Tag: clarence h. adams

On this day: Auerbach, Cousy, Cooper, Rondo, Fox, Walker debut with Celtics

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.

On this day: Bill Walton inducted into Hall of Fame; Adams passes; Boston advances in several series

On this day in Celtics history, former president Charles H. Adams passed, and Bill Walton was inducted into the Naismith Hall of Fame.

On this day in Boston Celtics history, William Theodore Walton III (better known as Bill) was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 1993.

An NCAA champion under iconic head coach John Wooden at UCLA, the California native was selected with the first pick of the 1974 NBA draft by the Portland Trail Blazers, for whom he played for four seasons and won an NBA title in 1977. He also played for the Clippers in both their San Diego and Los Angeles incarnations before being dealt to the Celtics in 1985.

The La Mesa native, who is one of the NBA’s 75 greatest players, won a second title with Boston in 1986 before constant pain from injuries forced his retirement in 1987.