To tell you the truth, I never really saw the resemblance, so I never really got the nickname. When John Havlicek arrived in Boston in 1962, it was said that he'd picked up the nickname Hondo because he looked so much like John Wayne. To my eyes he looked as much like John Wayne as he did Geraldine Page, Wayne's costar in the forgettable 1953 Western of the same name. Havlicek had the height, but he was broad-faced, jug-eared, and buzz-cut. As his remarkable 16-year career in the NBA went along, and he grew his hair out, he never looked like John Wayne.
Remembering John Havlicek: A Tireless Champion Who Never Stopped Running
