Today in Boston Celtics history, Hall of Fame Celtics player, coach, and broadcaster Tommy Heinsohn passed away in 2020 following a prolonged illness. He played a significant role in all 17 of Boston's NBA titles. After retiring as coach in the late 1970s, he dedicated much of his career to broadcasting, calling games with longtime broadcast partner Mike Gorman until shortly before his death.
As a player, Heinsohn won 8 banners with the team in his career stretching from 1956 to 1965, 6 All-Star bids, and 4 All-NBA team honors among many others. As a coach, the Holy Cross product would win two more titles in 1974 and 1976, and take home Coach of the Year honors in 1973.
One of only five people ever inducted into the Hall of Fame as both a player
and a coach, Tommy may yet make it in as a broadcaster as well, a feat yet unmatched in league history. Rest in Peace, Tommy – you are missed.
Gone too soon
It is also the date that Celtics legend Ed Macauley left us nine years earlier in 2011. Macauley came the Celtics after being selected by Boston in the (now defunct) St. Louis Bombers dispersal draft in 1950, the team that had selected him with the fifth overall pick of the Basketball Association of America (BAA - a precursor league of the NBA) draft out of St. Louis. "Easy Ed" Macauley went on to have a Hall of Fame career, winning a title with the (then) St. Louis (now, Atlanta) Hawks in 1958.
An oddly sad day for Celtics history, it is also the date the team lost former owner Marvin Kratter in 1999. A real estate developer who dabbled in the world of sports ownership as the principal owner of the Celtics from 1956 to 1968, Kratter would eventually sell the team to P. Ballantine and Sons Brewing Company for a short period of time.
Historic milestones
On this day in 2007, Gabe Pruitt made his debut. An alum of USC, the Los Angeles native was taken by the Celtics with the 32nd pick of the 2007 NBA Draft. Having landed with a contending team, there was little chance for Pruitt to see the floor in his inaugural season, but he got the nod for the first time in a 106-83 win over the Atlanta Hawks. For having played just under three and a half minutes, it was a solid debut with Pruitt putting up 4 points and an assist.
That same date in 1948 saw Al Lucas debut for Boston, one of just 2 games the Fordham alum would play for the team. It came in a 77-55 blowout of the (then) Minneapolis (now, Los Angeles) Lakers at the old Boston Garden, and saw Lucas go scoreless, perhaps explaining his exceedingly brief tenure with the team.
This article originally appeared on Celtics Wire: Today in Boston Celtics history: Tommy Heinsohn, Ed Macauley, Marvin Kratter pass; Pruitt, Lucas debut
