Tag: boston garden

On this day: Russell, Jones retire; ’69 banner; 76ers confetti game

On this day, Bill Russell and Sam Jones retired after winning the 1969 NBA championship, and in 2018, Boston beat the 76ers in OT.

On this day in Boston Celtics history, franchise legends Bill Russell and Sam Jones retired as champions, deciding to call it quits after winning the 1969 NBA Championship.

For Russell in particular, it was a sweet ending, defeating longtime rival big man (and good friend) Wilt Chamberlain and his Los Angeles Lakers four games to three in a 108-106 Game 7 triumph that is widely considered one of the biggest upsets in sports history. The Celtics were by then an old team and managed to make the Finals as a four seed, while Los Angeles had Hall-of-Famers Elgin Baylor and Jerry West in addition to Chamberlain, the latter winning the Finals MVP award in a loss, the only time that has happened in the history of the league.

It was Boston’s 11th championship, and that in a span of just 13 years.

On this day: ground broken on ‘new’ Boston Garden; Gray traded; Lee, Johnson born; Philip, Mahoney pass

On this day, construction began on the building that would replace the old Boston Garden.

On this day in Boston Celtics history, in 1993, ground was broken on what would become the team’s home in the modern era, the so-called “new” Boston Garden currently referred to as TD Garden.

Boston had previously played in the building built in 1928 that began its life as the “Boston Madison Square Garden” (it had been designed by boxing promoter Tex Rickard, the intellectual author of the third iteration of the New York City arena of the same name sans ‘Boston,’ thus the name later shortened to ‘Boston Garden’) from its founding in 1946 as one of the premier teams of the Basketball Association of America (BAA – a precursor league of the NBA) up until 1995.

The Celtics had been looking for a new arena back into the 1970s, nearly moving to Revere, Massachusetts before Delaware North — the company that owns the building and the NHL team the Boston Bruins — secured permission and funding for building TD Garden.

On this day: Celtics nearly move to North Shore; Alvin Julian hired

On this day in 1982, the Boston Celtics nearly moved to the North Shore; 36 years earlier, they hired Holy Cross’ Alvin Julian as head coach.

On this day in Boston Celtics history, the team hired their second coach, Alvin “Doggie” Fred Julian, in 1948. Julian joined the team after coaching Holy Cross and future Celtic legend Bob Cousy at the collegiate level.

His tenure with the Celtics was a brief one. Recording a 47-81 record with the team over two seasons, the collegiate champion coach was soon let go by Boston, at the end of his second season as head coach for the franchise. Julian is one of only three coaches hired directly from the NCAA ranks in the history of the storied franchise to date.

The others are Rick Pitino (previously with Kentucky) and Brad Stevens (previously with Butler).

Should the Boston Celtics consider building their own arena?

The Celtics have a home in TD Garden — but it is a rented home.

Should the Boston Celtics consider building their own arena? It might seem like sacrilege to those who have been a fan of the team long enough to remember the old Boston Garden, which stood just feet away from where TD Garden stands.

But, completed in 1995, it is one of the oldest arenas in the league. That in itself isn’t reason enough given the holding company, Delaware North, that runs it, just renovated the arena. But the holding company that runs TD Garden also owns it, not the Celtics. And therein lies the reason Boston might want to consider building its own arena.

On top of the convenience of being able to decide when to schedule their games versus balancing the needs of other pro sports teams and events, owning the arena also confers a financial advantage: They would be the one charging fees to others while taking in a greater share of the door revenue.

While perhaps not as deep-pocketed as some franchises, Boston’s ownership group is by no means poor. Some members have put themselves in the hunt to buy expensive European soccer clubs.

Instead, they might consider shoring up their crown jewel of sports investment with the same competitive advantages enjoyed by some of the other NBA cornerstone clubs. Of course, the Celtics know their business — but from the outside looking in, it seems like a no-brainer.

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WATCH: Celtics honor legendary broadcaster Johnny Most’s retirement at the old Boston Garden

Most covered the team for all but one of their titles.

The Boston Celtics honored famed broadcaster Johnny Most for 37 years of calling games with the team on Dec. 3, 1990 in a magnificent ceremony at the old Boston Garden. The ceremony featured team president Red Auerbach, Celtics legends Larry Bird, Tom “Satch” Sanders, KC Jones, Mike Gorman and more.

With a career spanning 16 of the team’s NBA-record 17 titles, many of the club’s most historic moments were conveyed by Most’s famous gravelly voice narration, even becoming events unto themselves. More emblematic than any, perhaps, was his “Havlicek stole the ball” call seen by some as the most famous radio call in basketball history.

Local TV station WBZ produced a short segment documenting the event and his retirement, dug up by our friends at CLNS Media’s “NBA History & Legends on CLNS” YouTube channel for your enjoyment.

Check out the clip embedded above to see it in full!

This post originally appeared on Celtics Wire. Follow us on Facebook!

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WATCH: Final walk-through of the old Boston Garden pre-demolition

A look at the Celtics arena where so much history was made before it was torn down in 1998.

Ever wonder what the old Boston Garden looked like inside before they demolished it? Home to the Boston Celtics and the Bruins as well going back to the birth of those two New England franchises, the “old” Garden was built in 1928 and called “Boston Madison Square Garden” before being shortened to just “Boston Garden” or even just “the Garden,” as locals often called it.

Luckily for fans of Boston sports, someone took some footage of the old Garden just before it was taken down after the “new” Garden — now called “TD Garden” — was finished in 1995. The old Garden sat vacant for three years, but would finally be demolished in 1998.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FtdWF5NfH7E

Take a look at the video walkthrough of the old Boston Garden embedded above, whether it’s a trip down memory lane or the first time you’ve seen that hallowed ground for yourself.

This post originally appeared on Celtics Wire. Follow us on Facebook!

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WATCH: The historic old Boston Garden’s closing ceremony in 1995

The old Boston Garden was the home of the Celtics from 1946 to 1995.

The original home of the Boston Celtics opened in 1928, a building designed by boxing promoter Tex Rickard and named “Boston Madison Square Garden” before it was shortened to “Boston Garden,” the so-called “old” Garden was the home venue of the Celtics from their inaugural season of 1946-47 until its closure in 1995.

When it was decommissioned in favor of the more modern building built just aside it now known as “TD Garden,” a special closing ceremony was held after the last game — a preseason exhibition tilt between the Boston Bruins and the Montreal Canadiens on September 26, 1995.

After the ceremony, all the banners and other regalia was symbolically taken down to move to the new arena.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7wfskimVzqQ

Watch the video short embedded above put together by CLNS Media to get a glimpse into that historic day, the last for what was hallowed ground for New England Sports for decades.

This post originally appeared on Celtics Wire. Follow us on Facebook!

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On this day: Russell, Jones retire; ’69 banner; 76ers confetti game

On this day, Celtics legends Bill Russell and Sam Jones retired after winning the 1969 NBA championship, and in 2018, Boston beat the 76ers in OT.

On this day in 1969, Boston Celtics legends Bill Russell and Sam Jones retired champions, calling it quits after winning the 1969 NBA Championship.

For Russell in particular, it was a sweet ending, defeating longtime rival big man Wilt Chamberlain and his Los Angeles Lakers four games to three in a 108-106 Game 7 triumph that is widely considered one of the biggest upsets in sports history.

The Celtics were by then an old team, and managed to make the Finals as a four seed, while L.A. had Elgin Baylor and Jerry West in addition to Chamberlain, the latter winning the Finals MVP award in a loss — the only time that has happened in the history of the league.

It was Boston’s 11th championship, and that in a span of just 13 years.

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