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I bet you didn’t know Pete Maravich’s dad played a season for the Pittsburgh Ironmen in 1947.

Pete Maravich (Born June 22nd,1947) was really one of the originators of modern day basketball in the fact that he paved the way for future guards with his abilities and skills that no one had ever seen before and the excitement that he brought to a game which hadn’t been witnessed ever by Americans. His style was of something else, bottled all of the essential elements in what it takes to be “perfect.” Pete had a sixth sense if you will, of knowing the game too well almost to the point of abusing it the same way he abused his opponents. Pete would look into your eyes and has been said to literally “sense the fear”. Look into his eyes and you see the pain, the torture that this soul has endured through everything that he has witnessed, felt, and caused. To some Pete Maravich seemed crazy to the point where he would be recommended help and to others he was just an individual doing what he had to survive in his era. This was Pete Maravich.

I bet you didn’t know Pete Maravich wasn’t supposed to live past the age of 8 years old.

Pete was born in Aliquippa, Pennsylvania which was known as an industrial town where the sky was always gray and the problems never seemed to fall short. Pete’s Father Press Maravich was an ABA player for the Pittsburg Ironmen where he played one season and put up averages of 4.6 points a game and played 51 games for the Ironmen before Pete arrived. Press Maravich had been said that he was one of the few coaches that ever really thought outside of the box in terms on coaching and methods so it may seem surprising that when Pete was learning Showtime basketball Press said he really had nothing to do with it. “I gave him the fundamentals, but the between-the-legs, behind-the-back, blind stuff Pete does, I never even thought of that.” Press worked Pete out to the max as just a Seven year old kid Press would make him work on his passing and dribbling skills from four to five hours a day. This is where it started for Pete as his journey was just beginning.

I bet you didn’t know that Pete Maravich is the leading NCAA point’s leader. Before the 3-point line was even invented.

You see this is where it started, eventually Pete would start bringing his basketball to school with him and whenever he would walk around town the basketball would be there right under him and with every bounce came closer to the fatal collapse. Pete surprised a lot of people when he was selected to his high school’s varsity team as just a freshman, where he exceeded to the point of becoming the team’s leading scorer. This was almost unheard of back in Pete’s era, for a kid to be playing with seniors on a basketball team. This was so popular that today there are movies dedicated to just the Freshman season of Pete Maravich and everything that he had to endure while playing, such as the threats from the older players about their playing time dramatically going down since the Pete Maravich takeover. Pete was living in a life and era just not made for him, and this was a perfect example of it. But through all of this he would continue to work himself to the bone almost to the point of physical suicide. The nets became his escape from the outside world that hated him so much and he knew that the hardwood was his only safe haven where he could go to release the pain that was bottled up inside of him and evolve into Showtime.

I bet you didn’t know at the age of 13 Pete Maravich made 500 consecutive free throws.

Pete and his family moved a couple times during his high school years because of Press’s coaching changes but wherever they went Pete was always a star and would always put on a show. Sometimes while his dad was at NC State coaching, Pete would come by and pretty much practice with the team. Sometimes after practice Pete would challenge some of the players to one on one game and once even took on the best player NC State had and won. There was never a shortage of practice time for Pete as he would always find a gym to work out in and improve his game as much as he could, setting personal goals for himself such as making 300 shots from outside before he could leave. These were all things crucial to the success of Pete, and everybody knew it as soon as they saw him that he was a hard worker that would just not give up no matter how hard it got.

I bet you didn’t know that Pete Maravich is the only dead player in the 50 greatest players of all time.

Pete Maravich got the nickname “Pistol” In high school because of the way he shot. Pete did not have the strength to shoot in front of him so he would shoot from his side and, as said by a local newspaper, “He shoots like he's holding a pistol.” This was his name, his trademark. Pete would attract a lot of attention when visiting rival schools on the road. Everybody wanted to see what the fuss was about and why he was getting all of this attention. Those same people saw a show everywhere they witnessed him, from the behind the back passes between traffic to the no looks that no one had ever seen before and would often bounce off of the target, even if it was spot on his chest because they were just not ready. The world was not ready for Pistol Pete Maravich. There was a lot of heavy recruitment for Pete but his main problem was working with a team because to others Pete was considered a “ball hog” that would only worry about himself. That’s just the way he was taught to play and now it would be a challenge to see if Pete would bring that to the next level.

I bet you didn’t know Pete Maravich had a brother that was an All-American football player.

The college decision was not easy for Pete, as he was being heavily recruited by some big time schools that all wanted his Showtime ability and skill to be displayed on a nightly basis in front of thousands of fans. The decision for college got a lot easier when Pete’s father Press got offered the job at the then sub-par college of LSU. Press was given the job for 1 reason and 1 reason only: bring Pete Maravich with you. Of course Pete knew why his dad had got a job at LSU, and he was going to have a little bit of fun with him and see what his dad would give him in order to play ball for him. So when the time came and Press asked Pete if he would come with him to LSU Pete replied with, “If you buy me a car.” After a lot of consideration Press finally gave in and bought Pete that car which he would use to get around the LSU campus. Pete was happy, but his future teammates at LSU were not so pleased after hearing about Pete’s bad habits when playing basketball, which can simply be put by Robert Lipsyte’s words describing Pete: “Pete Maravich was Showtime before there was Showtime. The only problem with Pete Maravich was the four other guys; he just didn't relate to the rest of the team. A team was Pete Maravich and anybody who was inbounding to him.” This was going to be a hard transition for the rest of the team to make and a lot of them disapproved of this move, but his father held the final say and he said “Shoot.”

