Boston Celtics Basketbawful: January 1970

Thursday, January 1, 1970

Celtics Rally Falls Short Against Bombers (12/19/46)

Dammit! Dammit! Dammit! For three quarters it looked like the St. Louis Bombers were going to have their way with the Boston Celtics again. The two teams battled to a 16-16 tie after the first quarter but the Bombers pulled away in the second, leading 43-36 at halftime. Bob Doll had 22 points for the Bombers with John Logan assisting with 19. The Bombers led 65-52 going into the final quarter when the Celtics rallied. Al Brightman had 13 points while Wyndol Gray and Chuck Connors each had 12 apiece. Connie Simmons had 11 but Jerry Kelly was held to just 10. That was the difference in the game as the rally fell short. The Bombers held on to win this one 76-74 at the Boston Garden.

Bing Crosby approves of the win

Basketbawful Report:

Red Wallace had 3 fouls and 2 points for the Hamilton

Harold Kottman didn't play to earn the Ellison

Virgil Vaughn didn't play to earn the Ellison

Jackass of The Night is Red Wallace. He had more fouls than points in just a two point game.

Jackass Wallace

Final Thoughts:

The Celtics had a chance to win this one but just came up short. If Johnny Simmons or Red Wallace hit just one more shot, this game could have gone to overtime and its anything goes. The only bright side is this is their third consecutive game where they at least had a chance to win, they just didn't get it done this time. The Kelly and Becker acquisitions have paid off, it just might be too little too late in the season with so many losses already. The Celtics don't have a star like Joe Fulks or Ed Sadowski so that will be their goal next season. The loss dropped the Celtics to 5-15 on the season, 1/4 of the way through. The Celtics look to rebound on December 22nd when they take on the Bombers again, this time at the St. Louis Arena.

Wallace, Celtics Defeat Warriors (12/14/46)

Christmas came early for the new look Boston Celtics as they won their second game in a row, beating "Jumpin" Joe Fulks and the Philadelphia Warriors. New Celtic Jerry Kelly pumped in 14 points while Moe Becker made his Celtics debut with 4 points. Boston jumped out to a 42-37 lead at halftime with Al Brightman pitching in 13 points. The Celtics took a 63-58 lead into the final frame with Chuck Connors helping out with 12 points. The key to the game was Fulks himself had 28 points while the highest scorer on the Celtics was Red Wallace with 19 points. The lead held and the Celtics had their first two game winning streak with a 77-65 victory over the Warriors at the Boston Garden.

Betty Hutton approves of the win

Basketbawful Report:

Virgil Vaughn didn't play to earn the Ellison.

Harold Kottman didn't play to earn the Ellison.

Warren Fenley fouled without scoring a point for the Fernsten level Hamilton and a +1 suck differential

Wyndol Gray fouled without scoring a point for the Fernsten level Hamilton and a +1 suck differential

Hero of The Night is Red Wallace. He pumped in 19 points to lead the Celtics in scoring to help take down the Warriors.

Hero Wallace

Final Thoughts:

Who would have thought Jerry Kelly would make this much of a difference. That's two wins in a row now with him in the lineup, even though he wasn't the leading scorer this time. Still, if Kelly can spark a new look Celtics team to play better, there might be hope for the team yet. Beating the Warriors even on a hot shooting night by Fulks is nothing to sneeze at and the Celtics should be proud. Hal Crisler will report back to the Boston Yanks soon but having him around with Virgil Vaughn and Harold Kottman out helps. The win improved the Celtics to 5-14 and look to win their third straight game on December 19th against the St. Louis Bombers at the Boston Garden.

Celtics Beat Falcons Behind Kelly (12/12/46)

Before the game the Boston Celtics made roster moves. The Celtics waived Mel Hirsch and signed 28 year old forward Jerry Kelly. Kelly was playing in the American Basketball League and the Celtics decided that he'd be a better option than the diminutive Hirsch. Also the Celtics traded Tony Kappen to the Pittsburgh Ironmen for 6'1 guard Moe Becker. Becker was averaging 6 points a game for Pittsburgh while Kappen was averaging 4. Things might be looking up for Boston.

