On this day in Boston Celtics history, legendary big man Bill Russell played in the very first game of his storied career with the team, which happened to be a 95-93 win over the (then) St. Louis Hawks at the team’s home arena of the original Boston Garden.
It was the start to a career that would see the Celtics win 11 titles under Russell, along with five Most Valuable Player (MVP) awards, 12 All-Star bids, and as many All-League honors among countless other accolades, including induction into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame and a Presidential Medal of Freedom.
But before all of that happened, Russell played 21 minutes in this contest against the Hawks, scoring 6 points and pulling down 16 rebounds, and logging a single assist.
Russell would shoot 3-of-11 overall and 0-of-4 from the line, but his team was luckily able to eke out the win despite his poor shooting — perhaps a case of the nerves considering it was his pro debut.
Russell would end his career with an average of 44% accuracy from the field, and 56.1% from the line.
Happy birthday in heaven Jack “Dutch” Garfinkel. #Celtics pic.twitter.com/2Ua7QaZP5M
— Honest☘️Larry (@HonestLarry1) June 13, 2021
It is also the date former Celtics guard Jack “Dutch” Garfinkel debuted for the team as well, exactly ten years earlier in the team’s inaugural season in the Basketball Association of America (BAA — a precursor league to the NBA).
An alum of St. John’s University, Garfinkel served in the United States Army during World War II.
Jack Garfinkel (1918-2013) Garfinkel was inducted in the National Jewish Sports Hall of Fame and Museum on March 28, 2004
— NBA History (@NBAHistory) August 15, 2013
He then played stints with the Philadelphia Sphas of the American Basketball League (ABL — another competing league) and the Rochester Royals of the National Basketball League (NBL — yet another competing league that would also merge with the NBA) before joining Boston in 1946.
The New Yorker would score just 2 points in his debut tilt, a 65-53 loss to the (now defunct) St. Louis Bombers, going just 1-of-11 from the floor and 0-of-1 from the stripe.
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