On this day: Boston sees the Grateful Dead in concert; Shaw, Hunter debut

On this day, several Boston Celtics accompanied resident Deadhead and Celtics center Bill Walton to see the Grateful Dead in concert in 1985.

On this day in Boston Celtics history, several members of the storied franchise went to see the Grateful Dead in concert in Worcester, Massachusetts in 1985. Not all of the Celtics went, but after recent arrival Bill Walton had managed to pique the interest of a few of his teammates, a significant portion of the team decided to attend the concert.

A few days ahead of the planned concert, Hall of Fame teammates Larry Bird and Kevin McHale had noticed some hippie-ish looking people wearing funky clothes arriving in town and made the connection it must have something to do with their hippie-ish teammate.

Walton had himself previously met the band after sticking out like a sore thumb as a 7-footer at one of their concerts, catching the eye of drummer Mickey Hart, who called him on stage after learning who he was.

On this day: Chris Herren born; Ron Grandison, Charles Smith signed

On this day, former Boston Celtics Ron Grandison and Charles Smith signed with the team, and guard Chris Herren was born.

On this day in Boston Celtics history, big man Ron Grandison signed with the storied franchise as an unrestricted free agent in 1988. Grandison played his college ball at both the University of California, Irvine, and the University of New Orleans before he was selected in the fifth round of the 1987 NBA draft with the 100th overall pick (there were many more rounds in this era) by the Denver Nuggets.

He would never suit up for that organization however and instead played a single season for the Rochester Flyers in the Continental Basketball Association (CBA – that era’s equivalent of the NBA G League) after being waived by the Nuggets.

Grandison then signed with the Celtics the following fall.

Every player in Boston Celtics history who wore No. 31

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

On this day: Johnson, Jerebko signed; Lee trade; Paxson, Mickey born

On this day in 2015, the Boston Celtics signed Amir Johnson and Jonas Jerebko and traded for David Lee.

On this date in Boston Celtics history, the team signed big man Amir Johnson to a two-year, $24 million contract. The Los Angeles native had previously played for the Toronto Raptors for the previous six seasons before decamping to the Celtics, and the Detroit Pistons for four more before that after being drafted directly out of high school by that team 56th overall in the 2005 NBA draft.

Johnson was a key part of the franchise’s post-Banner 17 rebuild, anchoring the team’s interior as a veteran presence while averaging 6.9 points, 5.5 rebounds, 1.7 assists, and 0.9 blocks per game.

Johnson would leave the team in free agency to join the Philadelphia 76ers in the summer of 2017.

On this day: Boston sees the Grateful Dead in concert; Shaw, Hunter debut

On this day, several Boston Celtics accompanied resident Deadhead and Celtics center Bill Walton to see the Grateful Dead in concert in 1985.

On this day in Boston Celtics history, several members of the storied franchise went to see the Grateful Dead in concert in Worcester, Massachusetts in 1985. Not all the Celtics went, but after recent arrival Bill Walton had managed to pique the interest of a few of his teammates, a significant portion of the team decided to attend the concert.

A few days ahead of the planned concert, Hall of Fame teammates Larry Bird and Kevin McHale had noticed some hippie-ish looking people wearing funky clothes arriving in town, and made the connection it must have something to do with their hippie-ish teammate.

Walton had himself previously met the band after sticking out like a sore thumb as a 7-footer at one of their concerts, catching the eye of drummer Mickey Hart, who called him on stage after learning who he was.

 

Every player in Boston Celtics history who wore No. 31

This is every player in Boston’s history who wore the Celtics’ No. 31 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 eight players who wore No. 31 over the years.

On this day: Johnson, Jerebko signed; Lee trade; Paxson, Mickey born

On this day in 2015, the Boston Celtics signed Amir Johnson and Jonas Jerebko, and traded for David Lee.

On this day in 2015, the Boston Celtics signed big man Amir Johnson to a two-year, $24 million contract.

The Los Angeles native had previously played for the Toronto Raptors for the previous six seasons, and the Detroit Pistons for four more before that after being drafted directly out of high school by that team 56th overall in the 2005 NBA Draft.

Johnson was a key part of Boston’s rebuild, anchoring the team’s interior as a veteran presence while averaging 6.9 points, 5.5 rebounds, 1.7 assists and 0.9 blocks per game before leaving the team in free agency to join the Philadelphia 76ers in the summer of 2017.