On this day, Celtics greats Red Auerbach, Bob Cousy, Chuck Cooper, Rajon Rondo, Rick Fox, and Antoine Walker all debuted for Boston.
On this day in Boston Celtics history, Hall of Fame coach and general manager Arnold “Red” Auerbach coached his first regular-season game with the storied franchise. Recently hired by the team’s owner Walter Brown on the advice of local sports journalists after stints coaching with the Tri-Cities Blackhawks (now, Atlanta Hawks), the defunct Washington Capitols NBA franchise, and — as an assistant coach at the college level — the Duke Blue Devils.
The game was thankfully not auspicious for the Boston icon’s future with the team in the coming years, with Auerbach’s Celtics falling 107-84 to the (then) Fort Wayne (Indiana) Pistons (who are now based in Detroit).
Auerbach was not the only Celtics legend making his debut that day.
No team in NBA history has produced more. How many can you name?
With Boston Celtics Hall of Fame Paul Pierce officially part of the incoming 2021 class and big man Kevin Garnett getting his formal induction into the Naismith Memorial Hall of Fame in May 2021 — nearly a year after getting the nod due to the pandemic — all three members of the so-called “new Big Three” of KG, Pierce and Ray Allen have been ensconced in what serves as the Valhalla of basketball.
But they are far from the only Celtics so honored. In fact, there is a veritable host of Boston legends populating the Hoop Hall in Springfield, Massachusetts, just a short drive away from the NBA’s titletown. The Celtics have more players than any other team in league history.
Let’s take a look at the 40 Celtics who have been honored with a Hall of Fame induction.
Kevin Garnett's grandmother once got out a shotgun when a recruiter tried to bribe him https://t.co/v3XM1oyfol
A couple of hours down the Mass Pike in Springfield, no fewer than four dozen players, coaches, and contributors with ties to the Celtics franchise have been inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame over the years, spanning the decades from the first years of the storied ball club’s existence up to the team’s last era of contention.
Below, Celtics Wire celebrates the 49 members of the Hall of Fame with Celtics connections in a photo gallery.
Damon and Mark Wahlberg, sitting courtside with floor seats, were enthusiastically cheering for the Celtics when Jackson lost his cool and shouted at them https://t.co/eASRHKFXMU
On this day, former Boston Celtics Chuck Cooper, Brad Lohaus, and Art Williams came into this world.
On this day in Boston Celtics history, former Celtics small forward Chuck Cooper was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania in 1926. Cooper would play his college ball at West Virginia State and then later Duquesne, his tenure at the first interrupted when he was drafted to serve in the Second World War. Cooper was selected by the Celtics from the latter with the 14th overall pick of the 1950 NBA draft.
In and of itself, a player being taken from a respected university in what was then the second round of the draft ought to have been unremarkable save one major detail — Cooper would be the first Black player drafted in NBA history.
This momentous occasion was, as one might expect given the era, questioned by the other team owners in the league when they heard that Celtics General Manager Red Auerbach planned to draft Cooper.
Today’s installment focuses on the 29 players who wore No. 11 over the years as of September 2023.
The Boston Celtics have more retired jerseys than any other team in the NBA, but that doesn’t mean the rest of their jerseys have little history of interest tied to them.
In fact, with 17 titles to their name and decades of competitive basketball played in them, their unretired jersey numbers pack in some of the most history not hanging from the rafters of any team in the league. To that end, we have launched our accounting of that history, with every player in every jersey worn by more than one Celtics player in the storied franchise’s history accounted for.
Today’s installment focuses on the 29 players who wore No. 11 over the years as of September 2023.
Ainge started his athletic journey as a multi-sport athlete in high school, excelling in basketball, football, and baseball. https://t.co/4PnH3CVgoh
Boston Celtics wing Chuck Cooper was traded to the Milwaukee Hawks on this day, the same day Larry Bird won his 3rd and final MVP award.
On this day in Boston Celtics history, the team sold the contract of small forward Chuck Cooper to the (then) Milwaukee (now, Atlanta) Hawks in 1953. Cooper, a native of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, had been drafted by the Celtics out of Duquesne in the 1950 NBA draft with the 14th pick.
