Former Boston Celtics player, Bill Russell, during his first years with the franchise.

(L-R) Former President Bill Clinton and Russell at the Civil Rights Summit at the LBJ Presidential Library in 2014.

Jim Brown, Hall of Fame running back for the NFL’s Cleveland Browns, Bill Russell, Hall of Fame center for the NBA’s Boston Celtics, and moderator Harry Edwards, professor emeritus at the University of California, Berkeley, discuss a panel on sports and leveling the playing field at the Civil Rights Summit on April 9, 2014. Photo by Eric Draper.

Scanned from the December 3, 1954 issue of the San Francisco Foghorn, the student newspaper of the University of San Francisco

Scanned from the March 25, 1955 issue of San Francisco Foghorn, the student newspaper of the University of San Francisco. An advertisement for Lucky Strike cigarettes has been blurred out because it included a copyright notice and thus may not be in the public domain yet.

Former Boston Celtics player, Bill Russell, during his first years with the franchise. Color edition by user Sportingn

President Barack Obama is greeted by Bill Russell during a stop to view the statue of Russell at City Hall Plaza in Boston, Mass., Oct. 30, 2013. (Official White House Photo by Pete Souza)

President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama wait in the Green Room of the White House with Sylvia Mendez and Bill Russell as recipients of the 2010 Presidential Medal of Freedom are introduced in the East Room, Feb. 15, 2011.

(From top left to right) NBA legends Julius "Dr. J" Erving, Clyde Drexler, George Gervin, Dave Cowens, Walt "Clyde" Frazier, Earl Monroe, (Bottom left to right) Bill Russell, Robert Parish, Moses Malone, and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar pose with the Larry O'Brien NBA Championship Trophy for the 2005 NBA Legends Tour: Destination Finals kick off held at the NBA store. The Tour will visit various cities and United Service Organizations (USO) supported military installations as part of the NBA's on going effort to support service members during the upcoming playoff season.

The San Francisco Dons men's basketball team that won the 1955 NCAA championship.