Who do you think of when you think of the Chicago Bulls? Easy, right? Well, although MJ and the 90s Bulls may be what comes to everyone’s mind, and rightfully so, there were players that played for the Bulls before that. And although the Bulls may have been a train wreck or “circus” as described in The Last Dance when MJ arrived in 1984, they weren’t always that bad. In fact, they used to be pretty good.
Let me ask the question a different way. Which Chicago Bull that played before MJ arrived comes to mind first? One of the first people that comes to mind for me is Johnny Red Kerr. One of the reasons for that is because he was a broadcaster for much of the Bulls run; he was the emcee of those Bulls rallies in the 90s. You can see him every time you go to the UC; his statue sits just inside the entrance at one of the gates. He was the head coach of the Bulls during their inaugural season back in 1966. To answer the question, to find someone who played for the Bulls before MJ, you can go back to that first season for the franchise. In fact, you can go back all the way to the start; that first game ever had someone in the starting lineup that you may have heard of. Maybe you can refer to him as the Original Bull… His name, Jerry Sloan.
Actually, Guy Rodgers stole the show that first night, scoring 37 points as the Bulls won their first game ever. He would go on to make the All Star game that year, along with Jerry Sloan. Johnny Red would be coach of the year. The Bulls would make the playoffs that first year, after turning in the best ever record by an expansion team at 33-48. Not a bad start. In fact, the Bulls wouldn’t stop there. They would make the playoffs in 8 of their first 9 years. They would peak in 1973-74 & 1974-75 with back to back Conference Finals appearances.
It is amazing buy tadalafil in uk to reflect, that we originated out of this tiniest entity. While evidence still suggests that ED enhances for more men following benign prostatic secretworldchronicle.com viagra generic for sale hyperplasia surgery, a significant proportion of men (20%) are seen to experience more severe impotence following surgery. After the sexual act, the blood goes tadalafil cheap online out of the penis during sex. One should avoid viagra 100mg price the use of grapefruit or grapefruit juice, alcohol and tobacco.Avoid smoking.Norm Van Lier, Chet Walker, Bob Love, Tom Boerwinkle, and of course, Jerry Sloan were the core of those great Bulls teams. We’re reminded of a couple of those guys, Love and Sloan, each time we visit the UC, as their numbers hang from the rafters. Jerry was the first Bull to have his number retired back in 1978. I think of him now as he recently past away.
It was cool to read some of those stories about him that came out after his death. Coming from a small town, walking miles to school each day, winning back to back division 2A national championships in college at Evansville including a 29-0 season back in 1965! Of course he was a straight scrapper with the Bulls; talk about playing tough, hustling, getting the most out of his talent each and every night. He sounds like someone we would appreciate just as much today. Of course, our generation knows him more for his coaching at Utah, and those 2 Finals match ups with the Bulls we knew. I would have been rooting for Jerry and the Jazz against any other team. It was kind of something that The Last Dance, MJ & the Bulls last title came against the Original Bull; maybe the greatest competitors of all time MJ vs another extreme competitor in Sloan. The Bulls franchise being brought full circle. RIP Jerry.
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