what I never knew was that it was Stevie Wonder who gave him one of the greatest nicknames of all time.
Met and served him when I was a bartender in the mid-80s. Fun, nice guy, so he seemed. By far the largest hand I've ever shaken.
Sorry to hear of his passing. When he was with the Nets he added personality to the team.
Due to the size of his boom box, Dawkins once spent 7 days on disabled list for tendinitis in his shoulder.
I always wondered why he didn't dominate the game. The Times says that refs didn't like him, which might have been more important than the coaching issue.
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/08/28/sports/basketball/darryl-dawkins-nbas-lovable-chocolate-thunder-dies-at-58.html?ref=sports
Pete Dexter on Double D, from 1980:
http://thestacks.deadspin.com/manchild-in-the-promised-land-where-darryl-dawkins-cam-513697129
Too young (only 8 yrs older than me) He was the reason the NBA put the springs on the hoops so you couldn't shatter the backboard with a dunk.
Promote your business here - Businesses get highlighted throughout the site and you can add a deal.
I'll let others post the backboard-smashing videos if they choose, but for now I'd rather smile at the memories of his supersize personality, which was a marvel to behold.
http://www.philly.com/philly/sports/sixers/Report_Former_Sixer_Darryl_Dawkins_passes_away.html