On this day in Boston Celtics history, the storied franchise hired their former star forward Tommy Heinsohn as head coach. A product of Holy Cross, Heinsohn had been drafted by the Celtics as a player in 1956, the Union City, New Jersey native would play nine seasons for the team, winning titles in eight of them among many other honors.
Heinsohn retired from playing in 1965 to do play-by-play announcing (he would again after coaching) and would be hired as coach four seasons later. He would lead the Celtics to an NBA-best 68-14 record in the 1972-73 season, garnering Coach of the Year honors.
He would win titles as a coach with Boston in 1974 and 1976 and was fired from the job after a disappointing 1977-78 season.