use quotations from our members).  They're meant to show a giant fallacy that apparently many fans are willing to state as fact. 

[Redz]

WHo said Parish was a "stiff"....Point me in their direction and I'll start slappin' some sense into them 

Seriously, the measure of Chief's greatness (or anyone's for that matter) is that you could plug his talents into any era and he'd be extremely valuable still.  I think that can be said to an even higher degree for Chief in today's era.  How many spot up shooters at his position are there in the NBA today?  Parish had a strange looking shot but he could flat out shoot it.  He was defensive presence, and could contest shot and grab boards.

The dude's a Hall of Famer!  Any stiffs in the Hall of Fame?

NAY

[no kidding]

It's certainly fair to say the idea that Robert Parish was a stiff (or seen as one) prior to his Boston days, is just another one of those NBA myths that have grown up over the years.

So Hobbs, you've probably done many readers a service by showing that particular myth to be plain nonsense. (But I've still never heard why the Warriors made this asinine trade.)

[Roy Hobbs]

I remember watching NBA Action
"back in the day" ('91? '92?)
and they had this segment with
the Chief. Old footage from when
he was at GSW. The narrator talked
about how RP got his number. That it
had to do with how he saw the time in
Oakland(?) Can anyone tell me the story
of what that was all about?

I'm not sure, ACF.  Parish made the famous quote "from the outhouse to the penthouse" describing moving from Golden State to Boston, but I don't think that has much to do with his number.  Here's how Peter Vecsey detailed the issue with the number (and some other added history) back in 1981:

At this rate, Celtic fans may eventually discover that Parish does have a nickname, and why he wears the double zero on his uniform. The educated guess has been that because the National Collegiate Athletic Association, in all its wisdom, stripped Parish of his scoring honors at Centenary College, Parish sarcastically wore 00 on his shirt. Guess again.

''I've had the zeroes since junior high school,'' Parish said the other day. ''We didn't have enough numbered shirts to go around, so my shirt was called double zero. I liked it, so I kept it.

''It's funny, but only a few people have ever asked me about that, and I've hardly ever seen it written. I guess people think I'm aloof just because I don't talk much. I guess I'd think the same thing if I saw myself. I am a loner, I suppose.''

Parish has seemed like an outsider since his days at Centenary, a tiny Methodist school in Shreveport with only 750 students when he attended. When he became an immediate star as a freshman, the N.C.A.A. began investigating why he was at Centenary in the first place (it seemed too simple that he just wanted to stay home). The N.C.A.A. discovered a technical violation in Centenary's use of a table to convert the results of Parish's admission tests from one scale to another. Although other schools received less harsher penalties for major violations, Centenary was placed on probation for six years for the technicality and was also banned from postseason tournaments. The N.C.A.A.'s next act was to rescind the rule, but it refused to show leniency toward Robert Parish. However, in a superb show of bureaucracy, the N.C.A.A. ruled that Parish could transfer to another school and become eligible for postseason honors. He didn't go for it. Parish stayed at Centenary, did his student teaching, gained his degree in physical education in the regulation four years, and averaged 21.6 points and 16.9 rebounds a game as his team won 87 games and lost 21. But he was never included among scoring leaders and his team never played in a tournament.

''I have never regretted it at all,'' Parish said the other day. ''Maybe people assume things about me because of the suspension, but it was just speculation. I passed those tests. I always knew I was a bright person. I'm glad I went to Centenary and I'm glad I stayed.''

Here's where some of the misconception may come from, by the way (from the same article):

In those years, he averaged 13.8 points a game, including consecutive seasons of 17.2 and 17.0. He also averaged 9.5 rebounds a game. Nevertheless, he says, he was regarded as a player who did not put out every game. He says the characterization was false. Last winter he could tell the Warriors were interested in Joe Barry Carroll of Purdue, who was likely to be the first draft choice. That choice belonged to Auerbach.

''They needed new faces at Golden State,'' Auerbach said the other day. ''Parish was in a rut out there. Parish is big, he could look anybody in the eye. You talk to people, they tell you he's a good kid. What people? Al Attles and Scotty Stirling at Golden State. They told me he had good habits. They wouldn't lie to me. We want to make trades that help both teams.''

[Roy Hobbs]

WHo said Parish was a "stiff"....Point me in their direction and I'll start slappin' some sense into them 

Haha.  I'm not naming names, but for anybody who thinks I'm making this stuff up, look at the comments on the front page.

[CoachBo]

TP for you, Roy. Outrageously flawed comparison in a futile attempt to justify a VERY questionable signing.

