When Hondo REALLY Sailed on the Court

By Brian Donlon

(Editor's Note: This was first published on May 6, 2019 and was republished with updated video in honor of John Havlicek's 81st birthday).

Iconic has become one of those words that is overused and worse misused.  

When I heard that NBA great John Havlicek had passed away last week, right away I thought of the 1965 Eastern Finals and the famous “Havlicek Stole the Ball” clip. Now that's iconic.

Some have labeled Johnny Most’s call of the Boston Celtics’ small forward stealing an inbound pass against the Philadelphia 76ers with seconds to go the most famous broadcast clip of the 20th century and it may be. The play embodies everything Havilick was as a player. Never quitting, always on the move. 

If you were to ask most casual NBA fans who is the Celtics' all-time leading scorer, most would probably say Larry Bird. Most would be wrong. It is Havlicek. He has a host of other honors that go on, but I’ll let others detail those. This is about Havlicek the man.  

In the spring of 1986 – eight years after the player they called Hondo retired – the cast and crew of NBC’s "Today" show spent a week broadcasting live at sea from the deck of the S.S. Norway. It was the first time any program has ever broadcast live from the Atlantic Ocean or any other ocean for that matter.  

At the time I was a reporter for USA Today covering the TV business. My editors thought this would be a historic week of shows in part because of the uniqueness of the “show on the ship” but also NBC was marketing the cruise to its viewers to "sail the seas and see the stars" -- i.e. its network stars. 

I argued that while this was an interesting salvo the Today show was firing in the morning TV wars, it might be best to use our travel budget a few months later when Today was traveling to Australia. It was "down under" where the NBC morning show was actually airing in late night and had become a cult hit with the Aussies.  

Yes, that is a nice angle I was told and we could do that too. But my editors were like drunken sailors in port with the idea of stars from such NBC hits as Miami Vice, Cheers and Hill Street Blues mixing with fans of the shows in the middle of Atlantic.  

Ok, so what does this have to do with John Havlicek? Stay tuned. 

 The SS Norway set sail and clearly the stars of Today – Jane Pauley, Bryant Gumbel, Willard Scott, etc – were on board. However, the only NBC primetime star I spotted was Lisa Whelchel of the so-so sitcom "Facts of Life. " 

The "Today" show braintrust in the control room "cabin"; Weatherman Willard Scott with "Facts of Life" star Lisa Whelchel and "Today" anchor Bryant Gumbel interviews The Fifth Dimension

After two days of writing about the technological marvel of broadcasting from a moving ocean liner down the eastern seaboard of the United States, there were not as many stories filling the pages of USA Today as my editors had envisioned.  

I made my daily $5 a minute ship-to-shore phone call to headquarters to check in and pitch possible stories and before four words tumbled out of my mouth, my boss said, “I think it is time to come home.”  

There was no fight.

I told the boss that I would just have to arrange to get off in the next port of call. The Norway would dock every day for the show to add guests or personnel for that day’s program. I went to the head of NBC News press relations and explained the situation. She was disappointed but understood and said she would get back to me about the arrangements as soon as she could.  

About an hour later, while sitting at one of the ship’s outdoor bars sipping an umbrella drink and talking to Today correspondent Mike Leonard, the head of PR returned.  

“You can’t leave,” she said matter of factly. 

“What do you mean I can’t leave?”  

“The Jones Act,” she responded. 

“The what?” 

“The Jones Act,” she repeated.  

Now, you may have heard about this obscure law recently because President Donald Trump said he would not waive rules requiring that only U.S.-flagged ships can move natural gas from American ports to Puerto Rico and the U.S. Northeast. 

That’s the Jones Act. It is a nearly 100-year-old nautical mandate that says only U.S.-flagged vessels can transport merchandise and passengers between U.S. coasts. So as long as the Norwegian cruise ship’s ports of call were U.S. cities, it could not accept or discharge passengers or cargo without touching a non-domestic port. The show at week’s end was scheduled to dock in the Bahamas, so that would free everyone for the return trip to Miami. But there were still three days to go and USA Today wanted me back yesterday. 

