On this day in Boston Celtics history, it is anniversary of the retirement of Celtic great Bob Cousy, who left the game at age 34 in a ceremony held at Boston Garden famous for a fan breaking Cousy’s awkward silence in his emotion-choked retirement speech by shouting, “We love ya Cooz!”.
The legendary Boston point guard even received a message from then-president John. F. Kennedy, stating, “The game bears an indelible stamp of your rare skills and competitive daring” (via author Gary M. Pomerantz in “The Last Pass”).
Cousy would win seven titles with Boston, be elected the league’s Most Valuable Player, and would get 13 invitations to the NBA All-Star games, one of the greatest to play the game and a first-ballot Hall of Famer.
Today is also the birthday of team president and former Celtics two-time champion Danny Ainge, who was born this day in 1959 in Eugene, Oregon. A multi-sport high school star athlete, Ainge was drafted out of BYU by the Celtics with the 31st overall pick of the 1981 NBA draft and had to be bought out of his contract with the Toronto Blue Jays of Major League Baseball, with whom the Oregon native had already begun playing.
Ainge would go on to win titles with the Celtics in 1984 and 1986 as well as an All-Star bid in 1988 before being dealt to the Sacramento Kings in 1989. He would return to take over as the team’s general manager in 2003 after getting into coaching with the Phoenix Suns after he retired as a player. The BYU alum averaged 11.3 points, 2.8 rebounds and 4.4 assists as a Celtic.
Finally, it is also former Boston and current Charlotte Hornets guard Terry Rozier’s birthday, who was born in Youngstown, Ohio in 1994. Rozier played collegiately for Louisville, drafted by the Celtics with the 16th pick of the 2015 NBA draft. Rozier would play four seasons with Boston before being dealt to the Charlotte Hornets in a double sign-and-trade for Kemba Walker in 2018. He logged 7.7 points, 3.6 rebounds, and 2.3 assists per game with Boston.
Listen to the “Celtics Lab” podcast on:
Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/3zBKQY6
Spotify: https://spoti.fi/3GfUPFi
