Bill Russell Statue to Be Designed by 'Teammates' Sculptor, Displayed at City Hall Plaza in Boston

Bill Russell Statue to Be Designed by ‘Teammates’ Sculptor, Displayed at City Hall Plaza in Boston

by Jen Slothower on Mon, May 14, 2012 at 8:28PM

Plans are firming up for a sculpture honoring Bill Russell.

Sculptor Antonio Tobias "Toby" Mendez and architect Matthew Oudens have been chosen to design the Bill Russell Legacy Project sculpture.

Boston Mayor Thomas M. Menino and representatives from the Bill Russell Legacy Committee and the Boston Celtics Shamrock Foundation made the announcement at Monday night's playoff game between the Celtics and Philadelphia 76ers at the TD Garden. Mendez and Oudens were chosen from three finalist teams.

"This is such a great honor to be chosen to create the tribute to Bill Russell," Mendez said. "Russell is such a transformative person in so many aspects of his life, in his career on the court as a player and later as a coach — his contributions to human rights and in his dedication to mentorship programs that will guide our children into the future."

The sculpture will join a variety of improvement projects planned for City Hall Plaza.

Mendez is not a stranger to works honoring Boston sports greats. He designed "The Teammates," a bronze sculpture of Ted Williams, Bobby Doerr, Dom DiMaggio and Johnny Pesky that stands outside of Fenway Park.

As well as the sculpture, the Bill Russell Legacy Project and the Boston Celtics Shamrock Foundation have developed a mentoring grant program in Russell's name, meant to expand resources for mentoring programs in Boston.

Russell, a Hall of Fame center who played his entire 13-year career in Boston, also coached the C's for three years.

Check out a photo of Menino and Co. announcing the statue details at Monday's game below.