Allow me to introduce myself: My name is Dave, and I run/ran the soon to be defunct blog, www.whereisbenrivera.com. I primarily focused on random or forgotten Philadelphia athletes because, well, no one else seemed to writing about random or forgotten Philadelphia athletes. Judging by Google Analytics, however; I realized why I had this dying, niche market completely cornered.

Random, forgotten athletes are forgotten for a reason. A Sixers fan doesn’t repeatedly refresh a website, waiting in bated breath for a power ballad on Eric Leckner, or a coming-of-age tale about Willie Burton. I get this.

But I am a romantic. Somewhere out there, hopefully here, there is an audience for the Alstons , Burtons , Tylers , and Rex Walters of the world. Each and every one of them has a story, desperate to be heard. And I choose to carry their flag.

I choose to be their voice.

Besides, we’re in a lockout. What else do you have to read?

via solecollector.com

Name: Ron Anderson

College: Fresno St. 

Believable Dialogue from 1992:  

"That’s Gilliam’s third."

"Lynam will probably go small with Anderson."

Sixers Run: 1988-1993

Ron Anderson Facts: Ron Anderson didn’t shoot three-pointers because he found the line to be arbitrary and smothering. Only during the ’91-’92 season did the NBA’s ‘all-or-nothing’ culture finally rein in the wild stallion.

There’s an old running joke about Ron Anderson:

How many Ron Andersons does it take to screw in a light bulb?

One. There’s only one Ron Anderson.

Back before the mid-range jumper became a lost art, Ron Anderson was our Picasso. His seventeen foot jumper was neither abstract nor expressionism, however, for Ron Anderson would not be labeled. His game was smooth, refined. There were no wasted motions with Ron Anderson. He was a suave small forward who would have been just as comfortable playing in cuff links instead of his trademark wrist bands.

But it took our hero a few years to find his calling.

A second round draft pick by the Cavaliers in 1984, Ron Anderson spent his first season and a half playing understudy to guys like World B. Free, John Bagley, and former Sixers’ coach, Johnny Davis. After a year plus stint in Indiana, the Sixers acquired Anderson in 1988 for Everette Stephens, who, god bless ‘em, is even too obscure for me.

Anderson’s first year in Philly was perhaps his best. Coming off the bench, a role that fit him like a well-tailored suit, Anderson averaged a touch over 16 points/per in 31 minutes for a 15.3 PER. Ron didn’t pay much mind to defense, because he couldn’t be bogged down by such trivial things. Anderson’s job was to fill it up, and fill it up he did. If Vinnie Johnson was "The Microwave," then Anderson was, well, something else that heats things up quickly. He flourished in his role as the Sixers’ 6th man, averaging double digits in each of his five seasons with the club.

Perhaps Ron Anderson’s biggest legacy as a Sixer, however, was his entrance. Thanks to former Sixers PA announcer, Jim Wise, Anderson checked-in with the pomp and circumstance of a Randy Savage entrance.

Ron AN…Derson checks-in…for the Hammer, Armen Gilliam.

This line is not so much a catch phrase at this point, but rather a battle cry.

Leader: "Who’s checking in!?"

Angry Mob: "Ron Anderson!"

Leader: "And who’s he checking in for!?"

Angry Mob: "The Hammer, Armen Gilliam!"

Ron Anderson left the Sixers in 1993. It was the worst Philadelphia sports moment of the year.