
Thoughts from the General: Stories from the remarkable life of Bill Russell
I will never forget the day that basketball great Bill Russell visited the Air Force Academy. He was serving the U.S. State Department as a special envoy to Africa. The year was 1973. He had retired from playing basketball and would soon move on to full-time coaching. When he arrived at the Political Science Department his handshake was memorable. Bill’s hand seemed to be twice the size of mine; it surrounded mine. He visited a class with about 20 cadets who were taking a course in international relations. An introduction








