Robert Parish’s bad feelings towards Larry Bird Evident in Brawl with Dr. J

Who cares? Why give fresh air to this old theme now?

Because this is Boston and this is Larry Bird and everything has still matters. The somewhat distant relationship of the boss with his star teammates has always been mysterious. The parish disagreed the meeting sponsored by the 1985-86 Celtics team in 2016 and has been scarce around TD Garden since he retired.

Let’s be realistic: here in the center of the sports universe, we are always looking for new explanations about ancient episodes that involve the Celts, Sox, B and C. We never stop asking why/if Johnny Pesky kept the ball in the 1946 World Series . dissect and analyze as the Warren Commission report. And what fan of local sports still doesn’t ask why Bill Belichick sent Malcolm Butler at the Super Bowl Lii?

Last week we listened to words from a couple of players from the red socks that could create resentments in the house of this year. Third base Rafael Devers said he will not give up his position To leave space for Gold Glover Alex Bregman, and Young teammate Triston Casas He offended many with his insistence that Devers should play third and that Boston’s three best prospects should stay out of the opening day list.

For those who were not there, it is difficult to understand how big were the Celtics in the great 80s 80. Bird had resurrected the franchise in its rookie season (1979-80), the Celtics won the championship in the ’81, and in 1983 They were the main pre -season (along with the 76ers and Lakers) in October when the parish moved away from the team. A contract dispute. The boss was outraged on the sixth man Kevin Mchale signing a new contract that would pay him $ 1 million annually (remember when a lot of money for a professional athlete was?).

The parish at that time began the third year of a five -year contract that paid $ 650,000 annually and did not like the notion of doing more.

“How can you pay for a start than an initiator?” He asked the parish. “It’s an insult to me.”

I was the journalist of the Celtics Beat of The Globe Celtics in those days and I went down strongly in the parish, with a Sunday column that began: “Robert Parish is wrong.”

While the parish was enraged at home, 1983-84 (destined for another championship flag) embarked on a pre-season trip of eight days to the west. As long as I was in Phoenix-Tempe for an exhibition with the Suns, Bird told me: “If Robert doesn’t want to be here, he doesn’t want to be here. We have enough talent in the bank. “

Obviously, those words trapped with the parish.

Seeing part 5 of the HBO documentary in a private projection last Friday (Jaylen Brown, Jays Tatum and Joe Mazzulla also attended), I saw the words of the bird on the silver screen in an explosion appointment of the globe of October 11 of 1983 While we listen to the parish to talk about its failure to get to Bird’s defense in a dust that began with the great Dr. JJ

Most of you have probably seen a video of the fight and the famous photo of Larry and Doc with your hands in the other’s throat. It was an early game of the regular season in which Bird had 42 points in three quarters while Erving fought. Larry at that time was in the apogee of his powers, in the mid -three years as MVP of the League, while Doc was reaching the end. Julius got tired of Larry’s garbage talk and a fight occurred.

Burd did not like the way he developed. When the 76ers Fuertes Moses Malone and the young Charles Barkley restricted the bird behind, Erving entered a couple of licks when Larry was fought against the floor. ML Carr, Cedric Maxwell and Dennis Johnson came to Bird’s defense, but the parish, which was at the bank taking a break when the fight began, was the only player in any of the teams that never reached the court.

“When Moses wrapped his arms around Larry, he drowned it, he was right there,” says Parish in HBO’s Doc. “I stayed there and I saw everything. . . This was the only time I didn’t feel close to Larry. After I was reinforcing contracts with the Celtics, to be honest, Larry didn’t support me. He said: “If Robert doesn’t want to be here, just give me the ball and get out of the way.” I endured resentment for a minute, sure, and that’s why I didn’t help it. “

The boss kept the grudge for more than a minute. Larry-Doc’s fight occurred more than a year after the 1983 parish holdout. Four decades later, the parish finally tells us why he never joined the fight.

Ultimately, it didn’t matter. Team teammates do not necessarily have to like us. Of all the accounts, Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig were not friendly, but that did not derail the Yankees dynasty of the 1920 and 1930. Bird and Parish played together for 12 seasons and won three NBA championships for Boston.

And now we know a little more about how they felt on each other.

And maybe one day we discover why Malcolm Butler did not play in that Super Bowl.

Dan Shaughnessy is a world columnist. You can contact [email protected]. Follow it @dan_shaughnessy.