Today in Boston Celtics history, Kevin Douglas Gamble was born in Springfield, Illinois, in 1965. An alumnus of the University of Iowa, Gamble was selected with the 63rd overall pick of the 1987 NBA Draft by the Portland Trail Blazers, in a time when the draft had many more rounds than it does today.
He played for that team briefly before spending time as a member of several teams in the Continental Basketball Association (CBA – an analog to today's G League), the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA), and the World Basketball League (WBL), common destinations at that time for players not quite good enough for the NBA.
In December 1988, Gamble was picked up by the Celtics to help cover for an injured Larry Bird and managed to parlay the opportunity
into increasingly important roles, eventually becoming a starter by the 1990-91 season.
Birthdays
Gene Stump was also born today, in 1923 in Chicago, Illinois. An alum of DePaul, Stump was selected by the Celtics in their very first draft during their second season of existence, when they were still in the Basketball Association of America (BAA – a precursor league of the NBA) era.
The Chicagoan played 99 games for Boston over two seasons, recording 6.3 points per game (many common counting statistics were not yet recorded).
Transactions
It is also the date that the Celtics dealt forward Bill Dinwiddie to the Milwaukee Bucks for draft assets in 1971. The New Mexico Highlands University alum had been dealt from the (then) Cincinnati Royals (now, Sacramento Kings) to Boston for the rights to Bob Cousy in 1969.
He recorded an average of 4.9 points and 3.4 rebounds per game in the sole season (1970-71) he played for the Celtics, having sat out his first with the team due to a knee injury.
Historic milestones
Finally, it is the day Celtics forward Paul Westphal made his debut with the team in a 121 - 108 win over the Detroit Pistons in 1972.
The USC alum logged 2 points, a rebound, and 2 assists off the bench, hitting one of his 3 field goal attempts in a modest debut to a Hall of Fame career.
This article originally appeared on Celtics Wire: Today in Boston Celtics history: Kevin Gamble, Gene Stump born; Paul Westphal debut
