Hernia Hall of Fame (HHOF) inductee: Manute Bol
Manute Bol
Not even the great Dr. J was a match for Manute Bol.
Height: 8’9"
Weight: 87lbs.
Teams: Bullets (twice), Warriors (twice), Sixers (twice), Heat (seriously)
Stats: He transcended them.
Arguably the greatest player of all-time, Bol was grace personified, earning him the nickname “Manute Bol-yshnikov”. His stunning fluidity was only magnified by Bol’s insistence on wearing the shorts of 5’8 teammate Michael Adams throughout much of his career. Sadly, Bol was forced to retire in the mid 90s due to repeated concussions, caused by dozens of head-on collisions with arena Jumbotrons.
Career changing moment: When Don Nelson encouraged him to launch 3′s whenever he got the ball, no matter where he was on the court
Strange But True: Bol was initially spotted by college scouts while bobsledding in Lake Placid
Comparable athlete in different sport: Lenny Dykstra
Career highlights:
- Was doused with shaving cream from head-to-toe by Rick Mahorn and Charles Barkley
- Dunked his own balls in vicious vendetta game against Bullets
- 1st and only player to have one of his balls credited with a blocked shot
- Routinely dunked 3-pointers in practice/warm-up drills
- Swiftly recorded more blocks than points in 8 of his 9 NBA seasons
- Beat the shit out of Karl Malone on several occasions
Career lowlights:
- Attended University of Bridgeport
- Accidentally packed Muggsy Bogues into his luggage (Bogues missed 5 games following the incident)
- Paid attention to Jim Lynam’s instruction
- Had more fouls than points in 4 of his 9 NBA seasons
- Was polite to every ref, including Steve Javie
Interesting life facts:
- At 15, the Dinka herdsman killed a marauding lion with his spear while it lay sleeping — a feat his agent noted during his contract negotiations (this is actually true). What’s more interesting is that same lion’s head now sits above Sarunas Marciulionis’ fireplace.
- Bol chipped a tooth by getting it caught on the net when he tried to slam dunk for the first time (actually true). Even more interesting is that same tooth once served as an integral part of Turk Wendall’s famed lucky tooth necklace.
- His short-lived, yet entertaining WWF tag team run with Kamala ended in controversy and just short of the tag team belts. After Bol performed his patented ‘tree limb’ kick to the face of Jim ‘The Anvil’ Neidhart, the sure pin was not to be as outside interference from Jimmy Hart forced the inevitable double DQ.
(By: T. Ryan and A. Grady)
