On this day in Boston Celtics history, legendary big man Tommy Heinsohn was born in Jersey City, New Jersey, in 1934. Heinsohn was an All-American who played his college ball at the College of the Holy Cross and was taken with a territorial pick (these no longer exist, but were created to keep local talents in the region they went to college) in the 1957 NBA draft by the Celtics.
Heinsohn garnered Rookie of the Year honors in a draft class with teammate Bill Russell and won a title that season. He won seven more with Boston as a player while making six All-Star games and four All-NBA teams.
After transitioning to the other side of the clipboard with the Celtics, Heinsohn won two more titles as Boston’s head coach.
Tommy Heinsohn, (15) of the Boston Celtics leaps to score as Bob Pettit, left, of the St. Louis Hawks attempts to block the play in their National Basketball Association playoff game at Boston Garden on April 10, 1958. Watching the play is Jack McMahon (21) of the Hawks. AP Photo/J. Walter Green
The Celtics legend remained involved with the team as a color commentator until his death in 2020, working with announcer Mike Gorman for 40 seasons.
He is the only person to have been involved with the team in some capacity for all 17 of the Celtics’ titles.
It is also the date of a league-wide strike sparked by the shooting of Jacob Blake by police in 2020. The Milwaukee Bucks sparked the work stoppage in protest of the violence, and the rest of the league quickly following suit.
Soon after, WNBA and Major League Baseball teams joined in, and for one day all three sports had games rescheduled.
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