Walt Frazier’s Children’s Book Details the Invention and the Life of ‘Clyde’
Knicks Legend, 79, connects with children through colorful paperback.
MIAMI — If not for the racism that kept blacks from playing quarterback in the 1960s, Walt “Clyde” Frazier might have been an NFL star instead of one of the NBA’s greatest players.
Mr. Frazier, an NBA Hall of Famer and central to the Knicks two championship teams in 1970 and 1973, played quarterback at David Tobia Howard High School at Atlanta and was a passing phenom.
“I was a good passer,” Mr. Frazier told The Sun in an exclusive interview. “My idol was Johnny U. I was tall for a quarterback about 6-4 and 185 in the 10th grade. I didn’t have any speed. But I was a good passer.”
A football fan since his childhood, Mr. Frazier might have pursued a professional football career, but knew his opportunities even in college were limited. “They’d make you a wide receiver or a defensive back unless you went to Grambling or another black school,” he said. “There weren’t any pro opportunities either.”
Instead, he devoted himself to basketball and through a contract of one of his mentors, he enrolled at Southern Illinois University where he became one of the top collegiate basketball players in the nation. The Knicks drafted him fifth overall in 1967 and the rest is history.
“I was petrified when I went to Southern Illinois,” Mr. Frazier admitted. “I’d never been around white people before and never been that cold before.”
That’s just one of the revelations in his new children’s book, “Winning and Grinning: Walt Clyde Frazier: Knicks Legend and New York City Icon.”
Published by BrightTime Books, the 39-page paperback details all aspects of his life from his basketball journey to his taste for fashion and how he became Clyde. “It’s about my life and how I grew up,” Mr. Frazier said. “This is all the sides of Clyde.”
The colorful book is available on Amazon.com, but Mr. Frazier distributes them when he speaks to children through opportunities created by the Garden of Dreams Foundation, operated in partnership with MSG Entertainment, MSG Sports and Sphere Entertainment. Children have had a special place in Mr. Frazier’s heart since his playing days.
“When I come out of the employee entrance at 33rd and 8th, I always have flashbacks to the twilight of my career when I wasn’t that good,” he said. “There would always be two or three kids waiting for me and telling me, ‘Clyde you’re still the greatest. Clyde, you’ll get them next time. Clyde, let me carry your bags.’ They’ve always been there for me. There were no women out there, no men, just these kids. They were the only ones there. So this is my way of giving back.”
The book helps the 79-year-old connect with a much younger generation, which wasn’t always eager to hear what he had to say. He told the Sun the story of when he first started going to schools to speak. “I’m in an auditorium with about 100 children, and the principal didn’t tell them that when the bell rang, they were supposed to stay there,” he said. “When I get up and start talking, the bell rings and it’s chaos. People are running in and out. A girl told me, ‘We hear this stuff all the time.’ When things settled down and I started talking again, they started yelling, “Where’s (John) Starks? Where’s (Patrick) Ewing?’
“I said, ‘Yeah, where are they? I could be anywhere in the world, and I decided to be here with you guys. You should show me some respect.”
At that point Mr. Frazier was ready to give up visiting schools. “I felt like I don’t need this,” he said. “But when I came off the stage again there were three or four kids and they came up to me and said, ‘Mr. Frazier, thank you for coming. We enjoyed your talk.’ That’s when I decided wherever I go, if I can reach one kid, that’s why I go.”
The first modern player to have a sneaker deal, Mr. Frazier has been a radio commentator for the Knicks since his retirement and is known for his loquacious and often rhyming commentary. It’s part of the Clyde persona he created as a rookie when he started wearing a Fedora and the colorful clothing he still wears today.
“The first time I wore the Clyde hat everybody laughed at me,” Mr. Frazier said. “It wasn’t in vogue. But I believed in it. I kept wearing it and now I’m Clyde.”
The message to children: “Don’t be afraid to veer from the path and leave your own footprints,” he said.
From high school quarterback to NBA legend to fashion icon, Mr. Frazier has done just that.
