Bobby “Slick” Leonard, a native of Terre Haute, Ind., helped the Hoosiers to a national championship in 1953 by hitting the winning free-throw against the Kansas Jayhawks. Leonard also had a hand in coaching the Indiana Pacers to three ABA championships and currently does home broadcasts with Mark Boyle on the radio. This past Friday, Leonard finally was honored for those accomplishments when he was inducted to the Basketball Hall of Fame in Springfield, Mass.
Every time a Pacer connects from downtown, Leonard yells “Boom Baby!” Some people connect that phrase with Reggie Miller, but that’s not the case. It was born with another Pacers player, Billy Keller, in 1973.
On Friday night, Leonard’s induction speech was moving because it showed how much he loves the people and the state of Indiana as he talked about how much it meant to be a Hoosier. Slick is a very genuine man and if anyone ever doubted his heart, they would be wrong. Yours truly has had the opportunity to meet the recent inductee and is proud to know him.
