On this day in Boston Celtics history, the storied franchise bought the rights to forward Willie Naulls’ contract from the (then) San Francisco (now Golden State) Warriors in 1963. It was the final stop in a long NBA playing career for the Dallas, Texas, native, which began after playing for the University of California Los Angeles Bruins at the NCAA level.
Naulls, who moved to California as a young child with his family to escape segregation in the southern United Statesm was shocked after being drafted by the (then) St. Louis (now, Atlanta) Hawks in the 1956 NBA draft at the local treatment of Blacks.
He later played for the New York Knicks and the Warriors before joining the Celtics, where he won three titles between 1964 and 1966.