I’d always wanted to uncover some lost moments of Bill Walton’s career – you know, those off-court snapshots or forgotten game highlights. Started by hitting Google Images like anybody would, typing stuff like “Bill Walton 1977 locker room unseen” or “Walton Grateful Dead backstage.” Dead ends everywhere. Page after page showed the same 20 recycled shots.
The Rabbit Hole Deepens
Shifted tactics around midnight. Found some old Blazers fan forums from the early 2000s archived online. Scrolled through endless posts about championship nostalgia. One buried thread mentioned a local Oregon newspaper photographer who supposedly shot Walton’s victory parade from his apartment balcony. No name given, just “old Jim from Beaverton.” Felt like chasing a ghost.
Next morning, I dug into the Portland library’s digital newspaper archives. Went microfilm hunting – seriously, scrolled until my eyes crossed. Stumbled on a tiny credit line under a muddy parade photo: “J. Henderson, Staff.” That was it! Searched “James Henderson photographer Portland Oregon” plus every year from 1975-1980. Finally hit gold: a dusty Geocities-style portfolio site buried in search results.
The Moment It Clicked
His site had maybe eight total photos visible. Mostly flowers. Then – tucked beside a shot of Mount Hood – half of a basketball shoe. Magnified it. Distinctive Converse weapon. My heart stopped. Emailed every contact form address listed. Got nothing back for three days. Was ready to scream.
Tuesday, an actual human replied: “Jim’s my uncle. He quit photography when his cameras got stolen in ’83. Box of negatives are in my garage. What’s this about?” Offered to pay shipping immediately. Took two more days of back-and-forth before she agreed to overnight the box.
Unearthing Treasure
- The package smelled like basement mold and cat pee. Opened it wearing gloves. Pulled out negatives wrapped in brittle 1970s grocery bags.
- Set up my Epson flatbed scanner with negative adapter. Dusted frames carefully with microfiber cloth. First ten strips were landscapes or blurred family pics.
- Strip eleven… third frame in: Walton barefoot on wet pavement, lifting the championship trophy while grinning at a kid dangling off the float railing. Rain soaked his hair flat.
- Next strip: Walton slumped against a wall backstage at a Dead show, eyes closed peacefully while Jerry Garcia tuning his guitar beside him.
Scanned everything at 4800dpi. Enlarged that parade shot. You could see individual raindrops on Walton’s shoulders. Posted just those two frames on my blog with zero context except “From Jim’s Garage.” Fans went absolutely nuts. Sometimes the best stuff isn’t online until you literally dig through someone’s forgotten boxes.
