This story, by Phil Elderkin, first appeared in the Feb. 14, 1970, issue of The Sporting News as Walt "Clyde" Frazier and the Knicks were en route that year to the first NBA title in franchise history. Frazier, Willis Reed and company would win another title in 1973, as Frazier became an iconic presence in the city, on the court and especially off it.
NEW YORK, N. Y. — "Hey, man, you gotta be kidding," exclaimed one of Walt Frazier's friends in the lobby of the Marriott Motor Hotel in South Philadelphia. "Man, those threads are too much!"
Frazier, the All-Star guard who plays for the New York Knicks, was about to leave for a pro basketball game at the Spectrum. If he didn't stop traffic with his black sealskin coat, he was sure to trap a few tourists with an eight-button suit, bell-bottom pants, and patent-leather shoes with gray silk uppers and buttons up the side.
Frazier has this thing about clothes. He dresses the way he feels. On this particular night he looked like the menu in a Chinese restaurant with overtones of the NBC peacock.
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Talk about Ken Harrelson's wardrobe. Frazier spends more money on scarves. And when he wears a necktie, it's as wide as the New Jersey Turnpike.
"I guess my big interest in clothes comes from my father," Walt said. "He was a sharp dresser. He was just about the most stylish man in our neighborhood. After he'd gone to work sometimes, I'd go in and try on some of his shoes and shirts. I was just a kid, but I liked to do it.
"I've always liked to dress the way I feel," Frazier continued. "When we lose, I dress kind of conservatively. When it rains, I wear old things. When we win, I like to splash on the colors."
Whirlwind on Defense
Next to center Willis Reed, Frazier is the most important man on the first-place New York Knicks. He keys their defense and oversees their offense. On those occasions when there is absolutely no one open for a pass, Frazier makes the basket himself.
A year ago, Walt was voted the NBA's top defensive player, a super honor when you consider that Bill Russell was still active. Frazier isn't tall enough to block shots. But, as teammate Nate Bowman once said: "Man, that cat's hands are so fast he could steal the hubcaps off a moving car."
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"Actually, there is nothing that gives me more pleasure than separating somebody from the ball," Frazier explained. "Sometimes, when I click for a few quick steals early in the game, that noise makes me feel like I can do anything.
"I like crowd reaction, and all that screaming and cheering you get on a thing like this makes me kind of jingle inside. It really does something for your confidence. I get the feeling I'd like to try and guard the whole team myself."
Too Much Ball Control?
If Frazier has a weakness, it is that he sometimes controls the ball for too long at a time, thus leaving his teammates with nothing to do. Instead of bringing the ball up and then making his decision of what to do with it at the foul line, he'll reverse-dribble and sacrifice his team's penetration. Yet few guards in the NBA are more gifted at running the fast break.
"His philosophy is a lot like what we had on the old Celtics," said Boston's John Havlicek, a pretty good clutch player himself. "Nobody cared what they scored as long as the team won.
"I've noticed that when the Knicks win big, Walter's point totals aren't that impressive. But when the game is close and you need a lot of baskets from somebody, he's the guy who gets them."
As a team, the Knicks do not have any real size. Center Willis Reed, their biggest man, is only 6-10. The San Francisco Warriors, for example, start two forwards (Clyde Lee and Jerry Lucas) who are just as big.
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But New York does have an unusual sense of team responsibility. The Knicks are especially tough on the man who controls the ball for the foe. Frazier, in particular, often forces the person he is guarding to pass the ball before he is ready and then capitalizes on his mistakes.
"We need Reed to score, to get us the ball and clog up the middle on defense," said the Knicks' coach, Red Holzman. "But we also need Frazier to run things."
Most of the time, Walt is as slick as his sealskin coat.