Get all your news in one place.
100’s of premium titles.
One app.
Start reading
USA Today Sports Media Group
USA Today Sports Media Group
Sport
Justin Quinn

On this day: ex-Boston big man Rasheed Wallace signs; Togo Palazzi born

On this day in Boston Celtics history, former Boston big man Rasheed Wallace signed with the team on a multi-season deal his body didn’t let him finish. Wallace, a native of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, played his college ball at the University of North Carolina, from which he was drafted by the (then) Washington Bullets (now, Wizards) with the fourth overall pick of the 1995 NBA draft.

Wallace would make the All-Rookie team with the Bullets, and then play stints with the Portland Trail Blazers, Atlanta Hawks, and Detroit Pistons (with whom he would win a title in 2004) before joining the Celtics, making All-Star teams in four of those seasons.

Buy Celtics Tickets

‘Sheed (as he was often called) played just one season for the Celtics, his numbers hobbled by minor injuries.

Nov 7, 2009; East Rutherford, NJ, USA; Boston Celtics forward-center Rasheed Wallace (30) drives to the basket against New Jersey Nets forward Eduardo Najera (14) during the first half at the Izod Center. Jim O’Connor-USA TODAY Sports

This led to Wallace retiring at the end of the season (he would try a brief comeback with the New York Knicks a few seasons later, which went similarly).

Wallace would average 9 points, 4.1 rebounds, and an assist per game as a Celtic.

New York’s Nat Clifton (8) and Boston’s Bob Cousy (14) race for a loose ball in the opening period of a professional basketball game at Madison square garden, New York, on Nov. 12, 1955. Following the chase, background, are Boston’s Ed Macauley (22) and Togo Palazzi (12), and New York’s Gene Shue. (AP Photo/TF)

Finally, it is also the date that wing Togo Palazzi was born in Union City, New Jersey in 1932.

A product of Holy Cross picked up by the Celtics in the 1954 NBA draft, Palazzi played parts of three seasons with Boston before his rights were sold to the (then) Syracuse Nationals (today’s Philadelphia 76ers) in 1956.

He averaged 5.3 points and 2.9 rebounds per game while with the Celtics.

Listen to the “Celtics Lab” podcast on:

Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/3zBKQY6

Spotify: https://spoti.fi/3GfUPFi

YouTube: https://bit.ly/3F9DvjQ

Sign up to read this article
Read news from 100’s of titles, curated specifically for you.
Already a member? Sign in here
Related Stories
Top stories on inkl right now
Our Picks
Fourteen days free
Download the app
One app. One membership.
100+ trusted global sources.