On this day in Boston Celtics history, the team sold the contract of small forward Chuck Cooper to the (then) Milwaukee (now, Atlanta) Hawks in 1953. Cooper, a native of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, had been drafted by the Celtics out of Duquesne in the 1950 NBA draft with the 14th pick.
With that selection, the future Hall of Fame wing became the first African American drafted into the league and one of the first to play in the NBA. Legendary head coach and general manager Red Auerbach famously said of the pick at the time: “I don’t give a damn if he’s striped, plaid or polka dot. Boston takes Charles Cooper of Duquesne.”
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He played four seasons with Boston under team president and coach Red Auerbach, averaging 6.8 points, 6.6 rebounds, and 1.1 assists per game in his time with the franchise.
Chuck Cooper. Courtesy Boston Celtics. Saved in photo6 and adv sports
It was also the date of the 1974 NBA draft, in which the Celtics drafted four players of note. The first was Al Skinner, a shooting guard out of UMass, taken with the 160th pick (there were many more rounds in that era). Skinner never played in the NBA, instead electing to join the (then) New York (now, Brooklyn) Nets in the American Basketball Association. Boston also drafted small forward Ben Clyde from Florida State with the 89th pick of the draft. Clyde played 25 games for Boston in the following season, averaging 2.8 points, 1.6 boards, and 0.2 assists per game before being waived in 1975.
The Celtics also took shooting guard Kevin Stacom from Providence with the 35th pick. Stacom stuck for five seasons with the Celtics, with whom he won a ring in 1976, averaging 5.3 points, 1.5 boards, and 1.5 assists per game. With the 17th pick, Boston took small forward Glenn McDonald out of Cal State Long Beach. McDonald also won a ring with Boston in 1976. He played two seasons with the Celtics, logging 4.3 points, 1.5 rebounds, and 0.7 assists per game.
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It is the anniversary of the 1980 expansion draft, in which players were selected from unprotected prospects on Boston and other established NBA teams to populate the roster of the newly formed Dallas Mavericks. Celtics shooting guard Jeff Judkins was taken from them after two seasons with the team. He put up 7.3 points, 1.8 rebounds and 1.3 assists per contest with the Celtics.
Larry Bird #33, Power Forward for the Boston Celtics looks on during the NBA Midwest Division basketball game against the Denver Nuggets on 17th February 1991 at the McNichols Sports Arena in Denver, Colorado, United States. The Boston Celtics won the game 126 – 108. (Photo by Tim DeFrisco/Allsport/Getty Images)
In 1986, Celtics legend Larry Bird won his third straight MVP award. The Indiana native joined Bill Russell and Wilt Chamberlain as the only players to win the MVP award three seasons in a row.
Finally, it was also on this date that star Celtics forward Jayson Tatum put up a career playoff-high 50 points against the Brooklyn Nets in a 125-119 victory in Game 3 of the 2021 NBA Playoffs first round.
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It was the sole game Boston won in that series, but what a way to do it. ”We had a lot of guys step up tonight around Jayson being special,” said then-Celtics coach Brad Stevens via the NBA.
This article originally appeared on Celtics Wire: Celtics history: Larry Bird wins 3rd MVP; Celtics trade Chuck Cooper