I bet you didn’t know Pete’s number is retired by both the New Orleans Hornets and the Utah Jazz.

Pete’s dream had always been to play in the NBA, but even more than that Pete wanted to be the first millionaire basketball player. So one day at a Lefty Driesell summer basketball camp, Lefty decided enough was enough and told Pete, “Oscar Robertson succeeded without flamboyant passes.” Pete, feeling offended and in terms defending his dream of being the first millionaire basketball player, quickly replied with, “And they don't pay you a million dollars for two-hand chest passes.” This was Pete, always showing who he was and what he wanted to be. Even before stepping foot onto LSU’s campus he already had a reputation. This is not what Pete wanted but it is what he got: in between all his critics and hate for Pete there was some hope. Pete was hope; Pete Maravich was the white hope that everyone wanted to be even though none of them really said it. People from around the LSU area started talking and saying maybe he is going to be the one to bring our program to glory. Everyone knew this was a possibility and something that should be taken in full stride; even his teammates who already were not fond of Pete were silently speaking that he may be the one to get us where we have always wanted to go. Pete was the great white hope.

Since it was just Pete’s Freshman season, he could not play with the Varsity team at LSU. You see back in those days freshman were not allowed to play with the Varsity team, so the group was split into two teams, Freshman and Varsity. So when the time came for Pete’s first game nearly all of Louisiana showed up to see what all the hype and talk was about. Also as a quick note, the freshman team would play ahead of the Varsity team in terms of schedule. So as Pete came on to the floor and scorched Southeastern Louisiana College for 15 points,14 rebounds and 11 assist the crowd just walked up and left in awe as the varsity team took the floor with only a handful of people still remaining. This was what Pete was bringing with him to LSU, and he proved why he belonged there. This type of night continued for the rest of the season as Pete led his freshman squad to a 17-1 record, but on the other side of things the Varsity squad struggled and went 3-23. However, Press and the rest of the team knew that next season would be a lot better. Oh yeah, it would be a hell of a lot better.

The next 3 seasons came nothing but improvement for the program as Pete lead them offensively. as the Tigers went 14-12 ,13-13 and 22-10. Press told Pete to keep shooting no matter what. “If your open, shoot,; if you’re guarded, create space and then shoot.” Pete had amazing passing ability, but Press thought that passing would affect the game too much and cause losses, so when asked about this Press responded with “We win with Pete; if he gets special treatment, it's because he is so special.” It was obvious that this was Pete’s team and he proved why he was the best every night he played. In his first season of Varsity basketball at LSU Pete put up 1,138 points, the next season, 1,148 and his senior season of 1970 he put up 1,381 points. Averages of 43.8, 44.2 and 44.5 points per game which accumulated to 3,667 points and an average of 44.2 points per game during 83 NCAA games. Pete shattered almost every SEC and LSU record during his amazing career at LSU and this was even before the 3-point line was even put into place. After years of studying Pete’s games it is said that Pete made an average of 13 shots a game from what is now the three-point line. You can get a sense of what it would have been like if the point scoring was what it is now. Also if the three-point line had existed when he played, he would have averaged 57 points a game during his whole career at LSU. He holds records of scoring more than 50 points 28 times, which still stands today. If you count the points he made his freshman year Pete would have more than 4,000 points under his belt.

This was the legacy that Pete was leaving at LSU and even more so he was bringing in a lot of hardware that was a testament to his hard work. Maravich was a three time first team All-American during all of his Varsity seasons. Pete won the USBWA College Player of the Year and Naismith Award as well during his senior season. He scored a personal high of 69 points against Alabama during his senior year and added a lot of other awards that he won during his college career at LSU. More important though was how he changed that program, which was almost embarrassing before Pete arrived and after he left it became almost a powerhouse. Even today his marks are being shown as LSU is now known as a big time school to play basketball in. This was all because of Pete, but there was still a dark cloud over all of this; Pete never got a chance to play in the NCAA tournament and is considered one of the best to never play in the NCAA tournament.

In 1970 after his senior year at LSU, Pete entered the NBA draft in hopes of getting to play professionally. He was selected 3rd right after Bob Lanier and Rudy Tomjanovich and just before Dave Cowens. The Carolina Cougars of the ABA were also interested in Pete at that time and offered him a contract but then Atlanta, in need of a good Southern basketball player to help bring in fans, made an unprecedented move and offered him a contract worth nearly 2 million dollars over 5 years. Pete’s dreams of being the first millionaire basketball player was right in front of him and without hesitation he signed on the dotted line and became an Atlanta Hawk. During his 1st season with the Hawks, Maravich continued to prove why he was the best by putting up 23 points per game in his rookie season and making the All-Rookie first team. Despite him having an amazing rookie campaign, the Hawks struggled going 36-46 losing 12 more games than their previous season.