Back on the $5 a minute ship-to-shore phone call, I told my editor about The Jones Act. 

“The what?” she barked over the phone.  

Tapping into my newfound knowledge of maritime law I explained about me and Mr. Jones. She told me to call back in two hours.  

Was the paper going to challenge the law of the seas? Was an updated "Caine Mutiny" court drama about to unfold on NBC's ship? Or was I doomed for a nautical nightmare?  

Walking back to my cabin, I ran into "Today" host Bryant Gumbel. I explained to him what was happening and told me I should forget about it and that a group of "Today" staff was putting together a basketball game on the upper deck. 

Hoops on a moving ship?  

Back then I always had my basketball shoes with me and was always on the hunt for a game. So I grabbed a tee-shirt, switched into shorts, and headed up to the ship's upper deck.

The three courts took up a good portion of the ship's third level. The gold of the sun's shine rained down on the hoop hopefuls while dolphins danced in the ocean nearby.

The teams were chosen quickly. Bryant “drafted” a great guy named Mickey Wittman. He was the director of the Goodyear Blimp and is something of a sports TV legend as evidenced by his induction into the Sports Broadcasting Hall of Fame. Mickey and the blimp were trailing the Norway and providing amazing aerials on TV. This was part of Mickey's charge and he performed the same at so many of the country's biggest sporting events for years.

Mickey also played basketball at the University of Miami and was NBA great Rick Barry’s roommate there. 

Mickey Wittman in 2013 with his blimp

"Today" anchors Jane Pauley and Bryant Gumbel with the blimp flying high above

Mickey stood about 6 foot 6 inches, had just turned 40 and was in peak shape. He dominated all the weekend warriors banging the boards on the Norway. My two years of Division III college play were no match for Mighty Mick.  

We played four games that day, Mickey and Bryant’s team won them all. It was decided that this would be a daily event as soon as "Today" was off the air. I told them I had to see as the newspaper was trying to get me off the ship as soon as possible. 

I returned to my cabin to find an envelope under the door. It was a message from the ship’s operator from my editor. It read: “Jones Act is real. Can’t get you off. Enjoy the week.” 

What ensued were hours of playing hoops on the deck of the Norway. The games started generating crowds – in large part to watch Bryant dart around the court -- while others marveled at Mickey and his play.

Others teams wanted in. The popular '70 musical group The Fifth Dimension (Wedding Bell Blues, Aquarius / Let the Sunshine In) were performing on the ship, heard about the games and put together a team. So did members of the ship’s crew. A daily round robin became the course of action. 

 But no squad could stop Mickey, Bryant and company. By the fourth day, one "Today" producer, Michael Pressman, had enough of the losing and said he was quitting our team.  

All of his "Today" colleagues from executive producer Steve Friedman on down chided Pressman as he walked off the court and down the steps of the deck. 

The Fifth Dimension was the next in line for the Gumbel Gang. Meanwhile, my teammates and I searched for a replacement to take over for Pressman.  

As the “Fifth” fell – again – we were about to “forfeit” our game as we still had not found a new player. Gumbel kept asking, “Who you got? Who you got?” Looking around, I turned away from him towards the stairway to the deck below. Rising up, step by step was none other than 13-time NBA All-Star and the Most Valuable Player of the 1974 NBA Finals, John Havlicek. 

The Today Show "Hoop Championship"

Still looking as fit as the day he stepped off the court just a few years before, the sun was radiant behind him making his plain white tee-shirt, shorts and low cut sneakers gleam. It was a baller's version of the Transfiguration. Hoop heaven delivered.  

I walked up to him and asked, “Hondo, want to run with us?”  

He responded, “That’s why I’m here. I’ve heard you guys have quite a game going.”  

I grabbed one of pro basketball’s greatest onto the court. Bryant’s back was to me. I tapped him and said, “I have our guy.”  

 If Bryant would have had false teeth they would have fallen out of his mouth. 

The game began.  

Hondo was effortless. We ran. He glided.  

