What’s really behind honoring ‘The Pearl?’

Others thought it a curious move, however, noting that “The Pearl” forced the club into a trade that resulted in nine of his 13 NBA seasons being played in New York — after playing his four best seasons in Baltimore. That’s not exactly what you would expect to be celebrated by a franchise that has been nestled in the D.C. metropolitan area for the last 36 years.

Why, after all these years, was Monroe being recognized for contributions made before most of the Wizards’ fans were even born? Why — one nickname and two arenas later — was it suddenly time to forgive and forget the acrimony that existed more than three decades ago, when Earl instigated the move from the Bullets to the hated Knicks. At the time, it was the biggest rivalry in the NBA.

Well, for all those conspiracy theorists out there, step right up, because we’ve got one for you.

When they pulled up roots after the 1973 season, the Bullets promoted the idea of “relocating” rather than “moving” the team that had been here for 10 years. But for most of the nearly 40 years since, with the team first in Landover, then in downtown D.C., the northern end of the Baltimore-Washington Parkway has been an afterthought, all but forgotten as the team changed its name and identity.

Now, after simmering on the back burner for years, there is talk of a new arena in Baltimore, with opinion divided on whether or not it should be big enough to rekindle interest in the NBA. And all of a sudden Baltimore seems to have become a more significant part of the Wizards’ fan base, even to the point of having a station included in the radio network.

And now Baltimore’s first true basketball superstar, the player who teamed with Wes Unseld to transform the Bullets from a ragtag gang that couldn’t shoot straight to one of the game’s most exciting teams, is having his jersey hung in the rafters of the Verizon Center. It is a nice gesture for Monroe, who acknowledges his best years were with the Bullets and that it was important for him to put the bitterness of the past to rest.

Still, it makes one wonder if all the love suddenly headed this way isn’t part of a refurbished plan to reaffirm that Baltimore is part of the Wizards’ NBA market, a subtle endorsement just in case the idea of a new arena ever gets out of the planning stage. We certainly could recognize the tactic, it being very similar to the philosophy of the Orioles while Washington was knocking on the door of major league baseball.

If retiring his jersey gives Monroe some closure, then it’s a good thing, because the shame of it all is that both sides definitely came out losers in the trade — which was made against the wishes of Knicks coach Red Holzman, who didn’t think Earl could adapt to his “5-for-1” style of play. What Holzman, and many others, found out was that “The Pearl” was always more about winning than anything else. He quickly and easily accepted a reduced role with the Knicks, but he never approached the level of acceptance he had earned while the Bullets were made over from pretenders to contenders.

He was able to win one championship with the Knicks, and the Bullets would win one five years after Monroe left, but nobody will ever know how good it might have been had they worked out their differences and stayed together.

It’s a feeling that probably has gnawed at both sides for a long time. So long, in fact, you might have thought it would be forgotten by now.

But if the reconciliation was a little overdue, at least the timing was convenient.

A Baltimore native who has covered the local and national sports scene for more than 40 years, Jim Henneman is a past president of the Baseball Writers Association of America and an active voter for baseball's Hall Of Fame. His column also appears weekly in Press Box. He can be reached at sportscoper@aol.com.