Blazers Honor Jack Ramsay By Renaming "Winning Way" to "Ramsay Way"

On Wednesday, the Portland City Council expedited a street name change next to the Moda Center. When the 2014-15 season starts, the street formerly known as "Winning Way" will now be named "Ramsay Way", in honor of Jack Ramsay, who coached the Portland Trail Blazers to their only NBA championship in 1977.

The city installed temporary sign caps in May, but moved quickly to make the change official.

Andrew Theen at The Oregonian provides details:

The City Council approved the name change Wednesday, expediting the vote and the typically clunky name-changing process to ensure the 'North Ramsay Way' signs are in place when the NBA seasons begins next month.

"Jack Ramsay was a hero," Commissioner Steve Novick said, "Not just because he was a great basketball coach, but because he was a great man."

A Trail Blazers official testified before City Council and read a statement on behalf of the organization and Ramsay's family, saying the name change is "a prestigious and lasting place of honor in a city he loved very much."

Ramsay, who spent 10 years coaching the Blazers, passed away in April after a long battle with cancer. He entered the Basketball Hall of Fame in 1992, and was named one of the NBA's 10 Greatest Coaches in History in 1996.