Web Analytics and Web Statistics by NextSTAT The Boston Sports Nut: Boston Celtics Retired Numbers

Tuesday, October 28, 2008

Boston Celtics Retired Numbers

Here we go again. Another season is upon us and we have a good possibility to repeat. We need to keep away from serious, long-term injuries.

The C's have a total of 22 players with retired numbers and I will highlight about 6-7 each week, starting with #1, Walter Brown.

Walter Brown - #1 - (Number retired October 17, 1964)

The founder and first owner of the Boston Celtics franchise...Owned the Celtics from 1946 through 1964...Passed away after suffering a heart attack at his Cape Cod house on September 7, 1964...Born on February 10, 1905...Also was the owner of the Boston Garden-Arena Corporation, and President of the Boston Bruins hockey team...was instrumental in the creation of the first NBA All-Star Game in 1951, which was played in the Boston Garden.

Arnold 'Red' Auerbach - #2 - (Number retired January 4, 1985)

The number signifies the fact that Auerbach is second only to Walter Brown as the most significant person in the history of the Boston Celtics organization...Was Head Coach of the team from 1950-51 through 1965-66, winning nine NBA world championship titles, that included eight straight from 1958-59 through 1965-66...He went on to serve as President and General Manager, leading the Celtics to an additional seven NBA championships...Named NBA Coach of the Year in 1965...Inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 1968...Named the NBA 25th Anniversary All-Time team coach in 1970...NBA Executive of the Year in 1980...Was selected as the "Greatest Coach in the History of the NBA" by the Professional Basketball Writers' Association of America in 1980...Was named one of the Top 10 Coaches in NBA history in 1996...passed away on October 28, 2006.

Dennis Johnson - #3 - (Number retired December 13, 1991)

"DJ" played for the Celtics for seven seasons, from 1983 through 1990...He helped lead the Celtics to a pair of NBA world championship titles in 1984 and 1986...Was also a member of the Seattle SuperSonics world championship team in 1979, and earned Most Valuable Player honors that year in post-season play...Was named to the All-NBA second team in 1980...Was named an All-NBA first team member in 1981...Was named to the NBA All-Defensive first team five consecutive seasons (1978-79 through 1982-83) and again in 1987...Was named to the NBA All-Defensive second team three straight years (1984, 1985, 1986)...Was a five-time NBA All-Star 1979-82 and 1985...Was an Assistant Coach for the Celtics from 1992-93 through 1996-97...Passed away on February 23, 2007.

No comments: