Tag: connie simmons

On this day: Celtics first game ever in 1946, MANY players, coach John Russell debut; Hal Crisler passes

On this day in Celtics history, the storied franchise played its first game.

On this day in Boston Celtics history, the storied franchise played the first game of its storied history in 1946 as it kicked off play in the brand-new Basketball Association of America, which became the National Basketball Association in 1949).

That first contest was not an auspicious one. The Celtics dropped their inaugural game to the (now defunct) Providence Steamrollers, 59-53. Boston fell to 0-1 to start the 1946-47 BAA season on a sour note that offered no hints of the many wins to come. It was of course the Celtics’ debut for the entire team, but in that era, sparse counting stat records were kept — or even conceived of.

With that in mind, let’s review the details we do have.

Every player in Boston Celtics history who wore No. 10

Today’s installment focuses on the nine players who wore No. 10 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 nine players who wore No. 10 over the years as of September 2023.

On this day: Boston’s John Havlicek stole the ball vs. the 76ers

On this day in 1965, John Havlicek stole the ball from the 76ers in the East Finals in one of the most iconic plays in NBA history.

On this day in Boston Celtics history, legendary forward John Havlicek stole the ball. In Game 7 of the 1965 Eastern Conference Finals, Hondo — as Havlicek was called — made one of the most iconic plays in NBA history.

With just five seconds remaining and Boston holding a 110-109 lead over the Philadelphia 76ers, Havlicek tipped an inbound pass to Boston’s Sam Jones, who then dribbled out the clock to secure the win. Celtics broadcaster Johnny Most immortalized the event in his play-by-play calling that featured him shouting, “Havlicek stole the ball! It’s all over! It’s all over!”

The crowd of course went wild, and Boston would go on to win their eighth title in the Finals over the Los Angeles Lakers after the triumph.

On this day: Celtics Connie Simmons, Brady Walker, Jim Janisch, Jabari Parker born; Coty Clarke debuts

On this day, Celtics Connie Simmons, Brady Walker, and Jim Janisch came into this world, and Coty Clark made his Boston debut.

On this day in Boston Celtics history, former Celtics center Cornelius “Connie” Leo Simmons was born in Newark, New Jersey in 1925.

Simmons did not play college ball, instead making the leap directly from New York City’s Flushing High School to the Celtics in Boston’s inaugural season of 1946-47. It would also be the very first season of the Basketball Association of America (BAA — a precursor league of the NBA), of which Boston was a founding member. Simmons would play parts of two seasons for the Celtics, having been traded midway through the 1947-48 season to the (now defunct) Baltimore Bullets.

The Newark native would average 9.4 points per game with Boston.

On this day: Celtics first game ever in 1946, MANY players, coach John Russell debut; Hal Crisler passes

On this day in Celtics history, the storied franchise played its first game.

On this day in Boston Celtics history, the storied franchise played the first game of its storied history in 1946 as it kicked off play in the brand-new Basketball Association of America, which became the National Basketball Association in 1949).

That first contest was not an auspicious one. The Celtics dropped their inaugural game to the (now defunct) Providence Steamrollers, 59-53. Boston fell to 0-1 to start the 1946-47 BAA season on a sour note that offered no hints of the many wins to come.

It was of course the Celtics’ debut for the entire team, but in that era, sparse counting stat records were kept — or even conceived of. With that in mind, let’s review the details we do have.

Every player in Boston Celtics history who wore No. 10

This is every player in Boston’s history who wore the Celtics’ No. 10 jersey for at least one game.

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 nine players who wore No. 10 over the years.