February 21,1956- Walter Brown says Cousy better than Pettit

Originally printed by the UP on February 21,1956.

Boston Celtics owner Walter Brown says Bob Cousy will be remembered “as the greatest basketball player of his time.”

“Cousy is the symbol of professional basketball,” Brown said at a basketball writers luncheon here yesterday. “There are very few fans today that won’t agree.”

Brown said he disagreed with Ned Irish of New York who last week declared that Bob Pettit of St. Louis was a “better all-around player” than Cousy.

“Cousy is the greatest player today in my book,” Brown said.

February 8, 1956- Celtics fall to Hawks 111-110 on last second shot

In a doubleheader of basketball in Rochester, the Boston Celtics lost to the St. Louis Hawks 111-110 on a last second shot by Bob Pettit in the first game. The Hawks were playing catchup for most of the game early on trailing by as many as 13 in the 2nd period before rallying to tie the score at 100 with four minutes remaining in the game. Bob Cousy sinked in a hook shot with 22 seconds left to give the C's a 108-106 lead. Alex Hannum then had a 3 point play for the Hawks to go up 109-108 with 9 seconds left. Bob Cousy scored immediately to give the C's a 110-109 lead with 5 seconds remaining. Alex Hannum then threw up a desperate shot but luckily for the Hawks Bob Pettit was right there to tip in the ball to give the win to the Hawks. Pettit was the high scorer of the game with 36 points.

In the 2nd game of the doubleheader the Knicks controlled the game throughout the entire contest to beat the Rochester Royals 102-97. Ken Sears led the Knicks with 26 points.

Box Score

Boston G FT T
Nichols 2 1-4 5
Hemric 1 7-7 9
Loscutoff 1 0-0 2
Risen 6 4-4 16
Morrison 0 1-4 1
Macauley 11 5-5 27
Cousy 8 7-8 23
Sharman 5 6-6 16
Barrett 4 3-3 11

Totals 38 34-41 110

St. Louis G FT T
Coleman 6 1-2 13
Hannum 4 1-2 9
Schafer 1 0-0 2
Pettit 13 10-11 36
Share 6 3-4 15
Ferrari 1 1-2 3
Harrison 4 2-3 10
Stephens 2 3-6 7
Park 1 2-4 4
McMahon 4 4-5 12

Totals 42 27-39 111

St. Louis..... 27 20 33 31-111
Boston.........25 30 28 27-110

Bob Cousy video

Here's the NBA's original showman Bob Cousy also known as the Houdini of the Hardwood.

February 6, 1956- Red Auerbach speaks at Keith Academy's Men Club part 1

Red Auerbach spoke to 100 people at the Keith Academy Men Club in Lowell, Massachussetts on February 6, 1956 to discuss basketball and it was not without controversy. Red spoke about a wide range of topics from the rumors of him leaving the Celtics to talking about Wilt Chamberlain, Tommy Heinsohn, Bill Sharman, and the rigors of being an NBA coach. Here's part of an article by Gil Wood originally printed in the Lowell Sun on February 7, 1956.

Red's An All Right Guy
"Red" Auerbach, the colorful Boston Celtics coach, might be a pain in the neck to NBA referees, but he's an all right guy as far as some 100 members of the Keith Academy Men's club are concerned. Due to fly out of Boston early this morning for New York where the Celts play tonight; Auerbach nevertheless braved last night's storm to keep his speaking engagement at Keith auditorium. And, while doing so, "Red" enjoyed his assignment so much he talked three-quarters of an hour longer than he planned. His listeners ate it up in attentice silence during the interesting hour and a quarter devoted to Auerbach's and the Celtics' exploits in the fast pro loop.

The writer, who got to know Auerbach well when he used to bring the Celtics up to Burlington, Vt., for preseason exhibition games had heard some of the stories before, but the informal way Auerbach has of relating experiences makes just as interesting the second time. As "Red" hurriedly left the hall, we managed a question on the run which hadn't been asked him at the end of his talk. "How much longer do you think Bob Cousy will be able to play with the Celtics?" Without giving the query much thought, Auerbach replied "I'll give him three years." This endorsement from his coach should silence Cousy needlers, here or elsewhere.