OUT

As for the game, the Celtics' newest player happened to be the difference maker in tonight's game against the Detroit Falcons. Jerry Kelly pumped in 21 points in his first game with the team to lead the charge. The Celtics and Falcons battled to a 38-38 tie at the half with Stan Miasek scoring 19 total for Detroit. The Celtics took a 5 point lead going into the final quarter with Al Brightman assisting with 14 points. The Celtics held on in the end thanks to Art Spector returning to score 12 points. Boston Yanks receiver Hal Crisler actually suited up for tonight's game and scored 3 points as well. Red Wallace had 12 points as well as the Celtics finally won a game as they beat Detroit 73-66 at the Boston Garden.

Ingrid Bergman approves of the win

Basketbawful Report:

Virgil Vaughn didn't play tonight to earn the Ellison

Moe Becker wasn't with the team yet to earn the Scalabrine

Hero of The Night is Jerry Kelly. He had 21 points in his Celtics debut.

Kelly The Hero

Final Thoughts:

Finally a good win by the Celtics and it was with a different lineup. Crisler and Kelly scored 24 points combined while the Simmons brothers scored a big fat zero. Still, it was good enough to win and the Celtics needed the win big time. Mel Hirsch wasn't getting the job done and it would be impossible to expect Kelly to be the savior, but his addition came at a good time. Hal Crisler will be going back to the Yanks but thanks for the three points. Who knows, maybe Kelly will spark the Simmons brothers, Wyndol Gray and Chuck Connors to step up their game. The win improved the Celtics to 4-14 on the season. The Celtics are back in action on the 14th of December when they play the Philadelphia Warriors at the Boston Garden.

Knickerbockers Run Over Celtics in New York (12/8/46)

Just like last night, the New York Knickerbockers laid waste to the Boston Celtics. Only this time, they did it in front of their own crowd in New York City. The Celtics actually kept it close in the first half, trailing just 28-26 at the break. Wyndol Gray led the Celtics with 13 points but the Celtics still trailed after the third quarter 46-39. They were still in striking distance but the Knickerbockers steamrolled them in the final quarter, outscoring them 16-5. Stan Stutz had 21 points by himself for the Knickerbockers, outscoring the entire Celtics team besides Gray and Al Brightman. The Celtics just don't have the talent to match other teams this year as the Knickerbockers won the game 62-44 at Madison Square Garden.

Tex Rickard laughs at the Celtics

Basketbawful Report:

Mel Hirsch fouled once with no points for the Hamilton and a +1 Suck Differential

Art Spector and Virgil Vaughn didn't play to earn the Ellison

Jackass of The Night is Chuck Connors. He bonked 2 free throws, committed 5 fouls and scored just 5 points.

Jackass Connors

Final Thoughts:

Its beyond comical at this point how bad the Celtics are. They've won just 3 out of 17 games while the Knickerbockers are now 13-3. Sad part is there's still 43 games left to go in the season so its going to be a LONG season. Hopefully they can fix the bugs in the off-season but they're going to take their lumps this season. Like I mentioned earlier, Stan Stutz outscored the entire team besides two guys. That's the difference in talent is other teams have guys that can go off for big points. The Celtics just simply don't have the firepower to match other teams. The Celtics are off until the 12th of December when they return home to play the Detroit Falcons at the Boston Garden. God help us.

Knickerbockers Crush Celtics (12/7/46)

Five years ago today the Japanese militia attacked Pearl Harbor to draw the United States into World War 2. It only seems fitting that the New York Knickerbockers slaughtered the Boston Celtics in a game that wasn't as close as the final score indicated. Knicks coach Neil Cohalan had his guys ready from the opening tip although the Celtics were up to the task at first. The Celtics and Knickerbockers were tied 22-22 in the first quarter but a 20-12 New York run left the Celtics trailing 42-34 at half-time. The lead got worse in the third quarter thanks to the trio of Stan Stutz, Sonny Hertzberg and Tommy Byrnes with New York leading 66-49. Even though the Knickerbockers added to the lead in the fourth quarter, they called off the dogs and still managed to win easy. The outmatched Celtics were beaten down 90-65 by the Knickerbockers at the Boston Garden.

This tale of slaughter is too much even for Diedrich

Basketbawful Report:

Don Eliason scored no points but committed a foul for a Fersten level Hamilton. He also bricked a shot for a +2 suck differential.