The next season Pete decided to play more of a team style and contribute more and get his teammates more involved, which was pretty easy for Pete to do. He let his scoring come down to 19 points per game and his assist level went up to a career high of 6.9 per game. This is what Pete had always wanted, and his team was winning with this too. Pete was later selected to the All-Star team that season and his Hawks finished with a 46-36 record. This was the only winning record in Pete’s nine seasons of NBA basketball. Pete could never stop being called a ball hog or a selfish teammate throughout his career, as he was often placed on mediocre teams that just could not perform, and with that he never came close to winning a NBA title. His former Hawks teammate Lue Hudson once said this about Pete and his winning struggles: “Raw-talent wise, he's the greatest who ever played, but always, no matter what he does, he will be a loser. That's his legacy. It never looked easy being Pete Maravich.” This was his legacy. Pete was a loser.

In 1973-74, as Pete began his 3rd season in the league and his last with the Atlanta Hawks Pete began to go back to his old ways of not passing the ball and playing the game for himself. The scoring outcome was great with Pete putting up 27 points per game, but the team struggled financially and most of the team did not want Pete there anymore. So with all of these problems coming up and the “Pistol” project apparently failing, the Hawks decided to do what was needed and Pete was traded to the New Orleans Jazz. The Jazz thought that having the state legend come in and be the first franchise player would be a great start, so the deal was made and Pete was sent to his next destination. Pete finished the season with the Jazz as they went 23-59 but they were excited to see what Maravich could do in his upcoming season.

The 1975-76 season was much better for Pete, as he put up 26 points per game which was 3rd best in the league. Pete shot a career high 46% from the field and made the All-NBA First Team. The city of New Orleans was proud for Pete and they came out and showed support as a growing franchise. The next season is what would mark down Maravich as one of the best the league has ever seen, as he put up career numbers all around. Pete led the league in scoring with 31 points per game, hitting 40 or more 13 times that season and again was selected to the All-NBA First Team, but the highlight of that season came on February 25th of 1977. Under the bright lights of New York, Pete Maravich went crazy on the Knicks scoring 68 points on the defensive wizard himself, Walt Frazier, in what would be one of the most terrific scoring outputs ever seen by the NBA.

This was the end of the “Amazing” Pete Maravich era as we knew it. The next season Pete would face a career threatening knee injury which sidelined him for 32 games even though he averaged 27 points per game through the first few games. The next season he was sidelined for 33 games as a result of the previous injury that had dogged him, but he did manage to come back, but with a knee brace on and his old agility all gone. He ended up scoring 22 points per game on a bad leg. That’s just who Pete was, a scorer who would do anything to score even if it meant playing with a bad knee. The Jazz would move to Utah in 1979, and with new coaching Pete was faced with a new problem.

While playing in Utah Pete would often get into arguments with head coach Tim Nissalke, and after playing for 17 games with the Jazz and his problems with Tim, Pete was waived. Boston quickly rushed in on Pete as he was signed and played 26 games alongside another great white hope Larry Bird. The Celtics, with little help from Pete won the 1980 Atlantic Division title but that was it for Pete as he felt that his body was giving up on him. On September 20th, 1980 at the age of 33 Pete Maravich decided to hang up the shoes and formally announce his retirement from the game of basketball.

Without basketball in his life, Pete went through stages of depression during the next 2 years and indulged into alcohol abuse and many extraordinary activities, such as Urology (the study of UFO’s). Then, in 1982 Pete discovered religion and said that God had talked to him and sent him a message. Pete gave up drinking and started to live a healthy lifestyle and even became a vegetarian. It all seemed too well, and it ended abruptly.

In an interview in 1974, Maravich had said, "I don't want to play 10 years [in the NBA] and then die of a heart attack when I'm 40." Sadly this is exactly what happened. After playing a pick-up game at a church court in Pasadena, California, Pete Maravich collapsed. The last person he talked to while the players were getting ready for another game was James Dobson, and according to James Pete’s last word, not even a minute before he died were, “I feel great.” He was gone.

An autopsy revealed the cause of death to be a rare congenital defect; he had been born with a missing left coronary artery, a vessel which supplies blood to the muscle fibers of the heart. His right coronary artery was grossly enlarged and had been compensating for the defect. Pete was not supposed to live past the age of 8 but he did and was physically able to live with this defect and perform at an amazing athletic level. Pete was 40 years old when his life was taken.

This is what I feel should be remembered about Pete Maravich. I decided not to include some of the lesser details that have damaged Pete’s reputation such as the suicides that affected him. His sexual life outside of basketball. His own willingness to want someone to kill him. I felt these were too personal and really none of our business. I hope you enjoyed this reading and maybe learned a couple things that you may have not gotten to.  Feel free to leave comments and feedback.

I bet you didn’t know that a year after Pete Maravich retired from the Boston Celtics and the NBA they went on the win the NBA title. Pete never got a chance to be part of a championship team.

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