Tag: gene guarilia

On this day: Mo Mahoney born; Tony Lavelli debuts; Gene Guarilia passes

On this day in Celtics history, Mo Mahoney was born, Tony Lavelli debuted and Gene Guarilia left us.

On this day in Boston Celtics history, in Brooklyn, New York City, New York, former Boston Celtic forward Francis H. Mahoney was born in 1927.

Better known as “Mo” for a nickname during his tenure with the Celtics, the New Yorker played his college ball with Rhode Island’s Brown University. During his time there, he earned a Bachelor’s degree in English, and unlike today’s players, Mahoney did not make the jump to pro ball in the NBA immediately after college, electing to serve his country instead, enlisting in the U.S. Army to fight in the Korean War between 1950 and 1952.

Before he went overseas, however, Mahoney was selected by the Celtics with the 62nd overall pick (there were many more rounds in that era) of the 1950 NBA draft.

On this day: Billups, Mercer, Thomas, Carlisle, Palazzi, Guarilia debut; Edwards born

On this day, former Celtics Chauncey Billups, Ron Mercer, John Thomas, and Rick Carlisle made their debut for Boston, and Blue Edwards was born.

On this day in Boston Celtics history, point guard Chauncey Billups played his first game for the team. The Colorado product would later be traded in his rookie season after being selected by the Celtics with the third overall pick in the 1997 NBA draft, but it wasn’t because of how he performed the first time he took the floor as a pro.

Billups put up a very healthy 15 points, 2 rebounds, 4 assists, and two steals in his inaugural performance, shooting a sizzling 6-of-12 from the field, a much less sizzling 1-of-4 from beyond the arc, and a perfect 2-of-2 from the charity stripe.

That he did that in just under 17 minutes of game time off the bench makes it even more of a head-scratcher team president Rick Pitino would later trade the rookie scorer.

On this day: former Boston Celtics Travis Knight, Gene Guarilia born

On this day, former Boston Celtics small forward Gene Guarilia and center Travis Knight were born.

On this day in Boston Celtics history, big man Travis Knight was born in Salt Lake City, Utah in 1974. Knight played his college ball with the University of Connecticut Huskies and was drafted by the Chicago Bulls with the 29th pick of the 1996 NBA draft.

For whatever reason, the Bulls balked at signing Knight to the three-year deal required for a first-round pick, and Chicago renounced his rights less than a month later. He was picked up by the Los Angeles Lakers, and he made the NBA All-Rookie second team in his inaugural season in the league.

A free agent after his first season, Knight signed a seven-year, $22 million deal with the Celtics under head coach and team president Rick Pitino.

Every player in Boston Celtics history who wore No. 20

Today’s installment focuses on the 31 players who wore No. 20 over the years as of August 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, 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 31 players who wore No. 20 over the years as of August 2023.

On this day: Mo Mahoney born; Tony Lavelli debuts; Gene Guarilia passes

On this day in Celtics history, Mo Mahoney was born, Tony Lavelli debuted and Gene Guarilia left us.

On this day in Boston Celtics history, in Brooklyn, New York City, New York, former Boston Celtic forward Francis H. Mahoney was born in 1927.

Better known as “Mo” during his tenure with the Celtics, the New Yorker played his college ball with Rhode Island’s Brown University. During his time there, he earned a Bachelor’s degree in English, and unlike today’s players, Mahoney did not make the jump to pro ball in the NBA immediately after college, electing to serve his country instead, enlisting in the U.S. Army to fight in the Korean War between 1950 and 1952.

Before he went overseas, however, Mahoney was selected by the Celtics with the 62nd overall pick (there were many more rounds in that era) of the 1950 NBA draft.

On this day: Billups, Mercer, Thomas, Carlisle, Palazzi, Guarilia debut; Edwards born

On this day, former Celtics Chauncey Billups, Ron Mercer, John Thomas, and Rick Carlisle made their debut for Boston, and Blue Edwards was born.

On this day in Boston Celtics history, point guard Chauncey Billups played his first game for the team. The Colorado product would later be traded in his rookie season after being selected by the Celtics with the third overall in the 1997 NBA draft, but it wasn’t because of how he performed the first time he took the floor as a pro.

Billups put up a very healthy 15 points, 2 rebounds, 4 assists, and two steals in his inaugural performance, shooting a sizzling 6-of-12 from the field, a much less sizzling 1-of-4 from beyond the arc, and a perfect 2-of-2 from the charity stripe.

That he did that in just under 17 minutes of game time off the bench makes it even more of a head-scratcher team president Rick Pitino would later trade the rookie scorer.

On this day: former Boston Celtics Travis Knight, Gene Guarilia born

On this day, former Boston Celtics small forward Gene Guarilia and center Travis Knight were born.

On this day in Boston Celtics history, big man Travis Knight was born in Salt Lake City, Utah in 1974. Knight played his college ball with the University of Connecticut Huskies and was drafted by the Chicago Bulls with the 29th pick of the 1996 NBA draft.

For whatever reason, the Bulls balked at signing Knight to the three-year deal required for a first-round pick, and Chicago renounced his rights less than a month later. He was picked up by the Los Angeles Lakers, and he made the NBA All-Rookie second team in his inaugural season in the league.

A free agent after his first season, Knight signed a seven-year, $22 million deal with the Celtics under head coach and team president Rick Pitino.

On this day: Billups, Mercer, Thomas, Carlisle, Palazzi, Guarilia debut; Edwards born

On this day, former Celtics Chauncey Billups, Ron Mercer, John Thomas, and Rick Carlisle made their debut for Boston, and Blue Edwards was born.

On this day in Boston Celtics history, point guard Chauncey Billups played his first game for the team. The Colorado product would later be traded in his rookie season after being selected by the Celtics with the third overall in the 1997 NBA draft, but it wasn’t because of how he performed the first time he took the floor as a pro.

Billups put up a very healthy 15 points, 2 rebounds, 4 assists, and two steals in his inaugural performance, shooting a sizzling 6-of-12 from the field, a much less sizzling 1-of-4 from beyond the arc, and a perfect 2-of-2 from the charity stripe.

That he did that in just under 17 minutes of game time off the bench makes it even more of a head-scratcher team president Rick Pitino would later trade the rookie scorer.

On this day: former Boston Celtics Travis Knight, Gene Guarilia born

On this day, former Boston Celtics small forward Gene Guarilia and center Travis Knight were born.

On this day in Boston Celtics history, big man Travis Knight was born in Salt Lake City, Utah in 1974. Knight would play his college ball with the University of Connecticut Huskies and would be drafted by the Chicago Bulls with the 29th overall pick of the 1996 NBA draft.

For whatever reason, the Bulls balked at signing Knight to the three-year deal required for a first-round pick, with Chicago renouncing his rights less than a month later. He would be picked up by the Los Angeles Lakers, and make the NBA All-Rookie Second Team in his inaugural season in the league.

A free agent after his first season, Knight would ink a seven-year, $22 million deal with the Celtics under head coach and team president Rick Pitino.