On this day in Boston Celtics history, former Celtic forward Francis H. “Mo” Mahoney made his debut for the team in an 87-80 win over the (then) Philadelphia (now, Golden State) Warriors at the old Boston Garden in 1953.
Mahoney was picked up of Rhode Island’s Brown University by the Celtics in the 1950 NBA draft but spent the next two years serving in the US armed forces in the Korean War before finally playing his first game for the team that drafted him, three years after the fact. The Brooklyn native scored a single point and picked as many fouls in his debut with the Celtics.
He would go on to average 2 points and 1.2 rebounds per game over 6 games with the franchise.
Happy birthday in heaven Mo Mahoney! #Celtics pic.twitter.com/kB7tc7IB6L
— Honest☘️Larry (@HonestLarry1) November 20, 2020
It is also the birthday of former Celtic guard E’Twaun Donte Moore, born this day in 1989 in East Chicago, Indiana.
Taken by the Celtics with the 55th overall pick of the 2011 NBA draft, Moore played just 38 games for Boston before he was traded with JaJuan Johnson, Sean Williams, and draft assets to the Houston Rockets as part of a three-team deal that sent Courtney Lee to the Celtics.
The former Boilermaker averaged 2.9 points per game while with Boston.
Finally, it is also the birthday of ex-Boston point guard James Blackwell, who came into this world in 1968 in Mount Kisco, New York.
Blackwell went undrafted out of Dartmouth College, and after stints with the Charlotte Hornets on 10-day contracts would sign a pair with the Celtics.
He played just 9 games with Boston, over which he averaged 1.6 points per contest.
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