Bobby Slick Leonard, Hoosiers and Pacers icon, dies at 88
Zak Keefer and J. Michael
IndyStar
INDIANAPOLIS Bobby “Slick” Leonard, the Depression-era kid from Terre Haute who grew up to lead his home state Hoosiers to an NCAA title, build the best franchise in ABA history and, later, save professional basketball in Indianapolis has died, the Pacers announced Tuesday. Bobby Leonard was 88.
Slick he earned his nickname in a late-night gin rummy game with Lakers teammate George Mikan was profoundly Hoosier, as Indiana as they come. He was beloved first as the All-American guard who sank the free throw that clinched Indiana’s 1953 national championship, then as a ruthless competitor who lasted eight seasons in the NBA, then as the Indiana Pacers’ hard-driving coach who turned the fledgling ABA upstart into three-time league champions.
Pacers Legend Bobby Slick Leonard Passes Away At Age 88
Indiana legend Bobby Slick Leonard passed away Tuesday. He won a national championship at Indiana in 1953 and has been the face of the Pacers for decades.
Author:
Apr 13, 2021
INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. – Indiana Pacers legend Bobby Slick Leonard passed away Tuesday at the age of 88 years old.
Leonard attended Indiana University in Bloomington, where he won a national championship with the Hoosiers in 1953. He also coached the Indiana Pacers from 1968-80, and after his playing and coaching career, became a color commentator for the Pacers. Pacers fans will remember Bobby ‘Slick’ Leonard as the spirit of our franchise, Pacers owner Herb Simon said. With a charisma, intensity, and wit to match his nickname, Slick made us champions. He was our biggest fan and our most loving critic, and he personified Pacers basketball for generations of Hoosier families.
Four stories for the price of one:
I have kept the letter all these years â written in purple ink and filling up a page of Phoenix Suns stationary.
Paul Westphal, a Hall of Fame basketball player, took the time to write me after coaching the Suns into the NBA Finals in 1993.
After watching Game 3 on TV, I had written a positive piece about how Westphal had handled himself on the sidelines â and how much fun he seemed to be having. On that Sunday afternoon, his Suns had eked out a triple overtime victory over Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls, the eventual champs.