Tag: Tommy Heinsohn

WATCH: Looking back at Tommy Heinsohn’s historic 1957 NBA Finals performance with the Celtics

Tommy Heinsohn was so much more than just a Celtics broadcasting icon.

While the bulk of contemporary fans of the Boston Celtics are very familiar with franchise icon Tommy Heinsohn, for most of them he is a broadcasting legend, his time as a player exiting in some remote corner of awareness for many, if at all.

But Heinsohn was a force of nature in his playing days, among the league’s best forwards and something of a template for future frontcourt players to model their game after. He also was a critical part in winning eight NBA titles for the Celtics, and in no small way crucial to securing the first of Boston’s league-tying 17 banners as a rookie, no less.

And to discuss exactly that on a video clip taken from his eponymous podcast, The Ringer’s Bill Simmons discusses Heinsohn’s legendary 1957 Finals Game 7 performance.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WIFmICe8fqg

Check it out for yourself to learn more about how the originator of the Tommy Point helped get the Celtics on the board as a champion franchise with his contribution of a double-overtime win over the (then) St. Louis (now, Atlanta) Hawks.

This post originally appeared on Celtics Wire. Follow us on Facebook!

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WATCH: Celtics air Jumbotron tribute video for first-ever Tommy Heinsohn Day

The Celtic legend was honored in video form at his inaugural day of remembrance.

Boston Celtics champion big man, former head coach and longtime broadcasting fixture Tommy Heinsohn was honored by the team he called home for 64 years of his life on Sunday with the first ever Tommy Heinsohn Day festivities.

They included the awarding of the first-ever “Tommy Award” to veteran guard Marcus Smart, special t-shirts, signage and a special video tribute for fans in the arena cast up on TD Garden’s jumbotron for all to see. Our friends over at CLNS media managed to catch the tribute video for us to see in the clip embedded below, so if you’d like a glimpse of the clip yourself be sure to press play.

While a win against the Miami Heat at home would have been an added perk for the spirit of the day, no missteps in the present can tarnish the Celtic icon’s contributions to the franchise over more than six decades.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=46qCrx_gQqE

This post originally appeared on Celtics Wire. Follow us on Facebook!

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WATCH: Celtics air Jumbotron tribute video for first-ever Tommy Heinsohn Day

The Celtic legend was honored in video form at his inaugural day of remembrance.

Boston Celtics champion big man, former head coach and longtime broadcasting fixture Tommy Heinsohn was honored by the team he called home for 64 years of his life on Sunday with the first ever Tommy Heinsohn Day festivities.

They included the awarding of the first-ever “Tommy Award” to veteran guard Marcus Smart, special t-shirts, signage and a special video tribute for fans in the arena cast up on TD Garden’s jumbotron for all to see. Our friends over at CLNS media managed to catch the tribute video for us to see in the clip embedded below, so if you’d like a glimpse of the clip yourself be sure to press play.

While a win against the Miami Heat at home would have been an added perk for the spirit of the day, no missteps in the present can tarnish the Celtic icon’s contributions to the franchise over more than six decades.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=46qCrx_gQqE

This post originally appeared on Celtics Wire. Follow us on Facebook!

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First annual ‘Tommy Heinsohn Day’ to honor franchise icon on Sunday, May 9

The legendary Celtic will be honored by the team with a new annual event starting May 9.

The Boston Celtics have announced via press release they plan to honor franchise legend Tommy Heinsohn this Sunday, May 9 with the inaugural “Tommy Heinsohn Day” to honor the late Celtics icon with a day of on-air tributes hosted by the team and NBC Sports Boston.

Drafted ahead of the 1956-57 NBA season in which he won Rookie of the Year honors, Heinsohn would kick off his career with the Celtics by winning his (and the franchise’s) first NBA championship. He’d win eight total titles with Boston along with six All-Star nods among many other honors, and would return to coach the team to two more titles in the 1970s after his playing days were over.

He would remain close to the team even after he retired, working as a broadcaster right up to his death in 2020.

On this day: Celtics fire Tommy Heinsohn as coach, hire Tom Sanders

On this day in 1978, the Boston Celtics fired iconic head coach Tommy Heinsohn, and hired Celtic champ Tom Sanders to replace him in that role.

On this day in 1978, the Boston Celtics fired then-head coach and former champion forward Tommy Heinsohn.

Heinsohn had began coaching the team after a stint as a broadcaster calling games for local station WKBG, which he had been doing for three seasons after retiring as one of the most decorated players in NBA history in 1965, winning eight titles and a host of other honors. The Holy Cross product was similarly successful as a coach early on, winning the league’s Coach of the Year honors in 1973 and a pair of titles in 1974 and 1976, as well as serving as the head coach of the East in All-Star games between 1972 and 1974, and again in 1976.

On this day: Celtics legend Tommy Heinsohn scores 45 on Christmas

On this day in Boston history, Celtics icon Tommy Heinsohn set the record for scoring on Christmas Day, as well as his career high.

