I do agree they went a bit over board but; You must remember that the Larry Weinberg, the original owner loved his players. Winning the championship the first time they ever made the playoffs was unheard of. That would be like our team winning it all this year. he also hired many of those players to work for the team. I know Twardzik, Steele and Petrie (the "original Blazer")all worked for the Blazers in various capacities and that factored in probably more than anything in their numbers being retired. Lucas was and still is a fan favorite in Portland. He did make several All-Star games but his fight in game two that turned the entire series is enough for me to hang his jersey. LLoyd Neal is still the Blazers single season rebound total record holder, and I believe he did it as a rookie. He was a personal favorite of Weinberg. He would of had a much better career if not for knee injuries. In one game during the title run, or the season after, Neal was in street clothes because of injury. Lucas got ejected so Neal went to the locker room and suited up. He put up like 33/15 to lead Portland to the win. Sure, his number is probably the most dubious, but if you own the team you can retire anything you want. That is Weinbergs one mulligan. I think that Hollins and Gross are just the last two starters from the title team. Hollins was never back in Portland after he left so that has to be the reason for his jersey retirement. Gross has continued to live in the Portland area and been very involved with the Blazers alumni team and other things of that nature. Of course Walton and Drexler are no brainers for most Portland fans. I think that Porter is also very close to being a no brainer as well. He made a few all-star games despite playing at the same time as Magic and Stockton. He is amongst the team leaders in many categories and was very, very clutch. The way I see it, the number retirements in Portland that many question are an example of "keeping Portland Weird." I wish they hadn't retired all those numbers but considering the love affair with that title team I can understand. A good writer could write a story about that team, the futility of the franchise prior to that season and have the next "Hoosiers" movie.
Instead of retiring Gross, they should have just retired the whole championship team with one "super jersey" - maybe number 77.
I watched every game of that series, and I love Bobby Gross for his great play against Erving. I have a picture of the '77 championship team on my wall, and Gross is one of my all-time favorite players. However . . . I think it's really reaching to retire his number based on that one series. The guy was essentially a journeyman player who was a perfect compliment to Walton and Lucas on the front line, and you certainly DO have to consider a guy's career numbers when you're debating whether or not to retire his number. In short, if you keep retiring the number of players like Steele, Twardzik, and Gross, the whole idea becomes meaningless. The next time we win a title, is the organization going to retire the number of every guy who played a key role in the championship series?? Pretty soon there won't be any more numbers to retire.
I think it was Paul Pierce who just said that they had to win another championship because they don't pay any attention to you in Boston unless you win multiple championships.
I always thought it was the other way around. Jersey retirements can be for guys who helped define your franchise, ie Malone and Stockton. But when it pertains to the Hall of Fame, people always talk about if they won a championship or not.
Well, it's totally up to the team whose numbers they retire and they are free to set any standards they wish. There are always extenuating circumstances. See my earlier post about all the players who had their numbers retired due to an untimely death. I doubt if Wendell Ladner's career numbers were considered when the Nets retired his jersey number (ironically, his career numbers are better than Bobby Gross', but he only played 55 games and averaged only about 5 PPG for the Nets prior to his untimely death in a commercial airline crash. And then you have guys like Jordan and Maravich that have their jerseys retired by teams the never even played for. At least Bobby Gross played for the Blazers and was a key contributor to their one and only (so far) championship. I kind of get Maravich. He was from Louisiana, played college ball there and much of his NBA career in the city of New Orleans (for a different franchise). So, I get the connection and the desire to honor a native son. But, what the heck did Michael Jordan ever do for the Miami Heat to become their first, and so far only, retired jersey? Well, I hope we'll be having that discussion a few years down the road. Unfortunately, once the Blazers started retiring all the key role players from the '77 Championship team, the mold was cast. Given their role in bringing that championship, I do think they deserve to be honored in some fashion, but I think a Portland Trail Blazer Wall of Fame at the RG with plaques describing their contributions to that '77 champsionship and photos of them in action, would have been more appropriate (and more educational for younger Blazer fans) than hanging their jerseys from the rafters. And while I don't normally wish to emulate anything the Lakers do, I do like what they've done to honor the key players from the Minneapolis era that brought them their first championships. They have their jerseys hung, in a group, from the rafters, but current players are free to wear those numbers. So, they are honored for their contributions, but their numbers aren't actually retired and permanetly taken out of use. BNM
Retiring numbers can mean two things: 1) For some it's being able to show the fans of other teams the superstars that have been with the team. We can tell people that we had Clyde Drexler and Bill Walton. These were the hall-of-famers that played for us. These were the guys that were among the 50 greatest players. They made the hall, therefore no one else will wear their number. 2) For others it's more of an in-house thing, to remind you and your kids which players made a big difference to Portland. To this type of fan, it's the guys who symbolized the team to the local crowd, not to the outsider. These are the guys like Porter, Gross, Hollins, and Twardzik, and maybe even Kersey someday that made for memorable times. That's how a guy like McMillan gets his number retired in Seattle. To these fans, Walton and Drexler weren't the only Blazers that ever mattered to them and they feel that a few other players ought to be recognized. I'm the second kind. I don't have a problem retiring these numbers. It's all about where you set the bar. The hall-of-famers, or the more localized legends.
I have to wonder what people would have been saying about Bobby Gross and his production if this board had existed during his career.
Interesting question. I personally think that Gross was the kind of player any fan would love to cheer for. He was selfless and smart, and he worked his butt off in practice and in games. There was no ego about Gross, and no discipline problems. He showed up on time, did what the coaches asked of him, and tried to subsume his personality to that of the team in order to win games. He was all about the team. Period.
He turned the ball over a lot and only played two injury-free seasons while in Portland. I could see him ripe for criticism as the franchise slipped after Walton's injury.
I feel like this is more of an honorary '77 championship night than retiring a player's jersey night. It's just a weird feeling... although a lot of it is I wasn't around back then. But I imagine nearly half the arena tonight will go "Bobby who?" when they see him. I'm sure he'll get the respect he deserves and all and people will cheer, but it just doesn't seem like a special night as it should be when a pro franchise retires someone's number.
I was there. I watched the games with Bobby Gross in them. He was an all around good player and perfect fit with that Ramsay team. He deserves whatever honor is given to that team. I think only Walton's 32, Drexler's 22 and Porter's 30 should be hanging in the rafters. I wish the team had opted for a ring of honor instead for situations like this.
