Thank goodness for Joe Lacob, new owner of the Golden State Warriors. He has solved one of two mysteries that have been troubling me for awhile.
Mystery #1: Why haven't the Warriors retired Chris Mullin's number and placed it along other retired numbers high above Oracle Arena on the Warriors Wall of Fame? Solved by Joe Lacob. Mr. Lacob has announced that Chris will indeed be honored in keeping with Warriors' tradition. (Hey, istn't it great to hear someone talk about Warrior tradition again?) Why Chris was not honored long ago I'm sure had to do with some petty squabbling during the previous ownership, which flew in the face of Mullin's tremendous contribution to the Golden State Warriors and to the game of basketball. Good for you, Mr. Lacob! We look forward to honoring one of the greatest Gym Rats in the game of basketball and one of the NBA's best.
Mystery #2: Still unsolved. Why haven't the Golden State Warriors honored Franklin Mieuli with A Night at one of the games, show some clips of the eccentric, lovable fellow; allow some players to say a few words? If some of you out there in Warrior Land don't know who Franklin is (died April, 2010), here's a quick history. Franklin was one of the investors who brought the Warriors from Philadelphia in 1962. He became principal owner the following year and kept the team in the Bay Area on a shoe-string budget. The Warriors won their first and only NBA Championship in 1976 during his ownership. His personality was eclectic to say the least: moody, intelligent, loyal, zany, sensitive, tough, humorous, often inscrutable, and, yes, eccentric, a man who once rode his motorcycle into a bar to order a beer, and lived for a time on his catamaran. After Franklin sold the Warriors, he remained a devoted fan, hardly ever missing a home game, watching the action from his court-side seat wearing his Sherlock Holmes hat and cape. There are a lot of ex players waiting for a Franklin Mieuli Night to happen, ready to fly in from all over the United States to honor him.
It may be, for some reason, the Mieuli family does not want such a Night. If that is the case, they should say so and clear up the mystery. Otherwise I look forward to Mr. Lacob righting this wrong. If anybody represented Warrior tradition, it was Franklin.
Here is one of the first poems written about sports. It keeps my thinking in perspective.
ON THE TOMB OF KALAMACHUS THE JOGGER
He slowed once
and death caught him.
