Manute Bol mix

[MURP]

Manute

[PhillyGirl]

LOL, I still remember my 5 foot tall mom running into him at the grocery store one day. She came home and was like, scarred for life from having seen him in person.

[Feva]

@ 56 seconds:

Mark Eaton knows he had NO business letting Manute yam on him like that. 

[phattymatty]

is he dying or something?  seems a little sentimental.

[PhillyPhanInDC]

He's not dead, but he came close after a taxi accident where his big ass was thrown from the taxi.

Full write up on a great guy, who I grew up watching in awe, and met several times:

Manute Bol is a Sudanese/American basketball player and activist. Bol is 7'7" (2.31 m) tall. Until the debut of Gheorghe Muresan (who was supposedly a few millimeters taller), Manute was undisputedly the tallest player ever to appear in the National Basketball Association. He blocked 397 shots during the 1985-1986 season, a rookie record. Manute also holds the all time NBA record for most blocked shots per minute, (.176). At 15, the Dinka herdsman killed a marauding lion with his spear while it lay sleeping – a feat his agent noted during his contract negotiations.

Contents
1 Height
2 Basketball career
3 Career after basketball


Height
Bol is believed to have been born on October 16, 1962 in either Turalie or Gogrial, Sudan. He is the son of a Dinka tribal chief, who gave him the name "Manute," which means "special blessing." His paternal grandfather was said to have been 7'10" (2.39 m) tall, and he claims to have a younger sister who is 6'10" (2.08 m). Conversely, his father is said to be a modest 5' 10" (1.78 m) and his mother only 5' 7" (1.70 m).

Basketball career
In 1987, the Washington Bullets had the tallest player in the NBA (Bol at 7'7" / 2.31 m) and the shortest (Bogues at 5'3" / 1.60 m).Bol moved to the United States at age 18 after being recruited by representatives of Fairleigh Dickinson University. He chipped a tooth by getting it caught on the net when he tried to slam dunk for the first time. He later attended Cleveland State University despite not having a strong command of written English. Bol played one year of college basketball at the University of Bridgeport.

He was drafted by the San Diego Clippers in the 5th round of the 1983 NBA Draft, then in the 2nd round of 1985 Draft by the Washington Bullets. In 1987, the Bullets also drafted the five-foot-three (1.60 m) Muggsy Bogues, and the sight of the two players together became a sought-after shot for sports photographers. Due to his height and extremely long limbs, Bol was one of the league's most imposing defensive presences, blocking shots at a nearly unprecedented rate. However, his other basketball skills were very limited, and his rail-thin physique made it difficult for him to establish position against the league's physical centers and power forwards. The sight of the tall, gangly Bol spotting up for a three-pointer during blow-outs became a fan favorite. Off the court, Manute established a reputation as a practical joker; Charles Barkley, a frequent victim of his pranks, testified to Bol's sense of humor. He also developed a close friendship with teammate, Chris Mullin.

Over the course of his career, Bol averaged 2.6 points, 4.2 rebounds, 0.3 assists and 3.3 blocks per game while only playing an average of 18.7 minutes per game. Bol is the only player in the history of the NBA to block over 300 shots in his first 2 seasons. He played in the NBA for nine years, from 1986 to 1995, spending 3 seasons with the Bullets, 2 with the Golden State Warriors, 3 with the Philadelphia 76ers and 1 with the Miami Heat. After the end of his NBA career, Bol played 22 games for the Florida Beach Dogs of the CBA during the 1995-96 season. He then played professionally in Italy and Qatar before rheumatism forced him to retire permanently.

Career after basketball
Bol was very active in charitable causes throughout his career. He frequently visited Sudanese refugee camps, where he was treated like royalty. In 2001, however, he was held against his will by the ruling Islamic government because of his support of the Dinka-led Christian rebels, the Sudan People's Liberation Army. The Sudanese government refused to grant him an exit visa. Through intervention by friends in the United States, including Sen. Joseph Lieberman, Manute was finally able to return to the United States.

