Today in Boston Celtics history, the team brought on former star forward Tommy Heinsohn as the storied franchise's head coach. A Holy Cross alumnus, Heinsohn was drafted by the Celtics in 1956. The Union City, New Jersey native played a total of nine seasons with the team, winning titles in eight of those seasons and earning numerous accolades along the way. Heinsohn retired from playing in 1965 to do play-by-play announcing (he would again after coaching) and was hired as coach four seasons later. He would lead the Celtics to an NBA-best 68-14 record in the 1972-73 season, garnering Coach of the Year honors.
He won titles as a coach with Boston in 1974 and 1976 and then was fired from the job after a disappointing 1977-78 season. Heinsohn held
a career 427-263 loss coaching record, good for a .619 winning record in the regular season, and won 47 postseason games while losing 33, a .588 playoff winning percentage.
He was inducted as a coach into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame in 2015, one of only five people in the Hall as both player and coach after former teammate Bill Russell's induction as a coach in 2021.
Transactions
It was also on this date that former Celtic center Wayne Embry was traded to the team from the (then) Cincinnati Royals (now, Sacramento Kings). Embry had retired from the game to focus on his soda distribution business but was talked out of remaining retired from the sport by Boston's Bill Russell.
The Springfield, Ohio native won a title with the Celtics in 1968, playing two seasons for the team before being drafted by the Milwaukee Bucks in the 1968 NBA expansion draft held to populate that team and the Phoenix Suns. Embry put up 5.8 points and 4.1 rebounds per game as a Celtic.
On this day, the Celtics also traded Kris Dunn, Carsen Edwards, and draft assets for Memphis Grizzlies big man Juancho Hernangomez.
The star of the Netflix "Hustle" film was not long for Boston, however, with the Madrid native playing just 18 games for the Celtics before he would be dealt to the San Antonio Spurs in a three-team deal. He averaged 1.1 points and 1.4 rebounds per game with the team.
Birthdays
It is also the birthday of former Boston point guard Sherman Douglas. Born this day in 1966 in Washington D.C., Douglas played collegiately at Syracuse before being drafted 28th overall by the Miami Heat in the 1989 NBA Draft.
Douglas was traded to the team for Brian Shaw in 1992 and played parts of five seasons with the team between then and 1995 when he would be traded to the Milwaukee Bucks for Todd Day and Alton Lister. The D.C. native averaged 11.1 points, 2.2 rebounds, and 6.8 assists per game as a Celtic.
Historic milestones
It was on this date in 2020 that the Celtics lost Game 1 of the 2020 Eastern Conference Finals against the Miami Heat in the Orlando Bubble, held at Disney's Wide World of Sports complex due to an ongoing pandemic. The 117-114 loss was punctuated by a brutal rejection of Celtics star forward Jayson Tatum at the rim by Heat big man Bam Adebayo.
"Bam. That seals the game for us," Butler said after the game via the AP. "I love how he does any and everything that you ask him to do. I really do."
"You ask him to pass the ball, he does that. Score, he does that. Come up with a huge defensive stop, block, he does that. He's a huge part to our winning. I've been saying it all year long and I'll repeat it again."
Gone too soon
Finally, it is also the date that we lost forward Phil Farbman in 1996. Born in Brooklyn, New York in 1924, Farbman played his college ball for City College of New York and joined the (then) Philadelphia Warriors (now, Golden State Warriors for 27 games of the 1948-49 season.
That January, his rights were dealt to the Celtics for cash, and he finished the season (his sole in the Basketball Association of America (BAA - a predecessor league of the NBA)), playing 21 games for Boston.
He averaged 3.4 points and just under a rebound per game over that stretch – rest in peace.
This article originally appeared on Celtics Wire: Today in Boston Celtics history: Heinsohn hired as coach; Embry traded for; Douglas born
