Shaler Halimon obit

Shaler Halimon, one of the original Portland Trail Blazers and longtime TriMet bus driver, dead at 76

 He was not on the list.

Shaler Halimon, one of the original Portland Trail Blazers and a longtime fixture in the team’s alumni program, died this week. He was 76.

Halimon played five years in the NBA and ABA, earning the nickname “Houdini” during a stint with the Chicago Bulls, but was best known in Portland for playing on the Blazers’ inaugural team in 1970-71 and for a long and distinguished career as a bus driver with TriMet.

After a prolific college basketball career at Utah State, Halimon was selected No. 14 overall by the Philadelphia 76ers in the 1968 NBA draft. He played in 50 games with the 76ers as a rookie, but was traded to the Bulls the following season and went on to play 40 games over two seasons.

In was in Chicago, on Jan. 17, 1970 against Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and the Milwaukee Bucks, where Halimon had perhaps the most memorable performance of his career. He scored three baskets in the final eight seconds of regulation to dramatically force overtime, and the Bulls went on to win 132-130.

The late-game scoring flurry remains one of the most celebrated in franchise history — the Bulls team website once ranked it ninth on a “10 Greatest Bulls Shots” list — and earned Halimon the nickname “Houdini.”

The expansion Blazers acquired Halimon two games into their inaugural season for a future second-round draft pick, and he went on to average 8.9 points, 5.3 rebounds and 2.7 assists in 79 games. The Blazers waived him the following summer after a 29-53 season.

He played two more years with the Atlanta Hawks and Dallas Chaparrals of the ABA, before leaving the game at age 27.

After his playing career, Halimon initially landed a job as a social worker in San Antonio, where he ran a halfway house among other things, but soon returned to Oregon and settled into a decorated career with TriMet that spanned parts of four decades.

In 2002, Halimon earned the title of Master Operator after netting TriMet’s “Superior Performance Award” 10 times. Eight years later, in 2010, TriMet named him its bus operator of the year.

All the while, he was a routine visitor to Blazers games and made regular appearances for the team as part of its alumni program, most recently on Oct. 9, 2019, when the Blazers kicked off a yearlong celebration of their 50th anniversary with an exhibition game at Memorial Coliseum.

 

Personal information

Born     March 30, 1945

Tampa, Florida, U.S.

Died     April 19, 2021 (aged 76)

Vancouver, Washington, U.S.

Listed height            6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)

Listed weight            199 lb (90 kg)

Career information

High school            Romulus (Romulus, Michigan)

College

Imperial Valley CC (1964–1966)

Utah State (1966–1968)

NBA draft            1968: 1st round, 14th overall pick

Selected by the Philadelphia 76ers

Playing career            1968–1973

Position            Shooting guard / small forward

Number            26, 19, 11, 15

Career history

1968–1969            Philadelphia 76ers

1969–1970            Chicago Bulls

1970–1971            Portland Trail Blazers

1971    Atlanta Hawks

1971–1973            Dallas Chaparrals