Stick to football, Don

Jackass of The Night is Connie Simmons. The best player on the Celtics scored 2 points as the Knicks routed them.

Jackass Simmons

Final Thoughts:

You know things are in dire straits when they have to have professional football players fill out the roster. Virgil Vaughn is still out so Celtics owner Walter Brown managed to convince Boston Yanks receiver Don Eliason to play tonight's game against the Knickerbockers. They were better off with 12 of the Yanks because the Knicks blew them away. The talent differential between Boston and New York is night and day. Mostly because New York was one of the first teams that picked their talent. Walter Brown is paying for that right now big time because the Celtics now are 3-13 and fading fast. Wyndol Gray and Harold Kottman had 15 points each but Al Brightman put up zero and Connie Simmons just two. Things are going downhill so they may as well play more Boston Yanks players moving forward. Things get even worse because the Celtics now travel to New York to play the Knickerbockers tomorrow night at Madison Square Garden. God help us.

Detroit Holds off Boston Rally (12/5/46)

Another game, another loss for the Boston Celtics. This time the Celtics were on the verge of embarrassment but somehow rallied to give a scare to the Detroit Falcons. The Falcons only played seven guys but all of them were able to contribute. The Celtics played 11 out of 12 for a balanced attack that just fell short. The Falcons took a 33-23 halftime lead as the Celtics scored just three points in the entire second quarter. The lead was 54-37 and it looked like Detroit was going to run away with the game. Instead the Celtics rallied to outscore Detroit 24-11 in the final frame. Detroit was led by Stan Miasek with 21 points and John Janisch with 19. Connie Simmons was the high scorer with 10 points for the Celtics with 9 from Red Wallace. The absence of Al Brightman might have been the difference in the game as the Falcons defeated the Celtics 65-61 at the Boston Garden.

The Celtics drive Joan Crawford crazy

Basketbawful Report:

Al Brightman didn't play to earn an Ellison.

Jackass of the Night is Harold Kottman. In a game decided by four points, he was last on the Celtics list with just two points.

Jackass Kottman

Final Thoughts:

Figures how Al Brightman was the Celtics best player for two straight games, winning one of them and he doesn't play tonight in a game decided by four points. The Celtics used a team attack while the Falcons relied on just 7 guys and Detroit won the game. The Celtics have played 15 games this season and have lost 12 of them, that's what happens when you start behind the eight ball. Not much else to say other than a trade or two might make a difference. Then again, there's nothing to trade and its not worth it especially if they're already in the basement. Two nights from now the schedule doesn't get any easier as the Celtics welcome in the first place New York Knickerbockers. This may be a righteous slaughter of the Celtics. Pray for them at the Boston Garden.

Celtics Beat Ironmen Again (12/2/46)

Guess the only way the Boston Celtics are going to get victories this season is by beating the only team as bad as they are, the Pittsburgh Ironmen. In a total snoozefest, the Celtics pulled out a victory by jumping out to a 23-15 lead. They still led 34-31 going into the fourth quarter and held on to win the game. Al Brightman was the hero again as he pumped in 12 points to be the Celtics leading scorer. Harry Zeller scored 11 for the Ironmen and Press Maravich had only four points. It wasn't pretty but the Celtics won their third game of the season with a 46-44 victory over the Ironmen at Duquesne Gardens.

Yvonne De Carlo approves of the win

Basketbawful Report:

Virgil Vaughn didn't play for the Ellison.

Hero of The Night is Al Brightman. He scored 12 points to lead the offense in a two point victory.

Hero Brightman

Final Thoughts:

At least the Celtics can beat the Ironmen. That was one of the worst games of the season with nobody being able to shoot well but hats off to the Celtics defense for able to hold Pittsburgh to just 44 total points. The Simmons brothers scored a combined 9 points while Wyndol Gray scored just 2. Art Spector returned after a three game absence to hit a free throw so at least he's back in action. Three nights from now the Celtics look to beat a team besides the Ironmen when they come home to face the Detroit Falcons. Good luck to the Celtics.