Ideal Setting
The setting in the auditorium was ideal. Auerbach stood under the stage-end basket as he spoke and used the position several times to illustrate his points about players like Bill Sharman and the sensational Wilt "The Stilt" Chamberlain who he says should be the next big name in basketball for the next 10-and possibly 20-years. A freshman now at the U. of Kansas, Auerbach estimates the brilliant colored star will add half a million dollars to the university's treasury. And he also offers the opinion that when Chamberlain was only a junior in high school in Philadelphia he not only could have made any team in the NBA but he would have played in the league's All-Star game.

January 24, 1956 Cousy meets with NBA president Podoloff

NBA President Maurice Podoloff agreed to meet with representatives of the players to discuss player demands. Celtics star Bob Cousy the head of the players representatives outlined a list of the players demands.

#1-The setting up of an arbitration board to hear grievances composed of sportswriters from New York and Boston as well as player representatives
#2-Removal of the automatic $15 fine for arguing with an official
#3-Setting a limit of 20 exhibition games and paying players for any exhibitions over that number
#4-Setting a fee for personal appearances other than tv or radio
#5-Moving expense for when a player is traded
#6-Salary payment in 10 installments instead of 12

Maurice Podoloff agreed to the meeting and wanted to know the identity of the player representatives, the process by which they were elected, and if all eight teams were represented by the player reps.

December 28, 1955 Red Auerbach and Bob Cousy at MSG to watch Tom Heinsohn at Holiday Festival

Celtics coach Red Auerbach and Red Cousy were at the Holiday Festival at MSG with the expressed sole purpose of re-examining Holy Cross star Tom Heinsohn. Tom Heinsohn was just one of several big names in the race for the Holiday Festival MVP award, other big names included Willie Naulls of UCLA, K.C. Jones of San Francisco, Sihugo Green of Duquesne, Alonzo Lewis of LaSalle, Vince Cohen of Syracuse, and of course the dominant Bill Russell.

Heinsohn at 6'7 appeared to be a more versatile player than Bill Russell with more speed and a better outside shot. Heinsohn figured to end up with the Boston Celtics after graduation. Celtics star Bob Cousy said, "I have seen Heinsohn play several times, he's got all the equipment, size, speed, shot, drive needed to perform in the N.B.A." Red Auerbach had only seen Heinsohn play once years earlier and said, "At the time I thought Heinsohn might not have the size, but he's 230 which is 30 pounds more than he weighed the last time I saw him." Auerbach didn't say so but it was very likely Heinsohn would be ending up in Boston as a territorial draft pick.

Bill Russell would be drafted by some club in the NBA but the professionals would probably have to wait a year to get him in uniform as Russell wanted to be in the Olympics. 6'5 Willie Naulls also impressed at the tournament as the smoothest performer who had the ability to be a first-stringer among the professionals. Si Green's coach Dudley Moore called him the perfect pro player with the ability to be a standout backcourt player in the NBA. Duquesne being in open territory means any team can claim Green in the draft.

Bob Cousy & Bill Russell Jan 1956

On January 9,1956 Bob Cousy became the 1st Celtic and first NBA player to be put on the cover of Sports Illustrated. The NBA was still a young league at this point and very low on the sports scale compared to where it would be later. Bob Cousy was the league's biggest box-office attraction and to get him on the cover of Sports Illustrated was very big for the league as some fans had a low opinion of basketball and basketball players. Bob Cousy was at this time recognized as the best player in the NBA, and Original Celtic and Knick coach Joe Lapchick claimed Bob Cousy was the greatest all-around player of all time. Cousy's Celtics were tied for 1st place in the Eastern Division at the time with a record of 16-9.

Also receiving a feature article in this issue was Bill Russell who had just made his 1st appearance at Madison Square Garden with the University of San Francisco. Madison Square Garden was considered the mecca of basketball at the time and though Bill Russell was considered the best player in college basketball until Bill Russell showed it to the people at MSG he hadn't really proved nothing. Russell didn't disappoint the Garden faithful as he dominated future teammates Tommy Heinsohn and Willie Naulls. Bill Russell made believers out of the New York crowds.