The Celtic legend could have taken every shot and made them, but he played a team game just like he did in Boston. He set up the rest of us with precision passing and of course – as he did for his entire career – he was in constant movement. I caught him on the baseline where I hit him with a behind-the-back pass which was a half step behind him, but he snared it smoothly, took the lay-up, and congratulated me like I was his old backcourt mate, Jo Jo White. 

Five times he was named to the NBA’s All-Defensive team. Mickey Wittman found out why. Mick, who had his way with most of us all week, had his hands full with Havlicek shadowing.  

The games were played to 21. We were tied at 20 apiece when I inbounded the ball. We score the bucket and the "Gumbel-Wittman-Norway Dynasty" ends! 

Havlicek stepped to the top of the key, I passed it over. Gumbel and Whitman came out to double-team the hall of famer. Phil Griffin, who would go on to become President of MSNBC, darted towards the right-wing; another producer set a pick on Whitman to free Havlicek.  

Hondo passed the ball to Phil. I cut to the rim as Hondo got tangled up between Gumbel and Wittman. I tried to get free on the baseline, but Steve Friedman blocked my path to the basket.  

Phil dribbled towards the hoop. Hondo faked a move to the basket and dashed to the foul line. I yelled, “Hondo’s open.” But Phil had already pulled up on his dribble and was in mid-flight to launch a jump shot. I yelled again, “Hondo’s open.” 

The ball left Phil’s hand, floating through the salt air, it seemed to have the right trajectory. Seemed to .... maybe it was a rogue wave or a brisk ocean breeze, but the ball overshot its target and clanged the back of the rim. 

It was almost like a boom-a-rang. The hoop spit the ball back in an arc as high as Phil’s original shot. It sailed over all of our heads, took a hard bounce near the deck’s railings and dove into the Atlantic Ocean. 

All of the players, the crew, and the Fifth Dimension ran over to the rail, lined up one after another and watched in silence as the little orange blob headed towards the horizon. After a minute or so, Havlicek said -- without missing a beat -- “Well, I’ve been playing basketball for nearly 40 years and I’ve NEVER seen anything like that.”  

Other balls were being used on the other courts and rather than commandeer the rock from someone else's game, we all decided that this was the perfect way to end the day. We all headed for a bar on the lower deck and in between Pina Coladas and beers John Havlicek talked basketball for more than two hours. 

 Players came and went into the cocktail conversation. Eventually, Hondo’s lovely wife Beth joined us and the tales and laughs continued for another hour. 

The next day was getaway day and the final stop for the "Today" cruise. I didn’t see John Havlicek among the hundreds leaving the ship. I wanted to thank him for creating a great hoop memory for a bunch of gym rats and playground hopefuls. 

By 1997, I had left newspapers and was working in television. Part of my job was overseeing the production of the WNBA for Lifetime Television. Because of that role, I was invited to the NBA All-Star Game in Cleveland.  

It was a thrill, not just because the weekend is nirvana for any basketball fan, but part of the festivities was the naming of the 50 greatest players in NBA history. Of course, one of those players was John Havlicek. 

The ceremony for the NBA 50 Greatest Players of all time at the 1997 NBA All-Star Game in Cleveland, Ohio

There was a reception on the eve of the game honoring the 50 legends. I ran into my old USA Today colleague, the great NBA writer, Peter Vecsey as I roamed the reception pretending as if I belonged.

All of my boyhood heroes were there -- up close. Suddenly, as I turned around from the bar after getting another drink, there was Hondo.  

Ten years removed, I did not expect that he’d remember me or the silly little ad hoc tournament of the SS Norway – not at a night honoring him and his immortal peers. 

I stuck out my hand and said, “John you don’t remember but we played one of the craziest...” and before I could finish he said “basketball games on that cruise ship. Boy, that was some time.”  

We chatted for a few seconds more. I congratulated him on his honor, shook hands and he waded deeper into the cocktail party and I exited to into the blustery Cleveland night savoring the moment. 

Havlicek did more than steal the ball.  Godspeed Hondo.