Halbert outduels Brightman, Stags Beat Celtics (12/1/46)

New month, same old Boston Celtics. For the first time all season a Celtics player went off to carry the team. Al Brightman hit 10 shots and six free throws for 26 points.....and it wasn't enough. The Chicago Stags rolled over the Celtics as Chick Halbert pumped in 29 with 14 from Don Carlson and 10 from Max Zaslofsky. The Celtics next biggest scorer was Wyndol Gray with just 6 points. The Celtics were actually tied with the Stags heading into the fourth quarter but the Stags went on 19-9 run to put the game away. The Celtics have now lost 11 of their first 13 games with a 66-56 loss to the Stags at Chicago Stadium.

"Hear that? That's another loss incoming"

Basketbawful Report:

Art Spector, Mel Hirsch and Virgil Vaughn didn't play to earn the Ellison.

Chuck Connors countered 4 points with 5 fouls for the Hamilton.

Harold Kottman countered 1 point with 2 fouls for the Hamilton

Jackass of The Night is Chuck Connors. He bricked shots, missed a free throw and committed five fouls in a game decided by 10 points.

Jackass Connors

Final Thoughts:

The Celtics simply can't buy a win at this point. The Simmons brothers and Gray were held in check by the Stags despite Brightman trying his best to match Chick Halbert. Not much left can be said apart from this is going to be a long season full of misery for the undermanned Celtics. Once again they were down three guys and it showed as the starters could do nothing right. Maybe down the road the team will be good but definitely not right now. It would have been a hell of a victory if they pulled it off but Al Brightman got no help at all. The Celtics have a chance to beat the Pittsburgh Ironmen again tomorrow night. Let's see how it goes.

Basketbawful Report of The Month (11/46)

Connie Simmons - +2 suck differential, 3 Jackass

Chuck Connors - 2 Jackass

Warren Fenley - 1 Hamilton

Wyndol Gray - +2 suck differential, 1 Hero, 1 Jackass

Mel Hirsch - 1 Ellison, 1 Jackass

Johnny Simmons - 1 Hamilton, 1 Jackass

Tony Kappen - 1 Jackass

Harold Kottman - 1 Hero

Art Spector - 3 Ellison, 1 Jackass

Red Wallace - 1 Ellison

Jackass of The Month is Connie Simmons with 3 Jackass

Heroes of the Month are Wyndol Gray and Harold Kottman with 1 Hero

Injured Player of The Month is Art Spector with 3 Ellison

Suck differential leaders were Wyndol Gray and Connie Simmons with +2 each

Hamilton leaders were Johnny Simmons and Warren Fenley with 1 Hamilton

Celtics Beat Pittsburgh on Thanksgiving (11/28/46)

They....won? That's right, the Boston Celtics defeated the Pittsburgh Ironmen on Thanksgiving Night thanks to the efforts of some unheralded players. The Ironmen jumped out to a 36-29 lead at halftime thanks to Ed Melvin and John Abramovic. The Celtics rallied in the second half behind the brilliant play of Harold Kottman and Al Brightman. The Simmons brothers were held to just two points, but the Celtics outscored Pittsburgh 30-19 in the second half to take the game 59-55 at the Boston Garden.

Bette Davis approves of the win

Basketbawful Report:

Art Spector, Mel Hirsch and Red Wallace didn't play to earn the Ellison.

Johnny Simmons countered 2 points with 3 fouls for the 3/2 Hamilton.

Connie Simmons had no points and two fouls for a +2 suck differential.

Hero of The Night is Harold Kottman. He pumped in 19 points to help the Celtics win the game.

Harold The Hero

Final Thoughts:

Who saw that coming? The Simmons brothers were held to 2 points and Wyndol Gray to six. Chuck Connors had 10 and Al Brightman had 13 to assist Kottman. Still, if they can win a game with their best players not performing, maybe they'll start winning more when they do perform. Coach Honey Russell has his second win as coach so hats off to him on this one. Pittsburgh isn't a good team this year either so the Celtics have to beat the bad teams as well as the good ones if they hope to compete this season. The Celtics end the month of November with a win and return to action December 1st against the Chicago Stags. The Celtics look to win their second straight game when they travel to Chicago Stadium.

