The Roaming Photographer

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1946 – 1950: Early Years

The Boston Celtics were formed on June 6th, 1946, by Boston Garden-Arena Corporation president Walter A. Brown as a team in the Basketball Association of America (BAA). In 1948, the team earned its first playoff appearance, only to lose to the Chicago Stags 4-1. In 1949, the team missed the playoffs, fifth in the Eastern Division. Then, on August 3rd, 1949, the team became part of the National Basketball Association (NBA) after the absorption of the National Basketball League (NBL) by the BAA(1). In 1950, the Celtics signed Chuck Cooper, becoming the first NBA franchise to draft a black player(2). Chuck Connors of The Rifleman fame was an original member of the Celtics in 1946(3).

1950-1958: Arrival of Bob Cousy and Red Auerbach

The Celtics struggled during their early years, until the hiring of coach Red Auerbach(4). In the franchise’s early days, Auerbach had no assistants, ran all the practices, did all the scouting – both of opposing teams and college draft prospects – and scheduled all the road trips. One of the first great players to join the Celtics was Bob Cousy, whom Auerbach initially refused to draft out of nearby Holy Cross because he was “too flashy”(5). Cousy’s contract eventually became the property of the Chicago Stags(6), but when that franchise went bankrupt, Cousy went to the Celtics in a dispersal draft.

After the 1955-1956 season, Auerbach made a stunning trade, sending perennial All-Star Ed Macauley to the St. Louis Hawks along with the draft rights to Cliff Hagan for the second overall pick in the draft(7). After negotiating with the Rochester Royals – a negotiation that included a promise that the Celtics owner would send the highly sought-after Ice Capades to Rochester if the Royals would let Russell slide to No. 2 – Auerbach used the pick to select University of San Francisco center Bill Russell. Auerbach also acquired Holy Cross standout, and 1957 NBA Rookie of the Year, Tom Heinsohn(8). Both Russell and Heinsohn worked extraordinarily well with Cousy, and they were the players around whom Auerbach would build the championship Celtics for more than a decade(8). With Bill Russell, the Celtics advanced to the 1957 NBA Finals and defeated the St. Louis Hawks in seven games, earning their first NBA title(9). In 1958, the Celtics again advanced to the NBA Finals, losing to the Hawks in 6 games(10).

1958-1959: Decade-long Dynasty

Following the acquisition of K.C. Jones in 1958, the Celtics began a dynasty that would last for more than a decade(11). In 1959, the Celtics won the NBA championship after sweeping the Minneapolis Lakers, the first of their record eight consecutive championships(12). During that time, the Celtics met the Lakers in the Finals five times, starting an intense and often bitter rivalry that has spanned generations. In 1964, the Celtics became the first NBA team to have an all-African starting lineup. On December 26th, 1964, Willie Naulls replaced an injured Tom Heinsohn, joining Tom ‘Satch’ Sanders, K.C. Jones, Sam Jones, and Bill Russell in the starting lineup. The Celtics defeated St. Louis 97-84. Boston won its next 11 games with Naulls starting in place of Heinsohn(13). The Celtics of the late 1950’s – 1960’s are widely considered one of the most dominant teams of all time(14).

Auerbach retired as coach after the 1965-1966 season and Russell took over as player-coach, which was Auerbach’s ploy to keep Russell interested(15). Russell became the first African-American coach in any U.S. pro sport with his appointment. Auerbach would remain the general manager, a position he would hold well into the 1980s. however, the Celtics’ string of NBA titles ended when they lost to the Philadelphia 76ers in the 1967 Eastern Conference Finals. The aging team managed two more championships in 1968 and 1969, defeating the Los Angeles Lakers each time(16). Russell retired after the 1969 season, effectively ending a Celtics dynasty that had garnered an unrivaled 11 NBA titles in 13 seasons(17). The team’s run of 8 consecutive is the longest championship streak in U.S. professional sports history(18), with Russell’s 11 titles being the most won by an NBA player.