Tag: dan swartz

On this day: Celtic champion Dan Swartz born; Bird triple-doubles

On this day in Celtics history, Boston forward Dan Swartz was born, and legend Larry Bird hung a triple-double on the Atlanta Hawks.

On this day in 1934, former Boston Celtics small forward Daniel S. Swartz was born in Owingsville, Kentucky. Swartz began his collegiate basketball career playing for the University of Kentucky Wildcats, but would transfer to Morehead State University in his sophomore season.

He would be selected by the Celtics with the 11th overall pick of the same draft (1956) in which Boston also drafted stars Bill Russell and K.C. Jones, but did not play for the team until the 1962-63, five seasons later. In the interim, Swartz played Amateur Athletic Union basketball with the Wichita Vipers, Cleveland Pipers and Philadelphia Tapers.

He also played for the American Basketball League’s (ABL – a short-lived competitor of the NBA) Los Angeles Jets.

On this day: Hondo, Yabu, Swartz, Minor debut; Mikan born; Reed passes; Antoine Walker, Paul Silas trades

On this day in Celtics history, John Havlicek, Dan Swartz, Mark Minor, and Guerschon Yabusele debuted, Antoine Walker and Paul Silas were traded, Ed Mikan was born, and Justin Reed left us.

On this day in Boston Celtics history, legendary Celtics small forward and future Hall of Famer John Havlicek played the very first game of his storied career with Boston in 1962.

An alum of the Ohio State’s Buckeyes men’s basketball program, Hondo — as Havlicek was sometimes called — had been selected ninth overall in that year’s NBA draft and played a major role for the team from the very first moment he played in the league, gracing the floor for 25 minutes of game time in his inaugural performance. That game happened to be a 149-116 obliteration of the New York Knicks, though Havlicek had a modest stat line in it.

The Martin’s Ferry native logged 6 points and 4 assists in the win.

Every player in Boston Celtics history who wore No. 12

Today’s installment focuses on the 34 players who wore No. 12 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 34 players who wore No. 12 over the years as of September 2023.

On this day: Jones, Heinsohn draft; Russell swap; Rivers hire; Bass born; Tatum gets 60

On this day, Boston drafted Bill Russell, KC Jones, and Tommy Heinsohn, hired Doc Rivers as coach, and saw Jayson Tatum score 60.

On this day in Boston Celtics history, veteran center Ed Macauley and small forward Cliff Hagan were traded to the (then) St. Louis (now, Atlanta) Hawks for the second pick in the 1956 NBA draft, which the Celtics would use to select legendary big man Bill Russell. Boston negotiated from a position of strength; head coach and GM Red Auerbach leveraged his relationship with Hawks owner Ben Kerner — a former employer.

Auerbach convinced Celtics owner Walter Brown to lend the (then) Rochester Royals (now, Sacramento Kings) the Ice Capades for a week. The Ice Capades, also owned by Brown, were one of the most popular attractions filling arenas at that time. Mercifully for Boston, there was no Collective Bargaining Agreement to prevent the Royals, who held the first overall pick, from taking Russell first — the other end of the bargain that got the legendary center to the Celtics.

It was in the same draft that the Celtics also took Dan Swartz, Tommy Heinsohn, and KC Jones.

On this day: Boston champion Dan Swartz born; Bird triple-doubles

On this day in Celtics history, Boston forward Dan Swartz was born, and legend Larry Bird hung a triple-double on the Atlanta Hawks.

On this day in Boston Celtics history, small forward Daniel S. Swartz was born in Owingsville, Kentucky way back in 1934. Swartz began his collegiate basketball career playing for the University of Kentucky Wildcats, but would later transfer to Morehead State University in his sophomore season.

He was selected by the Celtics with the 11th overall pick of the same draft (1956) in which Boston also drafted stars Bill Russell and K.C. Jones, but did not play for the team until the 1962-63 NBA season five years later. In the interim, Swartz played Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) basketball with the Wichita Vipers, Cleveland Pipers, and Philadelphia Tapers.

Swartz also played in the American Basketball League’s (ABL – a short-lived competitor of the NBA) Los Angeles Jets before joining Boston.

On this day: Hondo, Yabu, Swartz, Minor debut; Mikan born; Reed passes; Antoine Walker, Paul Silas trades

On this day in Celtics history, John Havlicek, Dan Swartz, Mark Minor, and Guerschon Yabusele debuted, Antoine Walker and Paul Silas were traded, Ed Mikan was born, and Justin Reed left us.

On this day in Boston Celtics history, legendary Celtics small forward and future Hall of Famer John Havlicek played the very first game of his storied career with Boston in 1962.

A product of the Ohio State’s Buckeyes men’s basketball program, Hondo — as Havlicek was sometimes called — had been selected ninth overall in that year’s NBA draft, and played a major role for the team from the very first moment he played in the league, gracing the floor for 25 minutes of game time in his inaugural performance. That game happened to be a 149 – 116 obliteration of the New York Knicks, though Havlicek had a modest stat line in it.

The Martin’s Ferry native logged 6 points and 4 assists in the win.