Kankakee Public Library Podcasts

Born in 1942, Bob Love grew up in poverty as one of 14 children in rural Louisiana. As a child he was unable to do what most of us take for granted-speak properly. He stuttered severely. To escape from his embarrassing speech problem, Love dreamed of one day becoming a basketball star. As he grew to a 6’8” high school senior, Bob's dreams of being a great athlete became real. He played in college, then for the Cincinnati Royals, and then traded to the Chicago Bulls. Bob became one of the top players ever to play the game of basketball. He played with the Bulls for eight seasons from 1969 — 1976 and was a three-time NBA All-Star. For seven straight years he was the Bulls’ leading scorer and is the second highest scorer in Bulls history (Michael Jordan is the top scorer). His life was unstoppable until he hurt his back, which ended his playing days. Doctors told him he would never walk again. Unable to speak, Bob tried for years to find a steady job. In the early 80's he hit rock bottom. He took a job bussing t