He established the Ring True Foundation in order to continue fundraising for Sudanese refugees. He has given most of his fortune (an estimated $3.5 million) to their cause. In 2002, Fox TV agreed to broadcast the telephone number of his Ring True Foundation in exchange for Bol's agreement to appear on their Celebrity Boxing show. He scored a third-round victory over former football player William "The Refrigerator" Perry. Later that year, Bol signed a one-day contract with the Indianapolis Ice of the Central Hockey League to raise money for the Sudanese, and also had a brief stint as a horse jockey for similar reasons.

On June 30 of the same year, he was seriously injured when a taxi he was riding in flipped and crashed in Connecticut, killing the driver. It was later determined that the taxi driver had been driving under the influence. Bol was thrown from the taxi and suffered major injuries, the most severe of which were three broken vertebrae in his neck. However, after a grueling rehab and with support from several friends and former teammates, he is now able to walk without a cane. He appeared for a ceremonial tip-off at a Chicago Bulls game in April 2005.

During his time in Egypt, Bol ran a basketball school in Cairo. One of his pupils was fellow Sudanese refugee Luol Deng, the son of a former Sudanese cabinet minister. Deng's family eventually received political asylum in the United Kingdom. Luol later moved to the United States to further his basketball career, continuing a close relationship with Manute. After an All-American freshman season at Duke University, Deng became the seventh overall pick in the 2004 NBA Draft and was selected to the 2004-05 All-Rookie First Team.

More recently, Bol has been involved in the Sudan Freedom Walk, a three-week march from the United Nations building in New York to the US Capitol in Washington, DC. The Walk was organized by Simon Deng, a former Sudanese swimming champion (currently a lifeguard at Coney Island) who is a longtime friend of Bol's. Deng, who was a slave for three years from the age of nine, is from another tribe in Southern Sudan. His Sudan Freedom Walk is especially aimed at finding a solution to the genocide in Darfur (western Sudan), but it also seeks to raise awareness of the modern day slavery and human rights abuses throughout Sudan. Though unable to participate in the bulk of the walking, Bol spoke in New York at the start of the Walk, and in Philadelphia at a rally organized by former hunger striker Nathan Kleinman. He also intends to speak at the closing rally on the Capitol steps on April 5th, 2006.

Manute Bol currently lives in West Hartford, Connecticut. The Ring True Foundation can be reached at 866-547-8326 (in the United States).

[PhillyPhreak54]

Manute also whupped on The Fridge in Celebrity boxing.

I remember one game when they were playing PHX and he hit like 7 three pointers or something. I think it was in 1992.

[PhillyPhanInDC]

Manute also whupped on The Fridge in Celebrity boxing.

I remember one game when they were playing PHX and he hit like 7 three pointers or something. I think it was in 1992.

I'll see if I can find some video of the fight. From the article I posted earlier:

He established the Ring True Foundation in order to continue fundraising for Sudanese refugees. He has given most of his fortune (an estimated $3.5 million) to their cause. In 2002, Fox TV agreed to broadcast the telephone number of his Ring True Foundation in exchange for Bol's agreement to appear on their Celebrity Boxing show. He scored a third-round victory over former football player William "The Refrigerator" Perry. Later that year, Bol signed a one-day contract with the Indianapolis Ice of the Central Hockey League to raise money for the Sudanese, and also had a brief stint as a horse jockey for similar reasons.

[PhillyPhanInDC]

Bol weighing for the fight:





Bol blocks four consecutive shots (basketball). Pretty farging cool to watch. 

[Rome]

They had Fridge listed at 350+?

Yeah, plus about 200 pounds.

[mussa]

i watched that fight. the fridge was so out of shape after three thrown punches he was heaving and couldn't do anything anymore. if he would of landed one punch he would of folded manute.  probably the most pathetic display of man ever.

[Sgt PSN]

probably the most pathetic display of man ever.

You've never met Chuggie, have you? 

[Diomedes]

Bol blocks four consecutive shots (basketball). Pretty farging cool to watch. 

The (moving) picture of O\/\/n3D!1!