Today in Boston Celtics history, Sihugo "Si" Green passed away in 1980 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, following a prolonged battle with cancer. Born in New York City, New York, in 1933, Green played his college basketball for the Duquesne University Dukes from 1953 to 1956. The New York native was picked up with the first overall pick of the 1956 NBA Draft by the (then) Rochester Royals, now known as the Sacramento Kings.
Green played for the then-Royals, the (then) St. Louis (now, Atlanta) Hawks, a pair of currently defunct teams (the Chicago Packers and Zephyrs) as well as the (then) Baltimore Bullets (now, Washington Wizards) before joining the Celtics via trade.
Famous for being the top overall pick in the same draft that Celtics Hall of Fame
big man Bill Russell went second overall in (the 1956 NBA Draft), Green averaged 3.2 points and 1.1 rebounds per game with Boston.
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It is also the date that former Celtics forward Doug Smith would sign with the team in 1995 as an unrestricted free agent. The Detroit, Michigan native played at the NCAA level for the University of Missouri and was selected with the sixth overall pick of the 1991 Dallas Mavericks.
Smith would play four seasons with the Mavs before inking a one-season deal with Boston, his last in the NBA. He would log just 1.9 points and 1.3 rebounds per game while with the Celtics, career lows both.
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This article originally appeared on Celtics Wire: Today in Boston Celtics history: Si Green passes; forward Doug Smith signs
