On this day in Boston Celtics history, the Boston Celtics won the first of their 17 championships in 1957, a 125-123 double-overtime thriller at the Boston Garden against the (then) St. Louis (now, Atlanta) Hawks.
The Hawks and Celtics had been tied three games to three heading into the critical Game 7 contest and saw rookie and future legendary big man Bill Russell grab a record 32 rebounds, the most ever for a rookie in any NBA Finals game up to that point. It also saw one-day Hall of Famer Tommy Heinsohn, a 6-foot-7 rookie forward, scored 37 points and 23 rebounds in the win.
The victory sparked a short-lived rivalry between the two clubs that would end in the early 1960s, supplanted by the Los Angeles Lakers.
It is also the date that former Celtic forward Jim Loscutoff was drafted by Boston in the 1955 NBA Draft — third overall — out of Oregon.
Loscutoff would play for the Celtics for nine seasons, averaging 6.2 points and 5.6 rebounds over that stretch. Boston would win six championships while he was on the team, with his bruising defense being a significant factor in many of them.
He requested “Loscy”, his nickname — not his jersey number, No. 18 — be retired so future Celtics would still be able to wear it.
A number of Celtics were born today, starting with Anthony George Kappen, better known as Tony when he played for Boston in its inaugural season of 1946-47.
Born in 1919, Kappen grew up in New York City but did not play basketball collegiately, joining the first iteration of the storied franchise on the strength of his reputation as a player.
The guard appeared in just 18 games for Boston before being dealt to the (now defunct) Pittsburgh Ironmen for Moe Becker, averaging 4.1 points per game with the team in his time with the Celtics.
My Godfather, Dermie O’Connell. 1947 NCAA Champions! 💪🏼🍀🏀 pic.twitter.com/Uwh30cTWEC
— Carol Stella (@EHMSStella) March 27, 2022
It is also the birthday of Boston guard Dermie O’Connell, who joined Boston after going undrafted out of Holy Cross in 1949.
Born this day in 1928, the fellow New Yorker appeared in 58 contests for the Celtics over two seasons before being waived in 1950, putting up 6.6 points and 2.2 assists per game with the team.
The pair share their birthday with big man Jim “Bad News” Barnes, who came into the world today in Tuckerman, Arkansas in 1941.
Barnes played collegiately for the University of Texas-El Paso and was drafted first overall by the New York Knicks in 1964. After stints there and with the (then) Baltimore Bullets (now, Washington Wizards), Minneapolis/Los Angeles Lakers, and Chicago Bulls, the Arkansas native’s rights were bought by Boston in 1968.
He’d win a title with the Celtics that season while logging 126 games with Boston over two seasons, averaging 5.6 points and 4.3 rebounds per game.
Guard Dana Barros has the birthday in common as well, having been born in Boston, Massachusetts on this day in 1967.
Hometown-oriented from the start, Barros played at the NCAA level for Boston College, getting picked up by the (then) Seattle Supersonics (now, Oklahoma City Thunder) in the 1989 NBA draft. He’d play for the Celtics in two stints in between others with the Philadelphia 76ers and Detroit Pistons, the latter stint after serving as an assistant coach for most of the season.
Barros recorded an average of 10.1 points, 1.9 boards, and 3.3 assists per game with Boston.
Former Celtics center Michael Olowokandi also shares the birthday with them, coming into the world in Lagos, Nigeria on this day in 1975.
Drafted first overall by the Los Angeles Clippers in the 1998 NBA draft, Olowokandi disappointed in his time with L.A. and later the Minnesota Timberwolves, and was dealt from the latter with Dwayne Jones, Wally Szczerbiak, and draft assets to Boston for Marcus Banks, Mark Blount, Ricky Davis, Justin Reed, and picks in 2006.
He played just 40 games for the team, logging 2.1 points and 2.2 rebounds per game over two seasons as a Celtic.
Larry Bird talks about how the 1986 team went 40-1 in the regular season.
Catch more: https://t.co/dalX1aIzhn pic.twitter.com/pgWgaZiaPn
— Boston Celtics (@celtics) April 3, 2020
Finally, in 1986, Boston ended the 1985-86 season with a 135 – 107 blowout over the (then) New Jersey (now, Brooklyn) Nets at Boston Garden.
This left the Celtics with a 40-1 record at home, a record for both the most home wins and highest home winning percentage (.976) over a season in league history.
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