[ACF]

I knew Parish was into that Asian
"fighting stuff".
Well... Found this at Boston Kung Fu
Thai Chi (forget the Fox bit  )

(Quote) Li now dedicates himself to his teaching and is continuously breaking down barriers to develop the most effective teaching method for his students. He is happy to be in Boston and very proud of his 6000 square foot studio with his partners Dorri Li and Joshua Grant. His career in martial arts is a dream come true and Li attributes his success to hard work, patience, belief in himself and an openminded policy. The flexibility of using different teaching styles has been effective in training Boston Celtics stars Robert Parish and Rick Fox and World Kung Fu form Champion Richard Branden and Christine Bannon. (Unquote)


That doesn't spell "s-t-i-f-f" to me.

[Finkelskyhook]

All I can come up with is that Parish was on a struggling team and O'Bryant was struggling period.  So they have the word struggling in common.

[nickagneta]

Roy, Robert Parish was a stiff at Golden Stae and he was a stiff when he played here. He was then voted onto that list of the 50 Greatest Stiffs in NBA history and was then voted into the Basketball Hall of Fame that we all know is just chalk full of stiffs. Then to commenerate exactly how much of a stiff he is the Celtics retired the stiff's number to stand hang beside all the retired numbers of all the other stiffs that ever played for the Celtics.

Patrick O'Bryant could only dream of being as big a stiff as Robert Parish!!

 

[amenhotep04]

Here's one of the problems I see with any comparisons with Parish, or for that matter most of the players of that era: Most of the players had four years of college under their belt.  So they were more mature and technically refined compared to today.  With all these players coming out so young (previously high school, and now freshman or sophomore in college), they don't have the necessary skills, and most often neither the bodies to compete.  Therefore they wallow on the bench for a few years, often times never making it.  This is especially true for the five spot.  Considering that Perk would have been a rookie this year if he had gone to four years of college, look at his numbers compared to Parish.  Now I'm not suggesting that Perk is going to be another Parish.  I doubt he ever will, but the point is that coming out early for a lot of these players hinders their development.  So instead of looking at their break-out year being when they are 24, they are often viewed as washed up and has-beens by the time they're 25.

The bottom line with O'Bryant is that he has a greater skill set than Perk.  He has a head on his shoulders.  The only thing that will keep him from succeeding in this league now with this chance with the Cs (beyond injury) is his work ethic.  If he works, he'll have a long career.  If not, he'll be changing tires at Discount Tire Center.

[SShoreFan 2.0]

Roy, Robert Parish was a stiff at Golden Stae and he was a stiff when he played here. He was then voted onto that list of the 50 Greatest Stiffs in NBA history and was then voted into the Basketball Hall of Fame that we all know is just chalk full of stiffs. Then to commenerate exactly how much of a stiff he is the Celtics retired the stiff's number to stand hang beside all the retired numbers of all the other stiffs that ever played for the Celtics.

Patrick O'Bryant could only dream of being as big a stiff as Robert Parish!!

 

I love when a post makes one actually laugh out loud!!!

[ACF]

Roy, Robert Parish was a stiff at Golden Stae and he was a stiff when he played here. He was then voted onto that list of the 50 Greatest Stiffs in NBA history and was then voted into the Basketball Hall of Fame that we all know is just chalk full of stiffs. Then to commenerate exactly how much of a stiff he is the Celtics retired the stiff's number to stand hang beside all the retired numbers of all the other stiffs that ever played for the Celtics.

Patrick O'Bryant could only dream of being as big a stiff as Robert Parish!!

 

Then it's spelled "s-t-00-ff" 

[clover]

Only in 2 areas is the Parish comparison apt:

1) Coming from Golden State to the C's,

2) His demeanor contributing to assumptions that he lacked the 'motor' or 'love for the game' to succeed.

That said, it is also worth noting that POB will be playing next year a year younger than Parish was in his rookie year at GS.  (Patience!)

[footey]

Obviously the only comparison is that they both come from GS.  Also, while Parish had good numbers before the trade, there was a general consensus that he lacked something, especially from GS's POV (don't ask me to defend this statement, anyone on this board old enough will know that is a fact). Which is why they wanted to get the rights to JBC.  No one in their right mind expects POB to become the next Chief, but he does still have the physical gifts and physique to become a solid back-up 5, and maybe a decent starter someday. Potential plus 2 bucks will get you a ride on the local subway these days, but hope springs eternal once again. 

[tenn_smoothie]

In the 1984 Finals vs LA - i have always said that from game 4 on, Robert Parish was almost as important to winning that series as Larry Bird was ......... look at his rebound totals and how big he came up in the crucial games 4 and especially the second half of game 7.

go back and watch the second half of that game 7 sometime - Bird was on the bench when the Celts basically sewed up the title and Parish was an animal on the boards.

out of curiousity and not as an attack - what was the story and his wife Nancy Parish   heard she was a Edited.  Profanity and masked profanity are against forum rules and may result in discipline. on wheels and that Parish knocked her around a little - that the guy could have a scary temper. please fill me in .......