1946–47 Boston Celtics season

The 1946–47 Boston Celtics season was the first season of the Boston Celtics in the Basketball Association of America (BAA/NBA). Walter A. Brown was the man who was responsible for starting the franchise. On an early June day in 1946, Brown, who operated the Boston Garden arena and was part of the National Hockey League's Boston Bruins, was the driving force behind the Basketball Association of America and the Celtics birth.^[1] After considering several team names, including Whirlwinds, Unicorns and Olympics, Brown opted for Celtics.^[2] He hoped to grab the attention of Boston's large Irish American population. John Davis "Honey" Russell was hired as the first Celtics coach, and the team soon began its inaugural season, losing its first game 59–53 to the Providence Steamrollers. Although the Celtics would eventually become the signature franchise of the NBA, the club had a lacklustre first season as they started with 0 wins and 5 losses. The Celtics won their first game of the season against the Toronto Huskies.

Roster

Boston Celtics 1946–47 roster
Players	Coaches
Pos. # Name Height Weight DOB (YYYY–MM–DD) From 2.5 !G/F 5 USA ! Becker, Moe style="text-align:right; white-space:nowrap; | 73 !6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 185 lb (84 kg) Duquesne 4.0 !F 6–18 USA ! Brightman, Al style="text-align:right; white-space:nowrap; | 74 !6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 195 lb (88 kg) Long Beach State 5.5 !F/C 11 USA ! Connors, Chuck style="text-align:right; white-space:nowrap; | 77 !6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 190 lb (86 kg) Seton Hall 4.0 !F 15 USA ! Cirsler, Hal style="text-align:right; white-space:nowrap; | 75 !6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 215 lb (98 kg) Iowa State 4.0 !F 17 USA ! Duffy, Bob style="text-align:right; white-space:nowrap; | 76 !6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 175 lb (79 kg) Colgate 4.0 !F 14 USA ! Eliason, Bob style="text-align:right; white-space:nowrap; | 74 !6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 210 lb (95 kg) Hamline 4.0 !F 7 USA ! Fenley, Warren style="text-align:right; white-space:nowrap; | 75 !6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 190 lb (86 kg) Manhattan 1.5 !G 15 USA ! Garfinkel, Jack style="text-align:right; white-space:nowrap; | 72 !6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 190 lb (86 kg) St. John's 2.5 !G/F 4 USA ! Gray, Wyndol style="text-align:right; white-space:nowrap; | 73 !6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 175 lb (79 kg) Bowling Green 1.5 !G 3 USA ! Hirsch, Mel style="text-align:right; white-space:nowrap; | 66 !5 ft 6 in (1.68 m) 165 lb (75 kg) Brooklyn 1.5 !G 3 USA ! Hoefer, Charlie style="text-align:right; white-space:nowrap; | 69 !5 ft 9 in (1.75 m) 158 lb (72 kg) Queens 4.0 !F 14–24 USA ! Kelly, Jerry style="text-align:right; white-space:nowrap; | 74 !6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 172 lb (78 kg) Marshall 6.0 !C 9 USA ! Kottman, Harold style="text-align:right; white-space:nowrap; | 80 !6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 220 lb (100 kg) Culver–Stockton 1.5 !G 5 USA ! Murphy, Dick style="text-align:right; white-space:nowrap; | 73 !6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 175 lb (79 kg) Manhattan 5.5 !F/C 10 USA ! Simmons, Connie style="text-align:right; white-space:nowrap; | 80 !6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 222 lb (101 kg) 1.5 !G 6 USA ! Simmons, Johnny style="text-align:right; white-space:nowrap; | 73 !6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 184 lb (83 kg) NYU 4.0 !F 12 USA ! Spector, Art style="text-align:right; white-space:nowrap; | 76 !6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 200 lb (91 kg) Villanova 5.5 !F/C 17 USA ! Vaughn, Virgil style="text-align:right; white-space:nowrap; | 76 !6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 205 lb (93 kg) Western Kentucky	Head coach John Russell [3] Legend (C) Team captain (DP) Unsigned draft pick (FA) Free agent (S) Suspended Injured Roster

Regular season

On November 5, the Celtics played their first game at the Boston Garden in front of 4,329 fans.^[4] The game would be delayed an hour when the wooden backboard was damaged after a practice dunk during warm-ups. After the backboard was repaired, the Celtics lost to the Chicago Stags by a score 57–55.

Season standings

Game log

Player stats

Season

Transactions^[5]

References