1955-56 Boston Celtics Season Preview

The Boston Celtics ended the 1955 NBA Season with a record of 36-36, a 3rd place finish in the Eastern division, and a playoff berth. In the 1st round the Celtics beat the New York Knicks coached by legendary coach and Original Celtic Joe Lapchick 2 games to 1. In the Eastern Finals the Celtics were defeated by the Syracuse Nationals 3 games to 1, losing in the Eastern Finals for the 3rd straight year, and losing to the Syracuse side for the 2nd straight year. Boston entered the 1955-56 season with 2 key players gone, Don Barksdale was retired and Frank Ramsey was in the military. Here is Sports Illustrated's 1st season preview of a Boston Celtics team, SI didn't preview the 1954-55 season. The problems with the Celtics mentioned at the time would not be solved until 1956 when they drafted Bill Russell. This is from November 21, 1955.


"Boston Celtics . Bob Cousy and Co. are still the scoring terrors of the league—but it remains to be seen if the draft and off-season deals have given them enough added rebound strength to make up last season's main deficiency. Ball-handling magician Cousy , Bill Sharman and Ed Macauley , Boston 's Big Three, will again lead the league's top race-horse style offense. But up front Arnie Risen (6'8"), purchased from Rochester , and Rookies Jim Los-cutoff (6'5") from Oregon and Dick Hemric (6'6") from Wake Forest must come through to help out Macauley (6'8"), Jack Nichols (6'7"), Red Morrison (6'8") and Togo Palazzi (6'4") under the boards. Basically, however, as Eckman of Fort Wayne says: "The Celtics are a team which throws defense out the window—and any ball club which plays against them has to do the same to stay in the game."

1954-55 Boston Celtics

The 1954-55 NBA season was a season of transition and change. George Mikan the league's 1st superstar retired after leading the Minneapolis Lakers to 3 straight titles, 5 in the NBA, and 6 overall. This would be a wide open season and the beginning of a new era in basketball.

The 1954-55 NBA season was the 1st NBA season to feature a 24 second shot clock, the 1st season to have the new rule of 6 personal fouls per quarter for a team before they reached the penalty, and the 1st season to feature the new rule of technical fouls. These rules were looked upon as much needed as the slow down pace and frequent fouling before this season were thought of as hurting the game and making it boring. Teams were still having problems making money and fighting to stay afloat, the Baltimore Bullets franchise for one folded during the season. Coverage of NBA basketball was minimal in most of the mainstream press, Sports Illustrated didn't feature a single article on the NBA until the January 24,1955 issue. For the '54-'55 season there was no season preview and scores were originally buried in the back of the Scoreboard column behind hockey and other sports.

The Boston Celtics were not yet the champions they would soon become, Red Auerbach was yet to be noted as a basketball genius at this time, Celtic Pride was an unknown term and Bill Russell was a relative unknown, as Tom Gola was considered the best college basketball player in the country. The Celtics were actually known as a team of underachievers despite having some of the best talent in the league. The 1955 Celtics had 3 All-Stars: Bob Cousy who was considered the best player in basketball, Bill Sharman the 1955 All-Star Game MVP, and Ed Macauley. Here is a mid-season report on the Celtics from Sports Illustrated from January 24, 1955:

"The chief attraction of the Celtics is Bob Cousy , showiest player in the league, possibly the best all-round star and certainly the highest paid (around $18,000). The Celtics play fast-breaking basketball and it is Cousy who gets them off winging. Cousy on offense presents a guileless, candid face, eyes resolutely fixed straight ahead, his path of movement clearly indicated. Suddenly the ball whips around from behind his back to a teammate in the clear. Before the defense can recover the ball is through the basket. Or maybe Cousy innocently sets himself for a shot from outside; he springs, but instead of the ball going up to the basket he drops it behind him to a colleague who drives in behind the screen. Prettiest sight to watch is Cousy the dribbler. Changing hands, moving the ball behind his back, incredibly keeping control of the ball while dodging defenders at high speed, Cousy often drives past two or even three opponents to put the ball up.

On defense Cousy has the furtive look of a hold-up man on his first job, stalking his prey on the balls of his feet, eyes scanning right and left like a radarscope seeking potential threats, blocking shots, intercepting passes.

The other big guns on the Celtics are Bill Sharman , a sharp-shooting guard and very able foil for Cousy in working the ball up, and Don Barksdale and "Easy Ed" Macauley, both can play the pivot, hit the boards."