Pacers legend Slick Leonard makes Hall of Fame
While raising a champagne flute in honor of his coach, Hall of Famer Mel Daniels captured the moment and expressed the sentiment that many have shared for years.
"Very simply put," Daniels said, "it's about time."
Bobby "Slick" Leonard, who led the Indiana Pacers franchise to its only championships and won the most games in American Basketball Association history, was elected into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame on Friday.
Finally.
"I'm happy to get in. They must have run out of old guys," Leonard quipped during his press conference.
Leonard, 81, earned his induction from the ABA committee, which selects one person each year. Leonard finished with a 387-270 record in the ABA and won 529 in a total of 12 seasons with the Pacers. In 1970, '72 and '73, Leonard led the Pacers to ABA titles. He was also a two-time All-American at Indiana, captaining the 1953 national champions, and has served as a Pacers announcer for 29 seasons, best known for his call "Boom baby!" after 3-pointers.
This marks the third straight year that a member of the ABA Pacers was voted into the Hall of Fame. Leonard will join former players Daniels (2012) and the late Roger Brown (2013) after his official induction ceremony in September. Reggie Miller was elected last year through the process for NBA players.
"(Leonard) is what Indiana basketball is about, from his knowledge of its history to the success he has had with the game," team President of Basketball Operations Larry Bird said in a statement. "He's very deserving and definitely has earned his spot in the Hall of Fame.
"When you think of the Indiana Pacers, you think of Bob Leonard."
On Friday, the presence of Pacers as well as family and friends filled the media interview room at Bankers Life Fieldhouse. They all gathered for Leonard, who was as gregarious and folksy as usual, dropping a one-liner as he approached the platform as the man of honor.
"Well, it took a while but we're going out in style," Leonard said, smiling broadly.
While Leonard's former players celebrated the recognition, some also wondered why it took so long.
"It's about 15 years overdue," said Bob Netolicky, who played all eight ABA seasons with the Pacers. "Unfortunately with the Hall of Fame, there's a lot of politics.
"Slick should have gone in, not only for ABA but NBA, NCAA. I mean, what a career. And if you played for him, he's one of a kind as a coach."
For the last 29 years, Leonard has provided colorful commentary for Pacers broadcasts and has hooked a new generation of fans. Although now Leonard rarely is seen without his big smile, he was once known as a fiery player and a combative coach.
Leonard, a Terre Haute native, played at Terre Haute Gerstmeyer High School. Following his career at IU and a stint in the Army, Leonard played seven years in the NBA, mostly with the Minneapolis and Los Angeles Lakers – the first great NBA big man, George Mikan, anointed Leonard with his trademark nickname, Slick, after losing to him in Gin Rummy.
The Pacers first coach, Larry Staveman, only lasted nine games into his second season in 1968-69 when Leonard was hired. He was coming off two unsuccessful seasons coaching in the NBA five years before but led the Pacers to a first-place finish in the East conference. The following season, the Pacers won their first of three ABA titles in a span of four years.
Leonard led the ABA dynasty with a legendary no-nonsense style. Leonard recalls once throwing a ball rack at an official and ripping the whistle off the neck of another for making what he perceived to be a bad call.
"When I got here from Minnesota," Daniels said, "(Leonard) made me responsible. I was used to shooting when I wanted to shoot it. He came up to me and told me, 'If you take another shot beyond 15 feet, I'm gonna punch you in your damn nose!'"
In 1976, the Pacers and three other teams merged with the NBA as the ABA folded. Leonard remained as the Pacers coach for the first four seasons in the NBA, posting a 142-186 record. After the 1979-80 season, Leonard retired from the sidelines.
"I've often said (about) coaching, everybody knows the Xs and the Os if you're qualified to be at that level," Leonard said on Friday, "but you better have the horses. And we had the horses."
Nancy and Bobby Leonard will celebrate their 60th wedding anniversary this summer. As the partner along for the entire ride, Nancy said her husband would never campaign openly to get into the Hall of Fame. But even though she did not hear Leonard express a desire to get in, Nancy knew he wanted the induction.
"I know when you're as competitive as he is, you want to be recognized," Nancy said. "I knew in his heart that it would be a huge honor.
"I'm just really happy for him. He'll have his (name) in the Hall of Fame with the other great players and coaches, particularly his own players."
Already a member of the Indiana Basketball Hall of Fame, and the first person ever inducted into the Indiana University Sports Hall of Fame, Leonard is just one of six individuals to have a banner hanging high inside Bankers Life Fieldhouse. Alongside names like Daniels, Reggie Miller and Brown, soon Leonard's '529' banner will be revised with the red letters: Hall of Fame.
Leonard, with water welling in his eyes, explained what the honor means to him.
"I had grandkids in here today; you get as old as me, that's what it's for," Leonard said. "There's a lot of guys I came up through with (and) you look at the obituary and they're gone.
"You would have a heck of a life to live that long, and I've lived it."
Call Star reporter Candace Buckner at (317) 444-6121. Follow her on Twitter: @CandaceDBuckner. A Star report contributed to this story.
LEONARD'S COACHING RECORD
-
LEONARD'S STATS AS AN IU PLAYER
-
LEONARD'S NBA STATS AS A PLAYER
RELATED CONTENT FROM OUR ARCHIVES
April 2012 - Pacers' 3 ABA championship teams get their day
July 2009 - Slick Leonard named 'Living Legend'
April 2009 - Hall of Fame overlooks Slick again? Boo, baby
July 2001 - MSA's end bittersweet for Leonards and others