DICK RAPHAEL

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Referred to by the Basketball Hall of Fame as “the dean of Boston sports photographers and one of the premier sports photographers in the United States”, Dick Raphael is legendary.

His career can be traced back to his school days.  While attending school in Marblehead his father taught him his photography hobby, where they had a darkroom built in their basement. "He was more than a father, he was a mentor and a friend," Raphael once told the Boston Globe during an interview. "I'm doing what I'm doing -- and loving it -- because of him. He got me started, and I've been at it since." In the 1950’s, he started taking pictures of the sailboats in Marblehead Harbor and had photos published in local papers, the Marblehead Messenger and the Lynn Item. His first professional publication came while he was in eighth grade. Shot with a Brownie Hawkeye, the photo from Marblehead Race Week ran in the Messenger. Dick then attended the University of Maine and Boston University when a new football team was born in Massachusetts, the Boston Patriots. At the time, he was the editor of the BU News and Dick walked into the Patriots office and asked for a pass for the first game in 1960. He covered every game after that for 40 years.

In 1967, with the Celtics, Bruins and Red Sox all in the playoffs, Dick began contributing to Sports Illustrated where he had nine covers over his career. He submitted photos to many national publications, such as; Life, Time, Newsweek, Sporting News, Look, and many local and national newspapers, which he continued for over 30 years. His pictures appeared frequently in the Boston Globe, where his longtime friend and colleague, Will McDonough, was a sports reporter and columnist.  “You can't exaggerate his status as a world-class photographer," said Bob Ryan, also a Globe sports columnist who collaborated with Mr. Raphael on a book about the Celtics. “The photographer's collection of prints and negatives, Ryan said, "has got to be the most valuable treasure trove of Boston sports photos ever taken."

Raphael had quickly become one of the most recognizable names in sports photography, as well as one of the most reliable sources for Boston sports images. He served as the official photographer of the Boston Celtics from 1965-1999, The Boston/New England Patriots from 1968-1979, worked for the American League of MLB from 1968-1972, and then for MLB from 1972-1979.

Dick had the best seat in the Boston Garden. There he photographed Bill Russell and Wilt Chamberlain, the centers whose rivalry in the NBA became one of the most legendary of all time. He said in a 2005 interview with the Celtic Nation website, “So it quickly struck me that these men were giants in a very literal sense”. His iconic photo of Celtic great Russell deflecting a shot by Chamberlain was his personal favorite.

He began to contribute to NFL Properties Creative Services division in 1966 as a new AFL-NFL Championship Game was to be held in Los Angeles, and there was a need for pictures for a new game program. He wanted to go to the new championship game, but did not know how to get in. Dick asked a person with the Patriots who managed to get him a pass though the NFL office.  Since he had the old AFL photos it was a perfect connection that continued for 40 years. He won the Pro Football Hall of Fame photo contest for the Sports Color Action category twice, in 1971 and 1974. His legacy is honored at the Basketball Hall of Fame in Springfield, MA where a display honors the former Celtic legendary photographer.

His cameras were not confined to marquee sports, Dick photographed every sport you can imagine, including lacrosse, field hockey, rugby, crew, soccer, ping-pong, squash, indoor-outdoor track, sailing, golf and others.  Dick once said, “To get great photographs, a photographer must be a student of sports to develop a sense of where to stand at the key moment to get the money shot.”

Raphael captured the professional lives of many Boston sports legends from the moment they stepped onto a basketball court, a football field, a baseball diamond, or a hockey rink, until their numbers were retired. Dick Raphael was one of five living legends to photograph every Super Bowl until February 2007, when he passed away shortly after Super Bowl XLI.

David Boss | Malcolm Emmons | Manny Rubio | Herb Weitman

Darryl Norenberg | Rod Hanna | Richard Mackson | Dick Raphael | Leo Mason | Peter Brouillet | George Long