What if a Yoda had met Chewbacca? It’s London, 1967, and Pete Carril, this and apprenticeships, spots namesake Peter Mayhew during a vacation. Carril, the coach at Princeton, persuades this early-20s, gangly 7-foot-3 Brit to learn the art of basketball — “Patience, you must have.” Perhaps Peter Mayhew would be now known for his blocks and not Chewbacca, the role he famously played in the “Star Wars” films.
But no Yoda ever met Chewbacca, so Mayhew went on to be a hospital orderly, once photographed for a newspaper article about abnormally large feet, which led to a film role, which then led to the acting role of a lifetime (for a 7-foot-3 non-actor).
Today is May 4th, which to Star Wars nerds is a holiday of sorts — May the Fourth be with you. A guy in our office, for instance, is dressed as Obi-wan Kenobi. Here’s some fun intertwining of Star Wars and sports.
- The best Star Wars nickname in sports is slam-dunk extraordinaire Kenny “Sky” Walker, who in 1989 (and that hair!).
- In 2012, Denver’s own Skywalker on May the Fourth.
- These are awesome — .
- Here’s Chewbacca at a MLB game.
- Air Bacca? of dunking Chewbacca is worth a look.
- features “Star Wars” — check out this awesome pic of past and present united.
- And finally, for “Arrested Development” fans, today is also ” .”
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- Sure, you saw the Floyd Mayweather-Manny Pacquiao fight. But did you see it as from Nintendo? Now you can.
- And into the meaning of that fight, per a Grantland scribe on the scene.
- Former NBA player Stephen Jackson has so many Air Jordans that he’s .
- Do you know about Periscope? It’s taking social media to a frightening new level, and it allows many people on Saturday night to watch The Fight for free, albeit at lower quality. about how a golf journalist lost her credential by Periscope-ing.
- Three years ago today, we lost Adam Yauch. Here’s a of the Beastie Boys’ MCA through the years.
- . It’s a thing, following last night’s “Mad Men.”
- And finally, happy 45th birthday to .
Benjamin Hochman: bhochman@denverpost.com or