Warriors Scalp Celtics (11/26/46)

There will be no relief coming for the Boston Celtics as they were utterly dominated in tonight's game against the Philadelphia Warriors. The Warriors bolted out to a 29-22 halftime lead thanks to the efforts of Angelo Musi and Howie Dallmar. The Warriors took a 40-31 lead going into the fourth quarter with the Celtics fighting back. The Celtics were led by Connie (15 points) and Johnny Simmons (14 points) but after that, it was all downhill. Tony Kappen had 10 but it wasn't nearly enough. The Warriors dropped the Celtics to 1-10 on the season with a 66-54 victory at Philadelphia Arena.

Philadelphia Governor Thomas Mifflin laughs at the Celtics

Basketbawful Report:

Art Spector didn't play for an Ellison

Wyndol Gray conked a free throw and committed a foul for a +2 suck differential

Warren Fenley negated two points with three fouls for a 3/2 Hamilton.

Jackass of the Night is Wyndol Gray. As already mentioned, he scored no points while committing a foul in a game decided by 12 points.

Jackass Gray

Final Thoughts:

Things keep getting worse for the Celtics as the season goes on. The Simmons brothers are only good for 14/15 points apiece and they don't have a legitimate scoring threat to match other teams' best players. It adds up to them losing almost every game because they don't have any scorers. "Jumpin" Joe Fulks was held to six points and it didn't matter because Gray and Chuck Connors combined for 1 point combined. Defensively the Celtics are middle of the pack but they might be the worst scoring team in the BAA.

Steamrollers Hold Off Celtics Rally (11/25/46)

When the Boston Celtics started behind schedule because coach John "Honey" Russell was coaching minor league baseball, Celtics fans had to know that this year wasn't going to go well because they scraped the bottom of the barrel for players. There was no way to predict that they would be THIS incredibly bad. The Celtics have lost nine of their first ten games now as they were upended by the Providence Steamrollers. Providence led the entire game, taking a 42-27 halftime lead. Dino Martin would eventually finish with 23 points while Hank Beenders had 13. The Rollers led 58-37 going into the final quarter but the Celtics rallied to make it respectable. Johnny Simmons had 14 points while Chuck Connors had 10. It wasn't enough as the Steamrollers had won the game 71-59 at the Boston Garden.

Walter Brown to Honey Russell

Bawful Report:

Art Spector didn't play to earn the Ellison

Jackass of The Night is Connie Simmons. The best player on the team was held to 2 points in a game decided by 12.

Jackass Simmons

Final Thoughts:

If its any consolation, the Boston Bruins were completely terrible their first year in the NHL back in 1925. Two years later they were in the Stanley Cup Finals. The Celtics relying on the Simmons brothers, Wyndol Gray and Chuck Connors clearly isn't working because other teams have stars that can carry a team. Whether its Joe Fulks in Philadelphia or Dino Martin pumping in 23 for Providence, the Celtics just can't match up against anyone. They don't have anyone worth trading either but its not like moves can't be made. It was a total organizational failure but the season is far from over. There's still fifty games to go and a lot can happen. Unfortunately things aren't going to get any easier as tomorrow night the Celtics now have to play the Philadelphia Warriors in Philadelphia. Good luck.

Falcons Beat Tired Celtics (11/23/46)

I don't know who's idea it was to play three games in three days but the Boston Celtics looked worn out in tonight's loss to the Detroit Falcons. Somehow an organization that's so bad they didn't even bother to post a line score of the game beat the Celtics in this one. One day after scoring 82 points against the Toronto Huskies, the Falcons held the Celtics to just 46 points in this one, almost half of what they had. Stan Miasek had 12 points to lead the Falcons while the Simmons brothers pumped in 27 (15 from Connie, 12 from Johnny) combined. The story of the game was Tony Kappen and Red Wallace had no points at all combined after almost strongarming the Celtics to victory last night. It all added up to a 54-46 victory by Detroit over the Celtics at Olympia.

Frederic March can't stand the Celtics

Jackass of the Night is Tony Kappen. He had approximately zero points in this one.

