Bill Walton, who died Monday at age 71, 'did everything for everybody, and loved this city ... like none other'
Bill Walton, San Diego icon, basketball superstar, award-winning television analyst, certified Deadhead, cyclist, philanthropist, political activist, philosopher, father, grandfather, loyal friend, jovial stranger, self-described luckiest guy in the world, has died. He was 71. The 6-foot-11 center, who won titles at Helix High School in La Mesa, two at UCLA and two in the NBA before moving back to San Diego and working with dozens of local charities, lost a protracted battle with colon cancer.
” A few years ago, a staffer at the Pechanga Arena overheard General Manager Ernie Hahn mentioning he was having lunch with Walton. The staffer mentioned that 30 years earlier, when he was 12 and living in Portland, he had gone to a Trail Blazers game and asked the star center for an autograph — and had been rebuffed. Hahn told the story over lunch, and the next day Walton arrived unannounced at the arena with a ball, jersey and Sports Illustrated covers he signed for the staffer.
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