Over the past two weeks, there have been countless online tributes to the late, great center Bill Walton, who helped put UCLA and the Portland Trail Blazers on the basketball landscape.

Walton’s presence helped establish John Wooden as the “Wizard of Westwood,” as well as make the 1977 Blazers one of the NBA’s legendary champions. Head coach Jack Ramsey added to his legacy, ironically 10 years after he led the Sixers to a championship in 1967.

Walton certainly was a sports staple for the late 60s and 70s. He was surrounded by numerous role players who helped fuel his legacy. Walton also had a successful second career as a broadcaster.

In this week’s version of my Yesterday column - reminiscing about sports and pop culture from the 1960s, 70s, 80s and sometimes before and beyond - I’ll take a look at the Sixers-Blazers championship series as well as some other sports and pop culture items from 1977.

Did KISS have a comic book and do you remember the Chicago Fire? How Billy White Wolf and Sheik Adnan Al-Kassy connected? What’s the origin of the high-five?

Read on ...

Pauley Pavilion’s Prize ... We all are aware of Walton’s feats at UCLA, but there may be some forgotten facts.

During his sophomore and junior years, the Bruins compiled consecutive 30-0 seasons, winning a pair of titles in the process. Walton had a 49-0 all-time record at Pauley Pavilion.

In his sophomore season, ex-Sixer Henry Bibby (15.7 points per game) was Walton’s complement. The following year, Walton was joined by future Buck David Myers, along with Larry Farmer and Larry Hollyfield (anyone remember them?)

Some other notable players with “Big Red” were Richard Washington, Keith (Jamall) Wilkes, Greg Lee, Swen Nater and Ralph Drollinger.

Blazing A Trail ... The Trail Blazers’ comeback on June 5, 1977 to beat the Sixers down 2-0 is still one of the league’s greatest. The series turned in Game Two in what was a Sixers’ 107-89 rout at the Spectrum.

We can all recount the Darryl-Dawkins-Maurice Lucas scuffle - both tried to display classic boxing technique - but the skirmish was sparked by a shoving match between George McGinnis and Lloyd Neal.

Lucas approached the Sixers’ bench before Game Three to make peace, and he went on to score a game-high 27 points. Walton added 20 in a 129-107 thumping. Portland scored 41 points in the third quarter of Game Four to help knot the series.

If anyone remembers Game Five, it was a classic battle. The Sixers set an NBA record with 22 first-half fouls. Portland continued to ride its momentum to build a 20-point lead until Dr. J - who scored 37 points - tried to bring the Sixers back.

Portland, which had 59 rebounds, posted a 110-104 win, and Walton and Co. gained instant fame with a title in their sites. They won Game Six, 109-107, after McGinnis missed a wide-open tying jumper and Erving failed to tap it in.

Walton, who had a series-high 114 rebounds, had a league-high 288 in the postseason.

He came back the following year and won the league MVP, but it would be the zenith of his career. Walton would miss three of the next four seasons with a recurring foot injury, but he did sign with the then San Diego Clippers (remember this?) and played four seasons there.

Walton ended his career in a two-year reserve role with the Celtics, his final year in 1986-87.

People forget the excellent play of small forward Bobby Gross and guards Johnny Davis and Lionel Hollins, the latter who was a future Sixers’ coach.

Was He or Wasn’t He ... Walton always was a counterculture guy dating back to his UCLA days.

In his early days with Portland, there was plenty of smoke surrounding Walton being linked romantically to Patty Hearst, who also was a controversial figure. If you remember, Hearst was kidnapped by the Symbionese Liberation Army, and then later photographed with them robbing a bank (I remember seeing the photo).

However, most reports have refuted their relationship.

Overall, Walton was a vibrant part of our sports fabric.

Classic Vinyl ... In 1977, some classic albums debuted that can generate plenty of memories. Fleetwood Mac released “Rumours,” while Billy Joel hit the charts with “The Stranger.”

Also, Styx hit it big with “Grand Illusion,” and a new band, “Talking Heads,” emerged from Detroit.

Did you have these on an 8-track or an album?

KISS Komics ... Speaking of controversial figures, the rock band KISS can enter into that category.

In the 70s, the band was at its height and had numerous items. On June 30, 1977, Marvel released its first KISS comic book. It spurred a number of spinoffs through the years.

If you have the original one, keep it sealed.

In February of 1974, the band released its first album titled, “KISS.” My first one was “ALIVE” in ’75.

High and Five ... On Oct. 2, 1977, one of our most popular gestures was born.

The Dodgers’ Dusty Baker hit his 30th homer and helped his team became the first to have four players (Steve Garvey, Reggie Smith and Ron Cey were the others) hit 30 or more homers in a season.

As Baker touched home plate, he was greeted by teammate Glenn Burke, who raised his hand in the air and Baker consequently smacked it.

Thus, the high-five was born.

Cha-Cha-Cha-Chia ... How many of you had a Chia pet? Well, the roots can be traced back to 1977 when a San Francisco ad executive launched the “Chia Guy” out of a planter that grew hair when the moistened chia seeds sprouted.

From there, a number of Chia Pets have evolved over the years.

Team Tales ... Periodically, I’ll reflect on a defunct team from our past.

Anyone remember the Chicago Fire/Wind from the World Football League. They began as the Fire in 1974 and then the Wind in 1975. They were coached by Bears’ legend Abe Gibron, and ex-Eagle Cyril Pinder saw some time there.

The Wind made a major move before the 1975 season when they offered then free agent Joe Namath a three-year, $4 million deal that included an annual annuity of $100,000 that began in 1978 for 20 years.

Namath signed with the Jets and became the league’s highest-paid player at $900,000, and the Fire and the WFL were extinguished after the 1975 season.

WWF Wrestling Wrap ... Each week, I’ll look back at a former WWF or WWE star from past.

Do you remember Billy White Wolf or Shiek Adnan Al-Kassy? He was the same wrestler, and the latter reference is his real name (also spelled Al-Kaissie).

Al-Kassy was born in Baghdad in 1939. He starred in football at the University of Houston and later at Oklahoma State in wrestling. Al-Kassy debuted in 1961 as Billy White Wolf, and he held the WWF Tag Team Championship with Chief Jay Strongbow in the late 70s.

In the 80s, Al-Kassie changed his identity to a sheik, and teamed with Ken Patera and Sgt. Slaughter. Al-Kassie also spent some time in the AWA.

He passed away last year at the age of 84.

Memory Lane ... Each week, I’ll reflect on a former player, coach, manager or media personality from our yesterday.

Do you remember Phillies’ infielder Ramon Aviles? He was purchased from the Red Sox in April 1978, and he spent the entire season with then Triple-A Oklahoma City.

Aviles appeared in just one game with the Red Sox, and he hit. 268 overall in 116 games over three seasons with the Phils. He was sold to Texas for pitcher Dave Rajsich in October 1981, and he never appeared in another MLB game.

Aviles passed away at the age of 68 in 2020.

Feedback ... Your comments are always welcomed at tnsports@tonline.com.