Jackass Kappen

Final Thoughts:

Looks like the Celtics are inventing new ways to lose and owner Walter Brown is very upset. How's he supposed to run a franchise that loses every single game? Not even a trade could help because what would they even get with the lack of talent that they have? Detroit isn't even that good but just like everyone else, they beat the Celtics. The Simmons brothers can only do so much out there, Wyndol Gray, Chuck Connors and Tony Kappen contributed little tonight, that's for sure. Honey Russell must be pulling what's left of his hair out after a start to the season like this, maybe he'll be fired before the year is out. Who knows....it doesn't look good. Two nights from now the Celtics are back in action against the Providence Steamrollers. Hopefully the Celtics can beat them at home at the Boston Garden.

Huskies Outshoot Celtics in Overtime (11/22/46)

On one hand it was good to see the Boston Celtics offense wake up to score 82 points in a game, on the other hand....this might be the most embarrassing loss of the season. The Celtics battled the Toronto Huskies to force overtime only to lose to them without Ed Sadowski in the lineup. This time it was Dick Fitzgerald who led the charge for Toronto, scoring 15 points in the contest. The Celtics were led by the Simmons brothers as Connie dropped 18 and Johnny dropped 14. Red Wallace and Tony Kappen pitched in with 25 points combined but it wasn't enough. The Huskies ended up beating the Celtics 83-82 in overtime at the Maple Leaf Gardens.

Bob Davidson laughs at the Celtics

Jackass of the Night is a tough one since the team played really well. This time I'll go with Mel Hirsch. He was the only Celtic to not score in a game decided by one point.

Jackass Hirsch

Final Thoughts:

Figures that the Celtics played their best game of the season and still lost. Nearly everybody but Hirsch scored a point so its hard to judge a team that forces overtime and comes up just short. That's the story of the season though, just coming up short. The Celtics have played eight games so far and have lost seven of them. Owner Walter Brown can't be happy with this but then again, they're in an expansion league with an expansion roster. Teams in the NBL have been around forever and the BAA is trying to muscle in. Hopefully the Celtics can one day field a team capable of winning, it just doesn't seem like this year will be that one. The Celtics play for the third time in three games tomorrow night in Detroit against the Falcons. Good luck to them at Olympia in Detroit.

Bombers Defeat Celtics Again (11/21/46)

So much for the feel good story of the Boston Celtics first win. After dispatching the Toronto Huskies, the Celtics were brought back to earth by Ken Loeffler's St. Louis Bombers. Not a single Celtics player reached doubled digits in scoring with Connie Simmons being held to 9 points. Meanwhile George Monroe led the charge for St. Louis with 16 points with John Logan pumping in 12. Cecil Hankins had eight points as well. The Celtics took a 12-10 lead after the first quarter but it was all Bombers after that. St. Louis ran away with this one 65-53 at the Boston Garden.

Les Douglas laughs at the Celtics

Jackass of the Night is Chuck Connors. After being one of the main reasons the Celtics beat the Huskies, he shriveled up by scoring just three points in a game decided by twelve.

Jackass Connors

Final Thoughts:

Another unmitigated disaster as its become very apparent that this team is just not built to win. When you have to pick last in a pseudo expansion draft, you're not going to get high end talent. The Simmons brothers only scored 17 points combined and George Monroe by himself had 16. Not that Monroe is the odds on favorite for BAA Most Valuable Player, but the talent discrepancy between other teams and the Celtics is horrifying. Unless Connie Simmons or Chuck Connors suddenly becomes an all-star, this season could be a washout just seven games into it. The Celtics are back in action tomorrow night when they travel to Toronto for a re-match with the Huskies. Hopefully the Celtics can beat them again.

Celtics Beat Huskies for First Win (11/16/46)

Pop the champaign corks because the Boston Celtics win.....their first game in their franchise history. After starting the season 0-5, the Celtics finally got in the win column as they rallied in the fourth quarter past the Toronto Huskies. The Celtics broke out to a 28-21 halftime lead but got ran over by Ed Sadowski's Huskies in the third quarter as they led 39-36 going into the fourth quarter. Thanks to the efforts of Wyndol Gray and Chuck Connors, the Celtics beat the Huskies 54-49 at the Boston Garden.

