Bill Walton was the quintessential southern California baby boomer turned flower child.
No one or five articles can adequately describe the multi-layered personality of Big Bill. He was the rare great athlete who transcended his sport.
Armed with boundless energy and enthusiasm, he was a fierce Vietnam War protestor, a political champion of minorities and underdogs, even though he suffered from a severe stuttering problem. Waltn was a serious bicyclist and a renowned music lover, especially of his favorite band, the Grateful Dead.
Despite suffering through dozens of surgeries, mostly on his feet and knees, he still proclaimed himself the luckiest guy on Earth, refusing to give in to pain and negativity.