Hawkins had been in bad health recently and was diagnosed with colon cancer in 2007.
Connie Hawkins was the bridge to how the game was played from era to era.
It was Hawk that connected to Julius Erving that led to Michael Jordan with the showmanship (as shown in the picture to the right) and the high-wire attack through the air that only Elgin Baylor had a game similar of that to Hawkins at the time.
Sadly, we never saw the true best of Connie Hawkins, who was banned from his commitment to Iowa and the NBA for having his name mentioned in a point-shaving scandal in 1961 despite there being no proof of participation or Hawkins even playing in any of the mentioned games.
Banned from the only pro league at the time, Hawkins played for the Harlem Globetrotters before spending time in the short-lived ABL winning the only league championship with the Pittsburgh Rens.
Hawkins would then be the dominant player in the first three seasons of the ABA with the Pittsburgh/Minnesota Pipers, winning the league title and the MVP in the league's first season.
During this time, Hawkins (and others including Roger Brown, who took the settlement, but chose to stay with the ABA ) sued the NBA for their unfair ban and before the case could get to trial, the NBA settled with Hawkins, paying him 1.3 million dollars and assigned him to the Phoenix Suns.
The Suns had won just 16 games before Hawkins in their inaugural season, but with Hawkins in the lineup won 39 games, made the playoffs and pushed the Lakers of Jerry West, Elgin Baylor, and Wilt Chamberlain to a surprising seven-game series before losing.
Hawkins battled knee injuries thereafter and even though he was able to maintain his numbers for the most part in Phoenix, they played a part in Hawkins being traded to the Lakers, where his skills declined before ending his career in 1976 in Atlanta with the Hawks.
I have three personal stories relating to Connie Hawkins.
In the early 70's, Hawkins and author David Wolf, who would later become a boxing manager and agent for Ray "Boom Boom" Mancini worked on his autobiography "FOUL", that ended with some of Hawkins years with the Suns making the book.
I found a used copy of this at a book sale and it was a regular part of my sports book rotation that went to school a lot and tended to satisfy teachers that I was reading (like that was tough to get me to do) much more than magazines did.
I haven't read FOUL in years, but it's in the attic somewhere, battered and beaten, but well loved in its day.
Another Hawkins story was his cameo appearance on early Saturday Night Live, where he "lost" a one on one game to the diminutive singer Paul Simon at a New York schoolyard in a skit for the show.
I must have been seven or eight and hanging out with my dad late night and just was amazed that an NBA player that I watched on tv lost to the little guy that sung "Kodachrome"?
I remember just babbling about this great upset before after a while, Dad explained to me that it wasn't "real" and Hawkins "let" Simon win for the laughs!
A televised one on one game is my final memory of Hawk.
In 1972-73, the NBA's television contract was in its final year with ABC and with ABC being the "third network" in ratings at the time (their time was just a few years away), the NBA often was given prime or at least preferred time games.
At halftime of their games, ABC held a one on one tournament that was taped well before the season and shown during halftime of their games.
I remember faintly seeing Hawkins taking on younger star Spencer Haywood at my old house shortly after moving back here.
As in, I watched it at my old house, they didn't come over play there!
I have never seen that tournament since that day long ago and it's not even on Youtube, which is really amazing to me since about everything is on Youtube it seems!
I don't even remember the winner, I just remember my dad letting me stay up on a school night to watch before trudging up the stairs for bed.
Back tomorrow with Indians-Yankees game five!
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