Ray Milland approves of the win

Hero of the Night is Wyndol Gray. He hit 3 shots and sank 7 free throws to guide the Celtics to victory

Wyndol the Hero

Final Thoughts:

That was their best team win of the season as not only Gray but others scored as well. Chuck Connors had 11 points while Harold Kottman stepped up with 9. Connie Simmons had 9 as well and that was good enough to win. This was badly needed as the Celtics were in danger of losing their sixth straight game going into the fourth quarter. Good to see coach Honey Russell get his first win as coach as well. Hopefully more wins are in store as the season continues on. The Celtics look to win their second straight game on the 21st of November in a re-match with the St. Louis Bombers. Good luck to the Celtics.

Bombers Beat Celtics in Overtime (11/14/46)

Well the Boston Celtics played their first overtime game in Celtics history tonight against the St. Louis Bombers.....and lost. The Celtics actually broke out to an 18-14 lead after the first quarter which was a miracle in itself. The Celtics added to it and led 41-26.....and immediately crapped themselves in the third quarter. The Bombers outscored the Celtics 14 to 4 with the Celtics still leading 45-40 going into the fourth quarter. The Bombers managed to outscore the Celtics in the fourth quarter to send the game into overtime. The Bombers scored just 7 points in OT but the Celtics could only muster 5 as the Celtics dropped their fifth game in a row 64-62 in overtime at St. Louis Arena.

Clara Bow hates losing in overtime

Jackass of the Night is Johnny Simmons. He shot 4 for 18 in a game decided by two points. 14 missed shots is not good.

Johnny The Jackass

Final Thoughts:

Celtics coach John Russell must be ready to run back to Brooklyn at this point. They simply can't find a way to win no matter the situation. As a unit they missed 48 shots and bricked 12 free throws in a game decided by two points in overtime. Not that the Bombers were much better, but John Logan and Don Putnam outscore Wyndol Gray and Red Wallace, its not your night. If you're Russell, what do you do? Not sure there's anyone around the league that can be realistically traded for that could help. Just going to have to go with what they got the rest of the season I'm afraid. The Celtics now come home in search of their first win when they play the Huskies this Saturday night. The game begins at 7:00 PM at the Boston Garden.

Zaslofsky, Stags Beat Celtics (11/13/46)

The Boston Celtics still don't have a win in their inaugural Basketball Association of American season as they lost their fourth straight game tonight. Max Zaslofsky had 16 points for the Chicago Stags as the Celtics went on to lose to them. The Stags broke out to a four point lead in the first quarter but led by just three at the half. The Celtics got run off the court in the third quarter getting outscored 26-18 with Chick Halbert leading the charge. The Celtics fought bravely but couldn't go on an extended run of their own as the Stags took the game 71-61 at Chicago Stadium.

"You can't beat me" - Zaslofsky

Jackass of the Night is Art Spector. He had more fouls (3) than points (1) in a game decided by 10 points.

Jackass Spector

Final Thoughts:

Is it possible for a Celtic to score 20 points just once? In this game Johnny Simmons was the leading scorer with just 14 points. Red Wallace had 12 and Connie Simmons had 10 points. Art Spector having more fouls than points is inexcusable. Spector, Harold Kottman, Mel Hirsch, Wyndol Gray and Al Brightman had a combined three points. That's simply not going to cut it, no wonder why they haven't won a game yet. Celtics coach Honey Russell can't really do much with the roster he has, thankfully this is just the first season. The Boston Bruins were awful their first season in 1924 and won the Stanley Cup five years later. Hopefully Wyndol Gray and Art Spector can score more points in the next game. The Celtics look for their first win of the season tomorrow night when they travel to St. Louis to play the Bombers. The game begins at St. Louis Arena at 7:00 PM.

Falcons Run Celtics Off Floor (11/9/46)

The Boston Celtics are still looking for their first win in franchise history after getting spanked by the Detroit Falcons in tonight's game. Four Falcons scored in double figures led by Stan Miasek's 19 and Ariel Maughan's 13. The Falcons broke out to a 20-13 lead after the first quarter but pretty much decided the game at halftime with a 32-22 lead. Art Spector led the Celtics with 12 points as they kept it close, trailing 46-40 going into the fourth quarter. Then the Falcons ran the Celtics off the floor outscoring them 23-6 the rest of the way. Milt Schoon had more points than Connie Simmons as the Falcons wiped the court with the Celtics 69-46 at Detroit Olympia.

Celtics fans aren't taking it well

Jackass of the Night is Connie Simmons. He didn't hit a shot all night and only had 4 points on 4 free throws.

