Bob Love

Robert Earl Love (December 8, 1942 – November 18, 2024) was an American professional basketball player who spent the prime of his career with the National Basketball Association's Chicago Bulls. A versatile forward, Love could shoot with either his left or right hand. He carried the nickname "Butterbean" from boyhood, drawn from his fondness for the legume.

Love grew up in the cotton fields of Louisiana, the son of a sharecropper. His first basket was fashioned from a wire hanger and his first basketball was a pair of socks. He suffered from a severe stuttering disability and seldom spoke, fearing he would be called on in school and ridiculed by other children. Raised by an abusive stepfather, he ran away at the age of 8 to live with his grandmother, and did not meet his biological father until he was 33.

At Morehouse High School in Bastrop, Louisiana, now defunct, Love starred in both basketball and football, playing quarterback and leading his teams to state titles in both sports. He graduated in 1961 and earned a football scholarship. Following his playing career, Love worked as the Chicago Bulls' director of community affairs and goodwill ambassador.