Last night, the City of Lowell honored Tracy Mitchell for a lifetime of excellence in athletics and in giving back to his community.
Those who played or followed high school basketball in Lowell and Greater Lowell during that era recognize it as featuring the best players to ever lace up a pair of sneakers, and Mitchell took a back seat to none of them. As a Freshman who watched him dunk with regularity at a time when it was a rarity in high school, I can vouch for the title “the father of the slam dunk” bestowed upon him.
That he went on to play on the same court with future NBA Hall of Famers named Bird, McHale, Parrish, DJ and Walton during the 1986 Celtics training camp cemented his legacy in my mind as the most accomplished player to ever come out of Greater Lowell, all due respect to Ramon “Chung” Rivera.
(Who was more accomplished; Mitchell or Rivera? Vote here!)
Below are some snapshots from last night’s ceremony and Mitchell’s playing days.
Photo Courtesy Lowell Sun
2 responses to “Honoring a Lowell Hoops Legend”
Well deserved. Congratulations Tracy!
I have known Tracy for over 50 years. No disrespect to the late great Chung Rivera, but with absolute certainty Tracy is the GREATEST basketball player to EVER play in LOWELL..His resume speaks for itself. I remember thinking, I couldnt wait to go to his games just to see him play. He actually got a technical foul before a game began for dunking in warmups because a bunch of us goateed him into doing it for us.. Charlie Ryan wasnt happy..LOL