NORTH ANDOVER – Mark Rozzi was on the road on Thursday in between stops of his clients for Jackson Lumber when he almost pulled over to call a Boston sports radio show.
The co-hosts were talking about the sale of the Boston Celtics and, in particular, the investor group that bought the storied franchise headed by William “Bill” Chisholm.
The narrative that caught Rozzi’s attention was that Chisholm an out-of-touch, billionaire rich guy who doesn’t relate to Celtics fans.
Rozzi, a lifelong North Andover resident, spent four years at Brooks School with Chisholm, of Georgetown, who was one of his best friends at the prep school.
“I was so ticked off. They got it all wrong,” said Rozzi. “They have no idea about Bill. He came from a middle class family, like a lot of us. He was one of the best kids I knew, one of the hardest working. Everything he got he worked for.”
Chisholm’s story started locally in Georgetown, the oldest of three children – Robin (Walat) and Timothy followed him as Brooks grads as well – to William Sr. and Judy Chisholm.
When it comes to work ethic, Chisholm’s dad, one of nine children growing up in Somerville, had most people beat.
He served in the Air Force during the Korean War and upon getting married and residing in Georgetown he began a 48-year career working for the MDC in Boston. Early on, while starting his family, he attended night school at Suffolk University to earn his Bachelor’s Degree.
His dad was a key figure in establishing the Georgetown High soccer program, and served as the commissioner for Georgetown youth soccer for nearly a decade.
His mom, Judy, carved her own niche, mostly at Brooks School where she spent over 20 years an administrative assistant in the registrar’s office. She was at the school before her son, Bill, arrived as a student.
“She was in her final year or two when I got to Brooks,” recalled former long-time boys basketball coach and Director of Admissions, John McVeigh, now Head of School at Holderness. “She was a legendary presence at the school. Everyone, and I mean everyone, loved her.”
Chisholm’s first foray at his alma mater was at the famed Brooks Summer Camp. By the time he had finished middle school in Georgetown there was never a question where he was headed for high school, with some obvious prodding from his mom.
Upon arriving on the North Andover campus, Chisholm bonded immediately with a group of day students, commuters who lived within 10 miles, including Rozzi, Les Bernal, Dave Torrisi, John Barker, Eric Zaidy and so on.
“We all lived locally and had that in common,” recalled Torrisi, who graduated in 1986. “We were all played sports, not as good as others, but studied a lot together and hung around. We obviously connected with the kids who boarded, too, but we had a great bond.”
Brooks students are expected to play three sports. Chisholm played soccer – his calling card at Brooks and later at Dartmouth – basketball and lacrosse.
He was the best soccer player in his class, making varsity as a freshman, starting his last three years.
As a senior captain, he led Brooks to its first ever Class A New England Prep championship and ISL championship, ranking third in the league with 16 goals and five assists. The key aspect of that season was Chisholm started the season as a defender.
“That was a really good team with three great seniors,” said former Brooks coach Dusty Richard, now residing outside of Charleston, S.C.
“Freddie Kratz, who was from North Andover and Robbie Kaulbach were outstanding as well. Billy was little when he arrived, but by the time he left he was six-foot-one and strong. He was a cerebral player. But he was very intense on the field. He was a very good athlete and it showed in other sports, too.”
One of those sports was basketball.
“If he was 6-foot-7, I believe he would’ve probably chosen basketball as his sport (in college),” recalled Les Bernal, formerly of North Andover and now a 30-year Lawrence resident. “I was average at everything, football, basketball and baseball. But Bill was very good at everything. But the best part of him, even as an athlete, was he treated the first player and the 12th player the same. I know, because I was more like the 12th player.”
But sports, say Chisholm’s friends, didn’t define him. He was also one of the top students in his class every year.
“I know it sounds like a cliché, but he always got better in school, too,” said Rozzi. “He would get the best mark in class, say a ’98.’ and he would be saying, ‘Why didn’t I get a 100?’ He did the extra work on weekends, sometimes staying home instead of going out. He was different in that way.”
Former 32-year professor and girls soccer coach Bob Morahan said while he never taught or coached Chisholm, the good-natured kid from Georgetown always stood out.
“You get to know everyone at a school like Brooks and Bill was one of those kids you never forget,” said Morahan, who retired 12 years ago from Brooks and resides in York, Maine.
“He was that All-American kid. Good looking, always smiling and very polite. You can’t predict everyone’s future, but he had that special quality that you expected him to do something great with his life.”
Chisholm matriculated to Dartmouth after Brooks, where he played soccer and continued as a star-studded student.
He got into the finance and the venture capital world and the family – wife, Kimberly, whom he met at Dartmouth, and their children Will, Aidan, and Quentin – moved to the San Francisco Bay area.
His bond with Brooks, though, continues to this day.
John Packard, who has been Head of School for 17 years, arriving at Brooks as a professor and coach in 1990, has connected with Chisholm over the two decades as a supporter of his alma mater.
“Bill was here for the 25th reunion in 2012 and he returned when the 1986 boys soccer team was inducted into the Hall of Fame,” said Packard. “He spoke at the ceremony and was great, talking about his time experiences here. It was special.”
He also returned for a Brooks alumni game in 2015, bringing his son Will.
“Will was really good. I remember saying, ‘Billy, you got to get him here,’” laughed Richard. “He wasn’t leaving California, though. He ended up playing at Dartmouth, too.”
The announcement on Thursday morning, that Chisholm’s group was buying the Celtics for $6.1 billion caught a lot of people off guard, including most of his former classmates at Brooks.
“We have this Brooks text chat with a lot of guys and our phones started exploding when it was announced,” said Torrisi, who was in Orlando, Fla., golfing with some North Andover friends and his dad, Al Torrisi.
“We couldn’t believe it. Bill Chisholm was buying the Celtics. But then when we thought about Bill and it isn’t as surprising when you consider the person and his successes in business.”
Bernal took it a step further, believing there was no other person more suited to running one of the greatest franchises in the history of professional sports.
“Not all, but most owners are more in it for the vanity, the ego,” said Bernal. “Bill is the exact opposite. He’s going to be in it to win. He has the intangibles as a person, improving everything he gets involved in.
“This is the perfect role for him. He loves basketball and he loves the Celtics. I know we’ve had to some good owners in Boston, but I believe he’s going to be the best we’ve ever had.”