IRISH EYES ARE SMILING BOSTON WITH ITS TEA PARTY HARBOR OCCUPIES A HISTORIC SETTING ON THE CHARLES RIVER IRISH EYES ARE SMILING 8
Founded in 1630 the city of Boston Massachusetts became the focal point of resistance when the British began to impose strict taxes on the American colonies in the mid-1760s Despite British attempts to punish them Bostonians set an example of stubborn opposition that attracted followers throughout the colonies Some of the city’s leaders such as John Hancock and John Adams played key roles as the colonies declared their independence in 1776 More than a century and a half later Boston again took the lead in a national enterprise With the end of World War II bringing military service members home fans poured into sports arenas to watch professional hockey and college basketball again But the owners of those arenas such as Boston’s Walter Brown wanted something else to draw people into their buildings BOB COUSY 9
TEN YEARS AFTER THE CLUB’S FOUNDING TOM HEINSOHN BROUGHT IT TO TITLE CONTENTION As Philadelphia Inquirer columnist Frank Fitzpatrick has explained At a New York meeting of the Arena Managers Association operators of big-city arenas several members supported Boston Garden owner Walter Brown who wanted to form a pro basketball league In 1946 Brown’s plan became the 11 team Basketball Association of America BAA The new league set standards for the size of courts on which teams could play the naming of teams according to home cities instead of corporate sponsors and the rule that no college boy will be signed up until his class has graduated The league also capped team payrolls at 40,000 less than what many of today’s stars make in a single game For his new team Brown considered names such as Unicorns Whirlwinds and Olympics before settling on the one that would become one of the most revered in all of professional sports Celtics The name has a great tradition Brown said And besides Boston’s full of Irishmen We’ll give them green uniforms and call them Celtics Brown had a limited knowledge of basketball so he needed to hire an experienced head 10
The First Celtic Walter Brown pictured seated at center took over as general manager of the Boston Garden after his father George the arena’s first general manager passed away in 1937 In 1941 he was promoted to Garden president Brown was so successful at promoting sports that he would go on to earn the title of Boston’s greatest sportsman and according to sports historian Richard A Johnson it was well deserved Brown was simply a model of modesty competence and gentility in a profession filled with self promotion greed and envy Brown knew the unique nature of his enterprise You can’t treat this like a straight business he said It is too much of a business to be a sport and too much of a sport to be a business Basketball wasn’t his only contribution to the Boston sports scene For nearly 25 years he served as president of the Boston Athletic Association the organization that produces the prestigious Boston Marathon He also played a key role in pro and amateur hockey throughout New England After he passed away in 1964 the Celtics organization retired jersey number 1 in his honor COURTSIDE STORIES The First Celtic 11
