Today in Boston Celtics history, Saul Mariaschin was born in Brooklyn, New York, in 1924. He played his college basketball at Syracuse University and then later transferred to play at Harvard. During his time at that hallowed institution, he also played the sport of baseball and happened to be a teammate of future United States President George H.W. Bush.
He helped drive the Crimson to a 19-1 record and their sole NCAA Tournament appearance until the 2011-12 team that was led by Jeremy Lin. The Brooklyn native was drafted 63rd in the 1947 Basketball Association of America (BAA -- a precursor league of the NBA) by the (now defunct) Washington Capitals, but he did not report to that team.
Instead, he signed with the Celtics, for whom he played one
season. He was the last Harvard graduate to make an NBA or BAA postseason until Lin did it with the Houston Rockets in 2013. Mariaschin averaged 7.7 points and 1.4 assists per game. Rebounds were not yet tracked as a statistic.
Historic milestones
It is also the date of Celtics alumni Jaylen Brown and Bill Russell weighing in on the police shooting of Jacob Blake, a black Minnesota resident killed by police soon after the George Floyd killing that sparked nationwide protests. Caught on video, the graphic details of the incident disturbed many, including Brown and Russell.
"There is inequalities and injustices that carry HARSH punishments for people of color!!" related the Georgia native in response to the incident. "I watched a man get shot seven times in front of his children they will never be able to unsee what they just saw every nerve in my body is on fire." "Amen!" tweeted Russell in reply to a similar reaction by Utah Jazz wing Donovan Mitchell. "This has to stop!"
Gone too soon
Finally, it is also the date former Boston big man Robert William "Bevo" Nordmann died in 2015. Born in St. Louis, Missouri, in 1939, Nordmann played collegiately with St. Louis before being drafted by the (then) Cincinnati Royals (now, Sacramento Kings).
Nordmann played with the (then) St. Louis Hawks (now, Atlanta) and New York Knicks before joining the Celtics, for whom he only appeared in 3 games. He logged 2 points, 2.7 rebounds, and an assist per game while with the team.
This article originally appeared on Celtics Wire: Today in Boston Celtics history: Mariaschin born, Nordmann passes, Cs react to Blake shooting
