In the 19 years between those emotional extremes, John Stockton set unbreakable records and cuss-worthy picks, and defined the essence of both the position he played and the city from which he came.

No, he never won a championship ring - but he managed a feat far more difficult.

He made his old man's tavern on Hamilton one of the most famous saloons in the United States.

John Stockton walked away from professional basketball on Friday at the age of 41, or rather he hurried away before the tears started fast-breaking down his cheeks - the flinty toughness and stubborn stoicism that carried him through 19 National Basketball Association seasons now stripped bare by a single word.

Goodbye.

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