FILE - In this Thursday, April 13, 1972 file photo, Boston Celtics' John Havlicek (17) dribbles ball around New York Knicks' Bill Bradley during an NBA basketball game in Boston. The Boston Celtics say Hall of Famer John Havlicek, whose steal of Hal Green’s inbounds pass in the final seconds of the 1965 Eastern Conference finals against the Philadelphia 76ers remains one of the most famous plays in NBA history, has died. The team says Havlicek died Thursday, April 25, 2019 at age 79. (AP Photo/File)

BRIDGEPORT — The Ohio Valley — and more specifically Bridgeport — lost one of its most well-known and revered athletes Thursday night.

John Havlicek — the Bridgeport High School Class of 1958 product who went on to gain national acclaim with the Ohio State Buckeyes and Boston Celtics — died at the age of 79. He had been battling Parkinson’s Disease for several years.

While those affiliated with the Celtics, Ohio State and basketball in general sent out their sympathies through social media Thursday, many right here in the Ohio Valley took a step back to offer their condolences to the Havlicek family as well as share a few thoughts on the eight-time NBA Champion and Pro Basketball Hall of Famer, who was named one of the NBA’s Greatest 50 Players of all time.

“Even out of a (basketball) uniform, John Havlicek was my hero,” long-time friend Gordie Longshaw said. “John was the type of guy who would have been successful in whatever he had chosen to do. If he wasn’t an athlete, he would have been some kind of business executive and done extremely well. He’s just a great guy.”

Longshaw, who last spoke with Havlicek in March, indicated that the Parkinson’s that ‘Hondo’ had been battling simply got worse.

“John was a very private and proud person,” Longshaw, said. “He had been battling Parkinson’s for about the last three or four years, but it had really gotten worse recently.”

Havlicek was hospitalized on his birthday, April 8, and never returned home.

Longshaw, who plans to attend Havlicek’s funeral in Florida in the coming days, recalled making plenty of trips to Boston and beyond to watch Havlicek and the Celtics play. But, still it was the class with which Havlicek handled himself that will stick with him the longest.

“His dedication and loyalty are what I am going to miss the most,” Longshaw said. “I remember he was getting honored for something and he named every one of his teachers from grade school through high school. He was that kind of guy. He never forgot all of the people who were factors in his life.”

Havlicek’s years at Bridgeport paved the way for what came later in life. He actually could have gone to Ohio State to play football or baseball as well as hoops. But, according to Longshaw, Havlicek’s mother didn’t want him to play football.

“Woody Hayes came and recruited him, but John didn’t think he would be good enough to play basketball at Ohio State because of the guys they had recruited, including Jerry Lucas. So, John actually almost went to West Virginia, but he decided to at least give it a try.”

It was a try that worked out quite well for Havlicek, head coach Fred Taylor and the Buckeyes. Havlicek was a key piece to the 1960 Ohio State team, which claimed the national championship. That title is still the only one ever captured in OSU basketball history.

One of Havlicek’s OSU teammates — St. John Central grad Dick Reasbeck — was one of his rivals during their prep days in the Ohio Valley.

Reabeck actually calls Havlicek the main reason he went to Ohio State rather than Duquesne.

“I had quite a few (scholarship) offers, but nothing from Ohio State,” Reasbeck said. “I played in an all-star game in Ohio and one of their assistant coaches was there. They had one scholarship left and offered it to me. Later that night or week, Havlicek called me and said, ‘you better come to Ohio State. We’re going to be pretty good.'”

Reasbeck did and ended up rooming with Bobby Knight, across the hall lived Havlicek and Lucas.

“John was a quiet guy,” Reasbeck said. “I remember I had a ’56 Chevy and I would haul John, Bob Butts, Bobby Bruney and bunch of us back and forth from Columbus to the valley. That would always lead to a few good stories being shared.”

Reasbeck called Havlicek, based on his accomplishments, “the best athlete to ever come out of the Ohio Valley.”

It would certainly be tough to argue that point.

“John was really good at Ohio State, but he got even better when he got to Boston because he made himself into a good shooter,” Reasbeck said. “I remember him telling me and Bobby Knight that Red Auerbach told him, ‘we’re going to draft you, but you have to learn how to shoot.”

Havlicek simply took that as a challenge.

“John’s work ethic was beyond anyone I knew,” Reasbeck said. “He would work and work and work until his arm got sore from shooting so much. It paid off for him.”

On top of the Pro Basketball Hall of Fame, Havlicek is a member of Ohio State, OVAC, Lou Holtz Upper Ohio Valley and NCAA Halls of Fame. He was also inducted to the OHSAA’s Ring of Honor.

When Havlicek was inducted to the College Basketball Hall of Fame in 2015, he was joined by Longshaw and Bridgeport Board of Education member Don Cash, who grew up watching Havlicek play for the Celtics and met him through his involvement with the annual Niekro Golf Scramble.

“Everything we’ve ever asked John to be involved with from a school perspective, he’s always been all on board,” Cash said.

The gymnasium at the high school was re-named the John J. Havlicek Gymnasium in 2007. To further honor Havlicek, the Bridgeport technology class put together a video of Havlicek pictures and clips, including the famed, ‘Havlicek stole the ball,’ line from Johnny Most. The video is played just prior to the start of boys and girls basketball games on the videoboard in the gym.

Taking it a step further, Cash approached him about doing a voice recording that could be played prior to events held at the gym.

Havlicek agreed and it was completed in January.

“I am so glad that we decided to do that recording,” Cash said. “John agreed, but wanted to know what we wanted him to say. I told him, ‘anything.’ He came up with some things and it took several takes, but it got done and we played for the latter part of the season.”

There are a faction of people over the course of time that have sometimes questioned how much Havlicek actually cared about Bridgeport or the Ohio Valley.

Cash immediately dispelled that thought.

“For years, John would make donations to the school and/or basketball program,” Cash said. “He simply didn’t want any recognition. He didn’t want it acknowledged what he was doing. He just did it.”