An oversized belly was the first thing people noticed about Spurs super fan George Valle.

“He was a big old man, so he always walked slow,” Hall of Famer George Gervin said of his friend, affectionately called “Big George” by players and coaches.

But as the colorful front man for the raucous Baseline Bums during their golden era of the 1970s and ’80s at HemisFair Arena, Valle operated at a furious pace, especially when he picked up his Texas flag while Al Sturchio’s band played “San Antonio Rose” or other South Texas favorites.

“We’d look up into the stands and he’d be swinging that big old flag,” Gervin said. “We’d say, ‘Big George is ready, so we had better go on and be ready.’”

Valle died at his home in Devine on Saturday. He was 64.

HemisFair was known as “The Noisiest Arena in the NBA” in large part because of the efforts of the Bums and their ringleader.

“He was the epitome of a fan,” Gervin said of Valle. “Visiting teams hated to see him. He had an impact on them. He was the best, man. He loved those Spurs.”

Valle made national news in 1980 when he and another fan, Johnny Merla, tangled with Boston Celtics stars Larry Bird and Dave Cowens on their way to the team bus after the Spurs rallied to beat the Celtics.

“Cowens told me, ‘You big, fat hog, what makes you so great?’” Valle recalled during an interview with the Express-News in 2013. “I told him, ‘Making fun of you.’ Then Cowens spit at Johnny after Johnny called him a choker. When Johnny spit back, Bird came up and hit Johnny upside the head with his gym bag.”

Merla filed a damages suit, but jurors ruled the Celtics acted in self defense.

Bob Bass, former Spurs coach and general manager, has fond memories of quail hunting with Valle and enjoying postgame beers with him at the old Lone Star Pavilion.

“He was so gung-ho for the Spurs,” said Bass, 86. “We really needed him in those early years. He was a good guy to have around. He never tried to tell you how to coach or substitute or call timeouts. He just drove in to every game from Devine and hollered and cheered for the Spurs whether they won or lost.”

Like Gervin, Bass recalled how opponents dreaded seeing Valle and the Bums.

“The visitors had to come onto the court right under where the Baseline Bums sat and they’d give ’em hell,” Bass said.

Visitation for Valle will be from 2-6:45 p.m. Thursday at Hurley Funeral Home Chapel in Devine, with rosary recited at 7 p.m. at St. Joseph’s Catholic Church in Devine.

Funeral Mass will be celebrated at 10 a.m. Friday at St. Joseph’s with burial to follow at St. Joseph’s Catholic Cemetery.

torsborn@express-news.net

Twitter: @tom_orsborn