On this day: Cs’ 1st home game; Walton born; Radja, Earl, Rivas, Hemric, Loscutoff debut; Englund passes

On this day in Celtics history, the team played their first home game in franchise history.

On this day in Boston Celtics history, the newly-formed professional basketball franchise the Boston Celtics played their first home game in 1946 in the Basketball Association of America (BAA – a precursor league to the NBA) in team history.

The game was an inauspicious loss, 57-55 to the now-defunct Chicago Stags (not be confused with the later franchise of that city, the Bulls), which saw two of the Celtics break double figures. One of the pair was guard Johnny Simmons, who scored 13 points on 6 field goals and a free throw, though we don’t know how efficiently since that and many aspects of the game were yet to be recorded in those early years of the sport.

Forward Wyndol Gray scored 12 points as well, and future star of television and film Chuck Connors added 8 points in the loss.