By Marc D'Amico
Celtics.com
August 14, 2011
BOSTON - The Boston Celtics increased their presence at the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame on Friday when Tom “Satch” Sanders, one of the greatest winners of all time, was enshrined into the Hall in Springfield, Mass.
Sanders, who won eight titles with the Celtics during his 13-year career, was inducted as a contributor to the game, thanks in large part to his developmental role within the NBA after his retirement.
Sanders was enshrined alongside nine other inductees to create one of the largest Basketball Hall of Fame classes ever. The 2011 class becomes just the sixth since the Hall of Fame opened in 1959 to include at least 10 inductees. Sanders is a member of this class, but due to his career ending in 1973, other names like Dennis Rodman, Chris Mullin and Arvydas Sabonia garnered most of the attention surrounding the enshrinement weekend.
Much of the new generation of NBA fans won’t understand the impact Sanders has made on the NBA, and they’ll likely be mystified by his induction to the Hall if they simply Google his strong, yet modest, career statistics. Sanders averaged double-figures during nine of his 13 seasons, but never finished with a scoring average higher than 12.6 PPG. However, there is more to his puzzle than the numbers.
What everyone must realize is that in this case, a man was inducted into the Hall of Fame not because he was a dominant star who put up dazzling numbers. Instead, Sanders has been immortalized because he is one of the greatest winners the sport has ever seen, but more importantly because he went on to change the lives of thousands of young athletes who have entered the professional sports world.
Everyone has heard of the rookie symposiums that each professional sports league holds every year, helping youngsters adjust to their newfound riches and lifestyle. But where is the origin of those programs? The answer lies in one name: Satch Sanders.
Sanders’ post-playing days impact began on a large-scale level in 1984, when he joined the Center for the Study of Sport in Society at Northeastern University in Boston as associate director. That is where he began a program that is now known as the NBA’s Rookie Transition Program, which is and was the model that nearly all professional sports leagues have since adopted.
“He started our player program, and it was the first in sports,” NBA Commissioner David Stern told NBA TV. “The program is a robust program dealing with the care of NBA players from the moment they enter the league until after they retire. But the biggest tribute to Satch is that every sport does it now.”
All of this began with Sanders’ role at Northeastern, which allowed him to assist in the development of athletes’ commitment to education and overall life management skills. That position was his springboard back to the NBA, as Stern hired Sanders in 1987 to be the mastermind of the programs that have done nothing but grow ever since. Nearly 25 years later, those programs are still running strong and are essential in the development of NBA players throughout their careers.
All you need to do is listen to those who know Sanders well, and they’ll convey the impact No. 16 has made on generations upon generations of athletes.
“It was that whole sharing of information, I think, that he brought to the party that expanded young guys’ horizons and I think helped guys take the blinders off to know the better direction of where they wanted to go in their lives,” Bob Lanier, a 1992 Basketball Hall of Fame inductee, told NBA TV.
“In every part of his life, he’s made a difference in other people’s lives, and that’s what he does; he lifts people, lifts their spirits all around him, and makes a difference in their lives.”
Thousands of players have cycled through the NBA since Sanders began his programs, and thousands more have done so in other leagues around the country and world. All of them can now thank a Hall of Famer for the work he has put in to lead them in the right direction.
Still, even in the midst of a moment that was dedicated solely to him, Sanders continued to display the characteristics that landed him at the podium of Symphony Hall in Springfield. Yes, he spoke about his career and development from a young boy to a Hall of Famer, but his closing remarks of his induction speech told the story of what really matters to him: the success and development of others.
“Ladies and gentlemen, create your own good luck,” he said. “Stay well, and for those of you who are not feeling well, get better. Take good care, thank you.”
That’s the Satch whom athletes around the world can thank for his impact on their lives.
That’s the Satch who will now be remembered forever with his own personal slice of the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.