Today in Boston Celtics history, Don Barksdale was born in Oakland, California, in 1923. He played his collegiate basketball at UCLA, where he became the first African American to be named an All-American in NCAA history. Shortly after, he made history by becoming the first African American to win a gold medal at the 1948 Olympic Games before transitioning to the NBA.
Following brief tenures with local clubs, Barksdale was signed by the Baltimore Bullets (now defunct and unrelated to the later team of the same name, which is currently known as the Washington Wizards) before being traded to the Celtics shortly thereafter.
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The Oakland alumnus played two seasons with Boston, where he averaged 9 points, 6.6 rebounds, and 1.8 assists per game before ankle injuries prematurely ended his playing career.
Historic milestones
It is also the anniversary of the Celtics’ very first playoff win, in 1948.
May 15, 2022; Boston, Massachusetts, USA; The Boston Celtics logo is seen at center court before game seven of the second round of the 2022 NBA playoffs between the Boston Celtics and the Milwaukee Bucks at TD Garden. Mandatory Credit: Winslow Townson-USA TODAY Sports
It came against the now-defunct Chicago Stags in the Basketball Association of America (BAA – a precursor league to the NBA) playoffs of the 1947-48 season and saw Boston win the game 81-77, but lose the series 2-1.
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Today is also the date of the 1959 NBA draft, held in Cincinnati, Ohio. The event saw the Celtics take two players of note, the first being John Richter out of NC State, taken eighth overall. Richter played just one season for Boston, the Philadelphia native winning a title with the Celtics in a reserve role in 1960. The center logged 4.3 points and 4.7 rebounds per game over that season.
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Boston also took George Washington’s Gene Guarilia with the 16th pick, and the Duryeah, Pennsylvania native would play four seasons for the Celtics at the small forward position. Guarilia won a title with Boston in each of those seasons, recording a career total of 3.2 points and 2.3 boards per game over that period.
This article originally appeared on Celtics Wire: Celtics history: Boston’s first playoff win; Barksdale born; ’59 draft