On this day in Boston Celtics history, former Celtics power forward Marvin Barnes passed away in 2014. Barnes was a native of nearby Providence, Rhode Island. After being born in the smallest state in the U.S. in 1952, he played his NCAA basketball with the hometown Providence College Friars before being drafted by the Philadelphia 76ers in the 1974 NBA draft.
The Rhode Islander elected to sign with the Spirits of St. Louis of the American Basketball Association (ABA) instead, playing for that franchise for two seasons before joining the Detroit Pistons in 1976 after the Spirits of St. Louis dispersal draft.
The dispersal draft was the result of the ABA-NBA merger when that team did not join the NBA.