Bill Walton

thumb|Walton in 2008 William Theodore Walton III (November 5, 1952 – May 27, 2024) was an American retired basketball player and television sportscaster. Quotes I’ve had 37 orthopedic operations. I ground my feet up into dust. I’ve got a new knee. I‘ve got a new spine. I’m the lucky one... I never thought going through all of it that I would be healthy at the end. And I almost wasn’t. "The Thing Bill Walton Still Can't Forgive Himself For", interview with GQ (March 26, 2016). Quotes about Walton As usual, the vegetarian tiger played as if he had dined on red meat all week: as if he had slept sweetly and spent all his waking hours on the practice court: as if his knees were made of steel cables; as if his only icons were the ball and the hoop. "Sport: Walton: Basketball's Vegetarian Tiger", TIME (February 25, 1974). The nights those guys aren't going good and Bill Walton's needed to do something else, he'll do that. He's the most unselfish star player I ever saw [sic]. Houston head coach Del Harris, "Rebounding Walton guides Clippers to 105-97 victory", USA Today (January 12, 1983), page 7C. When future basketball Hall-of-Famer Bill Walton was winning NBA championships for the Portland Trail Blazers and others, he was the best-known vegetarian in sports. A 1974 Time magazine article dubbed him “Basketball’s Vegetarian Tiger.” But folks wondered how he had such stamina without eating meat. He answered critics saying the vegetarian diet made him stronger. A recent study 40-some years later bolsters his claim. Michael Roizen and Mehmet Oz, "The docs: The magic of green leafy veggies", Idaho Statesman (March 11, 2016). External links Category:1952 births Category:2024 deaths Category:Basketball players from the United States Category:Sportspeople from San Diego Category:Vegetarians Category:Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame inductees