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. 6

Today’s installment focuses on the five players who wore No. 6 over the years as of September 2022, a number which will never be worn again in the future of any team in the league in honor of the last Celtic to wear it.

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 five players who wore No. 6 over the years as of September 2022, a number which will never be worn again in the future of any team in the league in honor of the last Celtic to wear it.

On this day: Eddie House, Frank Brickowski, Pervis Ellison signed; Johnny Simmons passes

On this day, the Boston Celtics signed guard Eddie House, forward Frank Brickowski, and center Pervis Ellison to the team.

On this day in Boston Celtics history, reserve guard Eddie House signed a multi-year deal with the team. The Berkeley, California native had previously played for the Miami Heat (he was drafted by that team out of Arizona State with the 37th pick of the 2000 NBA draft), Los Angeles Clippers, Charlotte Hornets, Milwaukee Bucks, the Sacramento Kings, Phoenix Suns, and (the then) New Jersey (now, Brooklyn) Nets before joining Boston in true journeyman fashion.

House would become a key part of the Celtics’ 2008 title team’s bench offense, providing microwave scoring off the bench that would end up proving critical to winning Banner 17.

He would play three seasons with Boston, averaging 7.8 points, 1.9 rebounds, and 1.4 assists per game over that stretch.

On this day: Avery traded; Olynyk, Knight signed; Barnett, Simmons born; Wallace passes

On this date in 2017, the Boston Celtics traded veteran guard Avery Bradley to the Detroit Pistons for forward Marcus Morris.

On this day in Boston Celtics history, veteran combo guard Avery Bradley was traded with draft assets to the Detroit Pistons for forward Marcus Morris Sr. as part of the process of making cap space on the roster after signing Utah Jazz Star Gordon Hayward in 2017.

Avery, a 6-foot-3, 180-pound native of Tacoma, Washington, was drafted by the Celtics out of the University of Texas with the 19th pick of the 2010 NBA draft. The former Longhorn quickly made a name for himself as one of the league’s best man-to-man defenders while coming up with the aging core of the 2008 title team.

In total, the former Texas standout played for the team for seven seasons, averaging 12.1 points, 3.1 assists, and 1.7 rebounds per game.

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.

On this day: Avery traded; Olynyk, Knight signed; Barnett, Simmons born; Wallace passes

On this date in 2017, the Boston Celtics traded veteran guard Avery Bradley to the Detroit Pistons for forward Marcus Morris.

On this day in Boston Celtics history, veteran combo guard Avery Bradley was traded with draft assets to the Detroit Pistons for forward Marcus Morris Sr.  as part of the process of making cap space on the roster after signing Utah Jazz Star Gordon Hayward in 2017.

Avery, a 6-foot-3, 180-pound native of Tacoma, Washington, was drafted by the Celtics out of the University of Texas with the 19th pick of the 2010 NBA draft. The former Longhorn quickly made a name for himself as one of the league’s best man-to-man defenders while coming up with the aging core of the 2008 title team.

In total, the former Texas standout played for the team for seven seasons, averaging 12.1 points, 3.1 assists, and 1.7 rebounds per game.

On this day: Avery traded; Olynyk, Knight signed; Barnett, Simmons born

On this date in 2017, the Boston Celtics traded veteran guard Avery Bradley to the Detroit Pistons for forward Marcus Morris.

On this day in 2017, Boston Celtics veteran combo guard Avery Bradley was traded with draft assets to the Detroit Pistons for power forward Marcus Morris.

Avery, a 6-foot-3, 180 lb. native of Tacoma, Washington, was drafted by the Celtics out of the University of Texas with the 19th overall pick of the 2010 NBA Draft.

The former Longhorn quickly made a name for himself as one of the league’s best man-to-man defenders while coming up with the aging core of the 2008 title team, and outlasted the teardown of the Banner 17 squad only to be dealt in order to make cap space to sign forward Gordon Hayward.

In total, the Texas product played for the team for seven seasons, averaging 12.1 points, 3.1 assists and 1.7 rebounds per game while with the team.