From Kerry Eggers I spoke with Jack Ramsay Saturday via phone from his condo in Naples, Fla. Ramsay. The Hall-of-Famer, 88, was forced to withdraw from his radio analyst job during the NBA playoffs due to health complications and said then that his broadcasting career was likely over. Dr. Jack, who coached the Trail Blazers to the 1977 NBA championship, has cancer. He prefers not to specify what kind, but in the past he has been treated for cancer of the prostrate and bladder, tumors on his lung and brain and melanoma. He is undergoing radiation treatment now and told me Saturday, "I'm not doing good." When asked the prognosis, Ramsay said, "This doesn't get better." But Ramsay has beaten cancer many times before. His five children -- sons Chris and John, daughters Susan, Sharon and Carolyn -- all spend time looking in on him and helping him with his care, Jack says. He has his good days and his bad days, son Chris says. But Jack is a fighter, in unbelievable shape for a man his age, a veteran of many triathlon competitions over the years. After he retired from coaching, Ramsay spent 18 years in the broadcasting industry and was a natural at that, too. He worked many years with Jim Durham, who died last November at 65. "Jim was the best play-by-play voice I ever heard," Ramsay said. "He made my part in the broadcast easy. We had a good thing going." Ramsay had a good thing going in Portland, too. He coached the Trail Blazers for 10 years, taking them to the playoffs nine times and to the NBA title his very first season. "I love Portland," said Ramsay, whose wife, Jean, died in 2010. "The early years, in particular, were wonderful. That team had a rare commodity of players with skills and attitudes. It was a once-in-a-lifetime experience." Ramsay remains a revered, beloved figure in the sports history in our city. I told him Saturday that Blazer fans still love him. "Well," he said, "I love them back." http://portlandtribune.com/pt/12-sp...s-aldridge-kyle-wiltjer-travis-green-and-more
It was reported 3 months ago, without this article's quotes from him. It was announced that he would be too ill from cancer to be the ESPN playoff colorman, as he has been for so long. Every time I listened, I noticed his absence.
PhD in Education. Philadelphia GM 1966-70, traded Chamberlain 1968, then head coach 1968-about 1972, after the famous 9-win season. Almost, not quite, coached both Chamberlain and Walton.
