Former NBA forward Bob Love, who played in the league from 1966-77, has passed away at age 81, according to a press release from the Bulls and a report from Harvey Araton of The New York Times. Love died on Monday after a “long battle” with cancer, per the team.
After starring at Southern University in Louisiana, Love was drafted 33rd overall in 1965 and began his NBA career with the Cincinnati Royals in 1966. He spent his first two seasons with Cincinnati, was selected by the Bucks in the 1968 expansion draft, then was traded to Chicago, where he flourished.
The 6’8″ forward was a Bull from 1968-76, earning three All-Star nods from 1971-73 and two All-NBA Second Team berths. Love also earned All-Defensive Second Team honors three times (1972-74) and eventually had his No. 10 jersey retired by the franchise.
A back injury in 1977, when Love was a member of the Seattle SuperSonics, ultimately ended his playing career.
As Araton details, Love – whose nickname was “Butterbean” – was afflicted by a stutter that impacted his ability to speak in huddles during timeouts and to reporters before and after games.
Love found himself short on money after his playing career was over due in part to the end of his marriage and in part to his stuttering, which limited his employment opportunities. He washed dishes and cleared tables at Nordstrom, where executive John Nordstrom promised him a promotion and a raise if he underwent speech therapy on the company’s dime.
Love earned that promotion, becoming Nordstrom’s manager for health and sanitation, according to Araton, and was eventually brought back by Bulls owner Jerry Reinsdorf as the team’s director of community relations. Having overcome his inhibiting stutter, Love delivered motivational speeches at schools, churches, and community centers on behalf of the Bulls.
“We are heartbroken by the loss of Bob Love, who leaves a legacy of excellence, resilience, and community impact,” Bulls CEO Michael Reinsdorf said in a statement. “Some of my first basketball memories were of Bob playing for the Bulls, and it was an honor to get to know him as a colleague and friend. Bob worked for years for the Bulls as a community ambassador, spending countless hours sharing motivational messages with fans. Bob will always be remembered for the kindness and determination he demonstrated throughout his career on and off the court, and his unwavering commitment to helping others.”
Our condolences go out to Love’s family and friends.
RIP Bob Love …..
One of greatest Bulls ever. Smooth, long scoring SF.
True American dream story. God bless
I never saw Bob Love play basketball but I heard so many stories of yesteryear with the 70’s Bulls. Well coached high IQ players who just came up short in the playoffs in the 70’s.
Damn they’re all gone now. Red Kerr, Sloan, Van Lier, now Love. only Artis Gilmore remains from the 70’s teams.
RIP Butterbean.
Watching Love was captivating, especially live in the arena where you could simply isolate your view on all the things he did. He had such great court sense that one could ignore the ball and simply watch him. It was like a trip to the art museum.
Love was the best player on the great Bulls teams of the early 1970’s. The most physical team of their era. They lacked only a dominant C, which in those days put a ceiling on them. But nobody liked playing them, especially dominant C’s. RIP.
We had Nate Thurmond, granted it was at the very end of his career but still was an anchor. I think it was more due to the fact, the Bulls of that era were delegated as a Western Conference team, and had to go thru Kareem and Wilt during those years.
At one time, the Warriors had Nate “The Great” Thurmond, Wilt Chamberlain and Al Attles in the front court. But, they couldn’t get through Boston.
He was there only the last year of their run, and they were fading already. The tag team of Ray, Boerwinkle and Autry was effective for years on the defensive end. Ironically, they tried to upgrade by trading Ray for an aging Thurmond and it backfired. Ray had his best season and I believe was part of the GSW that beat them in the WCF and went on to win the whole thing.
That trade probably saved the team. Cash was included in the deal and they were thinking of moving. “Golden State” would have allowed them to play at sites around the state in the same season. The Kings were once the Kansas City-Omaha Kings, same time period. The Association was struggling back then.
Hard to come up with a better pair of starting forwards in that era than Bob Love and Chet Walker.
Never heard of Bob Love before. Not from Chicago and not old enough. But, I read a little about him. Sounds like a great guy and he made the fans happy. That’s all that matters.
Sorry to hear about Butterbean. One of my favorite players in the 70s.
These new age players and kids don’t know how good they have it