| Interment Location | Visited | Sequence in Graves I Have Visited |
|---|---|---|
| Windsor Mills Manor, MD | January 5, 2024 | 6th Basketball Hall Enshrinee visited |
The NBA team now known as the Washington Wizards was previously called the Bullets, and one of the best players during that period of franchise history was Wes Unseld. He earned rookie of the year honors in the 1968-1969 season, and over a 13-year career he defined himself as an all-time great. A member of the NBA 75th Anniversary Team, Unseld died in 2020 and is interred inside a mausoleum at King Memorial Park in Windsor Mills Manor, Maryland.
Upon entering the King Memorial Park mausoleum, I walked to the wall straight ahead and found Unseld’s crypt in the first column of dark-colored shutters, third row from the bottom. The 6’7″ Unseld was only the second NBA player to win rookie of the year honors and be named most valuable player in the same year, following Wilt Chamberlain. The Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame website notes that despite chronic knee issues that plagued his career, Unseld was a five-time all-star and retired as the seventh-leading rebounder in league history.
In 1978, the NBA center and his wife, Connie Unseld, established a day care center in West Baltimore. It became an accredited, private elementary school in 1983. An article in the Washington Post from 2020 says that around the school, the recently-deceased basketball hall of famer “was a grandfatherly figure the students called ‘Mr. Wes.’ He would greet kids at the front door and remind them to tuck in their shirts. He would cook lunches in the kitchen — lasagna, spaghetti and hot dogs were among the school favorites — then sit in the lunchroom and help kids pry open milk cartons. He was the field-trip bus driver, a teaching assistant and the groundskeeper who mowed the grass and picked weeds.” Connie Unseld continued operating the school after Wes’s passing, guiding it through the COVID-19 pandemic and an extensive 2022 renovation.
Fast Facts
Born: March 14, 1946 in Louisville, Kentucky
Spouse: Connie Martin Unseld (m. 1970-2020)
Team: Baltimore Bullets (1968-1973); Capital Bullets (1973-1974); Washington Bullets (1974-1981)
Basketball Hall of Fame: Class of 1988
College Basketball Hall of Fame: Class of 2006
Died: June 2, 2020 in Catonsville, Maryland
Cause of Death: Complications from Pneumonia
Age: 74
Interment: King Memorial Park, Windsor Mill Manor, Maryland
"The most amazing thing to me is how effective he was with those bad knees. Any time he stepped on the floor, whether it was for practice or a game, he was in pain. It wasn’t comfortable for him, but he saw it as part of his job. He knew his teammates were watching him and if he didn’t do it, they might not do it. We always talk about leadership in sports, but you don’t designate yourself a leader. You just lead. That’s what Wes did."
- Mitch Kupchak
on his former teammate, Wes Unseld, in a 1996 interview with the Washington Post
Wes Unseld, whose image appears on the right side of this photograph, scored 169 points across 18 playoff games en route to the NBA championship in 1978. Unseld was named most valuable player of the Finals. The Bullets’ 1977-1978 season trophy is displayed at the Capital One Arena in Washington, D.C. Today called the Larry O’Brien Trophy, until 1984 the hardware awarded to the NBA champions was named after Boston Celtics owner Walter A. Brown.
Unseld’s uniform number, 41, was retired by the Bullets on November 3, 1981. A banner in his honor hangs in the rafters of Capital One Arena, alongside those of other franchise members whose numbers were taken out of circulation by the Bullets/Wizards franchise. From left to right are banners commemorating Earl “The Pearl” Monroe, Elvin Hayes, Gus Johnson, Unseld, and Phil Chenier.
Sources Consulted and Further Reading
Maese, Rick. “At the Unselds’ School, bracing for fall without ‘Mr. Wes’.” Washington Post. September 1, 2020. https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/2020/09/01/wes-unseld-school-death/.
Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. “Westley S. ‘Wes’ Unseld.” Accessed October 3, 2024. https://www.hoophall.com/hall-of-famers/wes-unseld/.
Sheinin, Dave. “Wes Unseld, Hall of Famer instrumental in Washington’s only NBA title, dies at 74.” Washington Post. June 2, 2020. https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/obituaries/wes-unseld-hall-of-famer-instrumental-in-washingtons-only-nba-title-dies-at-74/2020/06/02/af6f59e2-a4d7-11ea-b473-04905b1af82b_story.html.
Unseld School. “About Us.” Accessed October 13, 2024. https://www.unseldsschool.com/about-us/.