Simmons Jackass

Final Thoughts:

This game was far worse than the first two. The Celtics had a chance to beat the Chicago Stags but they got blasted in the fourth quarter by the Falcons. They only scored six points in the entire fourth quarter and that's simply inexcusable. Glenn Curtis had his boys ready to finish the game and clearly Honey Russell's Celtics weren't. The Simmons brothers and Connors combined for just 8 points while John Janisch had 11 by himself. Quite simply, the Celtics are just not good. Honey Russell's damn baseball season caused him to scrape the bottom of the barrel for players once he was available to coach. They haven't won a game yet! The Celtics look for their first win of the season this Wednesday night in Chicago against the Stags. The game begins at 7:00 PM at Chicago Stadium.

Connors Breaks Backboard, Stags Beat Celtics (11/5/46)

Here's a story for the ages. Before tonight's game, Boston Celtics forward Chuck Connors launched a forty foot warmup shot and broke the damn backboard at the Boston Arena. The building manager went looking for a spare in the back but couldn't find one. The Celtics front office realized the nearest backboard was 15 minutes away at the Boston Garden. Only one problem, the reason the Celtics were at the Arena and not the Garden was the circus is in town at the Garden. They actually delayed the game for almost an hour as they had to lug the backboard out of the Boston Garden and drive it to the Arena. Once the game started, the Celtics took a 33-27 halftime lead over the Chicago Stags. The Stags surged ahead to tie the game at 46 apiece going into the fourth quarter and beat the Celtics by a basket, 57-55 at the Boston Arena.

Thanks a lot, Connors

Jackass of The Night is Chuck Connors for breaking the damn backboard and playing poor defense on Max Zaslofsky who torched the Celtics for 28 points. He also missed two free throws in a game decided by 2 points.

Connors is a Jackass

End Rant:

That's two games and two losses for the Celtics. This game they could have won if they bothered to covered Zaslofsky. Johnny Simmons had 13 points and Wyndol Gray has 12, not much you can do when Connie Simmons doesn't play. Connors breaking the backboard was pretty funny but missing two crucial free throws is anything but funny. The Celtics only play 60 games this year and starting out 0-2 sucks. Celtics coach John "Honey" Russell has a lot of work to do but he may not have the horses to do it. Getting Connie Simmons going and hoping Wyndol Gray plays well will give the Celtics a slight chance to win some games this season. After three days off, the Celtics play their next game on Saturday night in Detroit against Stan Miasek's Falcons. The game begins at 7:00 PM at Detroit Olympia.

Celtics Lose First Game to Steamrollers (11/2/46)

Boston Celtics owner Walter Brown can't be happy with this. After joining the Basketball Association of America, Brown needed to put together a team to compete with the other teams in the inaugural BAA season. Unfortunately he had to wait because his coach John "Honey" Russell was busy managing a minor league baseball team. Because of that, Russell could only select castoffs to play this season. It showed as the Celtics got beat by the Providence Steamrollers in their first game as a franchise. Dino Martin had 18 points for the Steamollers while Earl Shannon pumped in 15. The Celtics highest scorer was Red Wallace with just 9 points. The game was tied at 26-26 at the half but the Steamrollers came back to win the game 59-53 at the Rhode Island Auditorium.

"What was I thinking?"

Jackass of the Night is Connie Simmons. How do you score just 6 points against the Providence Steamrollers?

Jackass Simmons

Post-game Rant:

When Red Wallace is your high scorer with just 9 points you know there's a dearth of talent on your team. I know its the first game in franchise history and they started behind the 8-ball because Honey Russell just happened to make the playoffs with his baseball team. Still, when Chuck Connors outscores Connie Simmons, that's a problem. Not being able to contain Earl Shannon and Dino Martin was also a big problem and that's mostly why they lost. Still, when other teams have guys like Ed Sadowski, Dino Martin and "Jumpin" Joe Fulks while you're trotting out Mel Hirsch and Art Spector, it doesn't look good moving forward. Still, its only one game and there are 59 more to go this season. Three nights from now the Celtics play their first game of the season at home against Max Zaslofsky and the Chicago Stags. They'll be playing at the Boston Arena, former home of the Boston Bruins.