With that selection, the future Hall of Fame wing became the first African American drafted into the league and one of the first to play in the NBA. Legendary head coach and general manager Red Auerbach famously said of the pick at the time: “I don’t give a damn if he’s striped, plaid or polka dot. Boston takes Charles Cooper of Duquesne.”
He played four seasons with Boston under team president and coach Red Auerbach, averaging 6.8 points, 6.6 rebounds, and 1.1 assists per game in his time with the franchise.
On this day, Celtics legend John Havlicek died, and Boston legends Chuck Cooper and Ed Macauley were drafted.
On this day in Boston Celtics history, legendary Celtics forward John Havlicek died in 2019 after a long fight with Parkinson’s disease at the age of 74 in Jupiter, Florida. Hondo, as he would often be called, was born in Martins Ferry, Ohio, in 1940, and he played his college ball at nearby Ohio State, with which he won the NCAA championship in 1960.
He was drafted seventh overall in the 1962 NBA draft by Boston and played 16 seasons with the Celtics, winning eight NBA championships and being elected to 13 All-Star games, 11 All-NBA teams, and 8 All-Defensive teams among many other honors.
Havlicek’s jersey was retired by Boston immediately after his playing career ended in 1978, and he was elected to the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 1984.
On this day, Celtics greats Red Auerbach, Bob Cousy, Chuck Cooper, Rajon Rondo, Rick Fox, and Antoine Walker all debuted for Boston.
On this day in Boston Celtics history, Hall of Fame coach and general manager Arnold “Red” Auerbach coached his first regular-season game with the storied franchise. Recently hired by the team’s owner Walter Brown on the advice of local sports journalists after stints coaching with the Tri-Cities Blackhawks (now, Atlanta Hawks), the defunct Washington Capitols NBA franchise, and — as an assistant coach at the college level — the Duke Blue Devils.
The game was thankfully not auspicious for the Boston icon’s future with the team in the coming years, with Auerbach’s Celtics falling 107-84 to the (then) Fort Wayne (Indiana) Pistons (who are now based in Detroit).
Auerbach was not the only Celtics legend making his debut that day.
We thought it important to remind ourselves of the other Hall of Famers who’ve worn No. 6 over the decades.
The NBA will retire Boston Celtics Hall of Fame big man Bill Russell’sNo. 6 on all 30 teams to honor the late, great center. However, Russell is not the only Hall of Fame player who wore the number during their historic careers.
The global nature of Russell number retirement is, of course, as much related to him being the ultimate winner on the court with 11 titles, 13 All-Star appearances, five Most Valuable Player awards and more accolades than we can reasonably list here as to his work off the court using his platform to fight for the rights of others at great risk to himself.
And while players currently wearing the No. 6 jersey can do so until they switch to another or retire themselves, we thought it important to remind ourselves of the other Hall of Famers who’ve worn No. 6 over the decades.
Let’s take a look at them all.
The Celtics will honor Bill Russell in a number of ways this season, including with a special City Edition jersey and two tribute games. https://t.co/byJYBHnGV6
The Celtics great’s son added his voice to those critiquing Redick’s diminishing words of those who played in his father’s era.
Former NBAer and current podcaster JJ Redick stirred up quite a response from a number of all-time greats when he suggested Boston Celtics Hall of Fame point guard legend Bob Cousy put up the gaudy stats he did in the late 1950s and 1960s because he played with ‘plumbers and fireman.’
Not only did Cousy himself clap back at the comparatively younger and unaccomplished Redick, but his onetime opponent and peer Jerry West also did so. Added to those voices was the son of former Celtics standout Chuck Cooper, Chuck Cooper III. In an appearance on the CLNS Media “Celtics Lab” podcast, Cooper took issue with Redick’s characterization of the league his father played in as well.
“I would love to get on a show with JJ Redick,” offered the younger Cooper. “I’d set him straight on those guys back then.”
Check out the clip embedded above for the full conversation with the Celtics great’s son on this old but still evidently contention topic.
