OT: 26 years since Pistol Pete's death

[CaptainJ]

Pistol Pete played before my time but my Dad, who wasnt even a huge fan of hoops, made sure I knew about him and his exploits. After seeing a thread all time greats on here(last season?) with his name somehow not mentioned, I made sure to add it. Such a shame that the world lost him at such a young age, but at least he died doing what he loved, playing basketball.

 

[pearl31]

Just looking at his highlights and considering his scoring numbers, I think you have to say he was one of the two or three greatest college players ever

 

[bevosu]

Quality documentary about Maravich...if you've never seen it.

Pistol Pete - the Life and Times of Pete Maravich

 

[alibrat66]

Weird drill...not even sure what it would accomplish? Learn to dribble while running as fast as a car?

It's the old fashioned method of driving to the hoop. You had to wear leather knee pads to perfect it. I'm told that drill of dribbling out of the window of a moving car improves one's ability to make no look passes to sports cars and Packards and Hudson Hornets.

It was an art that went extinct with the passage of laws requiring passengers in a car to wear seat belts.

 

[phillydad]

I remember the story of his father, a coach, having him dribble a ball from out the car window while his dad drove down streets when Pete was a little kid.

I first saw him when I was around 14 or 15 and he was playing for LSU. College games were rarely televised back then and this one was in black and white - the ball seemed like it was on a string in his hands. He could shoot, pass, drive like no other. I loved his passing game.

I fondly remember those days ion the 60s where you would look forward to the few televised games on Saturday afternoons. Pistol Pete or Spencer Haywood, and the rare treat of Alcindor-Hayes on a Saturday night from the Astrodome, unheard of at the time.

But here, we were always luckier than most, we got Big 5 doubleheaders every Saturday night on Channel 17 with Syracuse native Al Meltzer doing play by play, and Les Keiter before him.