On this day in 1961, Boston Celtics icon Tommy Heinsohn scored 45 points in the Celtics’ 127 – 122 win over the Syracuse Nationals (now, the Philadelphia 76ers) on the road for the holiday.

It remains the record to this day for points scored in a Christmas Day game by a Celtic player (point guards Kyrie Irving and Bob Cousy hold the next two highest scores at 40 and 35 points, respectively), as well as being the most points scored by the Hall of Fame power forward in any game of his career. The Holy Cross product would go on to win his fifth title with the team of eight later that season, but played a game for the ages that holiday tilt first.

Boston Celtics pay Tommy Heinsohn tribute for 2020-21 opener

The Celtics pay tribute the Mr. Celtic in a way as big as his hall of Fame career was with the team.

In the first game of the 2020-21 season, it will also be the first time a Boston Celtics game has been played since they won their first title more than a half-century ago without Celtics icon Tommy Heinsohn attached to the team in some way.

Heinsohn, who passed this fall after a protracted illness, will be honored by the team he made his life with, winning eight titles as a player, two more as coach and countless other honors. Boston tweeted out a tribute video ahead of the game this afternoon, and will place patches in his memory on all the players’ jerseys suiting up, per CBS Boston.

Boston will also lower eight of the team’s 17 banners to court level to honor the Celtic great’s six decades with the team.

Watch the tribute embedded above, and keep a tissue handy — it may not be possible to do such a giant justice in the brevity of a tribute video, but they certainly did come close.

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Popular NBA stats site sneaks in a touching tribute to Tommy Heinsohn

A well-known NBA basketball stats and history site snuck in a touching tribute to recently-passed Celtics legend Tommy Heinsohn.

We might just have some Boston Celtics fans — or at least Tommy Heinsohn fans — among the folks over at Basketball-reference.com.

The Celtic great passed away earlier this month at age 86 after an unparalleled role in each of Boston’s 17 titles and seven decades of existence.

As a player and as a coach, the Holy Cross product had Hall of Fame careers, one of only four people to ever manage such a feat.

And considering his four-decade career as a broadcaster whose (then) unorthodox views on the art helped shape how the game is broadcast today may get him back in the Hall yet again.

He was truly an amazing figure, given all this was done in conjunction with the only team he ever played for — or coached.

To honor Heinsohn, the popular record-keeping site of NBA basketball made some subtle changes to their “Overview” page for the Boston icon — they list him as holding the top spot in league history for Tommy Points Awarded.

It may be symbolic, but the nod is a very real acknowledgement of the long shadow his life cast on ours — and a classy move from our friends at Basketball Reference (dot com).

(h/t Twitter user @ExtendAdamGase for the find.)

CLAB 19: Remembering Tommy Heinsohn & highly subjective draft thoughts

A legend passes as we prepare for a pivotal Boston Celtics offseason, the Celtics Wire pays homage to past greatness while trying to get a bead on the future.

We originally planned to talk out irrational gut feelings or overconfidence in 2020 NBA draft prospects ahead of Wednesday’s big event, but a legend passed in the interim.

With franchise icon Tommy Heinsohn’s death arriving after a long absence from the team he never could stay far from, we instead chose to share our favorite memories of the Celtic giant.

We’re joined by Red’s Army writer and resident historian Mike Dynon, who regaled us with a window into his early fandom, watching the Hall-of-Fame player and coach move to the other side of the clipboard.

We did manage to squeeze in at least some of the draft talk we’d initially planned to focus on afterwards as well.

Join Off the Glass’ Alex Goldberg, Celtics Hub’s Cam Tabatabaie, Celtics Wire editor Justin Quinn and Celtics Lab’s Mark Allison as we work out our nagging suspicions about the NBA draft.

[jwplayer zlJfhRxW]

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WATCH: Looking back at Tommy Heinsohn’s impact on the Boston Celtics

The Boston Celtics put together this tribute to their former star forward, coach, broadcaster and friend Tommy Heinsohn.

“When I went to the Celtics, Tommy and I went the same year and up until that time, the Celtics had never won a series,” shared Boston Celtics great Bill Russell of his friend and teammate Tommy Heinsohn and his impact on a team that he would see win eight NBA championships in his nine season career.

“Tommy as a player, and as a power forward, he is the most under-rated, unappreciated, under-glorified players we’ve ever had in this league,” added fellow Celtic icon Bob Cousy of his former teammate Heinsohn, who passed away on November 10th at age 86.

From his time as a player and advocate for his peers at the dawn of the Players’ Union to his coaching and broadcasting years, the Holy Cross product had his hand connected to each of the team’s 17 titles.

That’s an unparalleled feat in the NBA’s 70-year history, and the wider Celtics community still reels from the loss of this great.

Watch the video produced by the team on the depth and breadth of his impact on today’s Boston Celtics.

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