Old School Posters

To this day I still have a few crisp Reggie Miller posters unopened from my single days. I will get around to making them look presentable soon, then straight to the pool room where they will take pride and place.

Until then, check out these gems that could be found on my bedroom or dorm room wall during my youth.

Always had to have a poster of the great man, Moses Malone, hanging up somewhere. He truly did inspire me to rebound.

Big Mo was one of the great centres of all time in the NBA.

George "Iceman" Gervin was a creator of the unconventional. Know for his finger roll, the Iceman could just flat out fill it up for the San Antonio Spurs.

Always gave me hope when I watched him play because he relied on his skill and shot making ability, not athleticism.

On of the great pure shooters of the NBA. When I was at Tacoma Community College I used to love watching Dale Ellis fill it up from long range with ease.

With a smooth stroke, Ellis could get it going at the drop of a hat. Feet squared and running off a screen by Michael Cage, it was down for the "Silent Assassin".

A true classic poster.

Choose your weapon. The only reason I had this poster was because I was a Converse kid.

Although both Magic and Larry were great players, Moses was my man in this era.

I used to dream of finishing the break like Big Game James. Worthy was the ultimate finishing at the end of a Los Angles Lakers fast break.

He wasn't too bad in the post either.

I look forward to seeing some of my readers reminisce over their favourite NBA posters.

My All Time Fav 4

The inspiration for this post was created by Facebook. FB has an application that allows you to choose your All Time favourite five athletes.

So thanks to YouTube and my kind words, here are my Fantastic Four.

Why four you ask? I could throw another big name athlete on the list to make five, but in all honesty these where the guys I worshipped growing up.

1. Greg Chappell

Growing up on the Darling Downs it was easy to be drawn to Chappell as a young kid dreaming of playing cricket for your country.

Chappell was textbook with the bat and I would stay up to the wee hours of the morning to watch him play his classic strokes while touching up the Poms in the old Motherland.

With a test average of almost fifty four and a century on debut, the hairs on the back of my neck always rise when he is not mentioned amongst the best batsmen to ever use a Grey-Nicolls.


2. Mal Meninga

When I wasn't working on my straight drive, I was palming my brothers off for another brilliant backyard try. I would calmly finish the play off with a toe poke conversion.

All this was only achieved because I was decked out in my Souths Magpies long sleeve jersey. Oh, of course the number 3 was on the back.

I loved how Meninga could bust open a game with his own pure strength and ability. A real match winner and an attribute I love to see in a player.

My childhood love for Meninga only grew when I met the great man at Davies Park (Brisbane). I remember it as clear as day. Dad took me to watch my beloved Magpies but Meninga did not dress as he had a rep game the following week. I managed to snag an autograph (which I still have) from Mal as he watched the game from a deck chair on the sidelines.


3. Ivan Lendl

The surly Czech was always the underdog but if you study his record you will soon realize that he was quite the player.

He captured eight Grand Slam titles but never won Wimbledon. I believe this is why he does not get the love he deserves. He competed in a record 19 Grand Slam titles, which is still a record to this day.

I could ramble on all day about how good I felt he was, but his biggest impact on me was the wristband. He was the reason I donned one in my early playing days and basketball was lucky that our playing shorts had no pockets. Otherwise I would have had sawdust in my pockets too.


4. Moses Malone

The NBA in the 80's was all about the Lakers and the Celtics. Magic, Kareem, Larry and Co dominated the press. My man was Moses Malone of the Philadelphia 76ers at that time.

I loved watching Malone punish Kareem as Mo (not Dr J) lead the 76ers to their title in 1983.

His rebounding prowess I have tried to incorporate into my game over the years but it was his Nike Air Force footwear I so dearly wanted.

He was playing for the Atlanta Hawks at the time when I sent him a letter trying to acquire a pair. It was a long shot but I got the Hawks address out of the Basketball Digest (remember that read) and nervously penned a letter to Mo asking if he could send a 14yo Aussie guy a pair of his kicks.

I'm not sure where the letter ended up but I still go out to the mailbox everyday anticipating that those shoes will arrive.



Who are your all time greats?