1946–47 Boston Celtics season

1946–47 Boston Celtics season
Head coach	Honey Russell
Owner(s)	Walter A. Brown
Arena	Boston Arena Boston Garden
Results
Record	22–38 (.367)
Place	Division: 5th (Eastern)
Playoff finish	DNQ
Stats @ Basketball-Reference.com
Radio	WMEX

The 1946–47 Boston Celtics season was the first season of the Boston Celtics in the Basketball Association of America (BAA/NBA). Walter A. Brown was the man who was responsible for starting the franchise. On an early June day in 1946, Brown, who operated the Boston Garden arena and was part of the National Hockey League's Boston Bruins, was the driving force behind the Basketball Association of America and the Celtics birth. After considering several team names, including Whirlwinds, Unicorns and Olympics, Brown opted for Celtics. He hoped to grab the attention of Boston's large Irish American population. John Davis "Honey" Russell was hired as the first Celtics coach, and the team soon began its inaugural season, losing its first game 59–53 to the Providence Steamrollers. Although the Celtics would eventually become the signature franchise of the NBA, the club had a lacklustre first season as they started with 0 wins and 5 losses. The Celtics won their first game of the season against the Toronto Huskies.

Roster

Boston Celtics 1946–47 roster
Players	Coaches
Pos. No. Name Height Weight DOB (YYYY–MM–DD) From G/F 5 Becker, Moe 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 185 lb (84 kg) Duquesne F 6–18 Brightman, Al 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 195 lb (88 kg) Long Beach State F/C 11 Connors, Chuck 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 190 lb (86 kg) Seton Hall F 15 Cirsler, Hal 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 215 lb (98 kg) Iowa State F 17 Duffy, Bob 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 175 lb (79 kg) Colgate F 14 Eliason, Bob 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 210 lb (95 kg) Hamline F 7 Fenley, Warren 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 190 lb (86 kg) Manhattan G 15 Garfinkel, Jack 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 190 lb (86 kg) St. John's G/F 4 Gray, Wyndol 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 175 lb (79 kg) Bowling Green G 3 Hirsch, Mel 5 ft 6 in (1.68 m) 165 lb (75 kg) Brooklyn G 3 Hoefer, Charlie 5 ft 9 in (1.75 m) 158 lb (72 kg) Queens F 14–24 Kelly, Jerry 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 172 lb (78 kg) Marshall C 9 Kottman, Harold 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 220 lb (100 kg) Culver–Stockton G 5 Murphy, Dick 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 175 lb (79 kg) Manhattan F/C 10 Simmons, Connie 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 222 lb (101 kg) G 6 Simmons, Johnny 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 184 lb (83 kg) NYU F 12 Spector, Art 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 200 lb (91 kg) Villanova F/C 17 Vaughn, Virgil 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 205 lb (93 kg) Western Kentucky	Head coach John Russell Legend (C) Team captain (DP) Unsigned draft pick (FA) Free agent (S) Suspended Injured Roster

Regular season

On November 5, the Celtics played their first game at the Boston Garden in front of 4,329 fans. The game would be delayed an hour when the wooden backboard was damaged after a practice dunk during warm-ups. After the backboard was repaired, the Celtics lost to the Chicago Stags by a score 57–55.

Season standings

#	Eastern Division
	Team	W	L	PCT	GB
1	x-Washington Capitols	49	11	.817	–
2	x-Philadelphia Warriors	35	25	.583	14
3	x-New York Knicks	33	27	.550	16
4	Providence Steamrollers	28	32	.467	21
5	Boston Celtics	22	38	.367	27
6	Toronto Huskies	22	38	.367	27

Player stats

Season

Player	GP	GS	MPG	FG%	3P%	FT%	RPG	AST	SPG	BPG	PPG
Connie Simmons	60			.320		.677		62			10.3
Al Brightman	58			.256		.627		60			9.8
Wyndol Gray	55			.292		.581		47			6.4
Art Spector	55			.267		.553		46			6.0
Jerry Kelly	43			.291		.667		24			6.0
Chuck Hoefer	35			.241		.634		24			6.0
Red Wallace	24			.246		.438		20			5.5
Johnny Simmons	60			.280		.614		29			5.3
Chuck Connors	49			.247		.464		40			4.6
Jack Garkinkel	40			.266		.607		58			4.5
Harold Kottman	53			.314		.465		17			3.1
Warren Fenley	33			.225		.511		16			2.6
Tony Kappen	18			.275		.632		6			4.1
Virgil Vaughn	17			.192		.536		10			2.6
Mel Hirsch	13			.200		.500		10			1.5
Dick Murphy	7			.059		.000		3			0.9
Moe Becker	6			.227		.750		1			2.2
Bob Duffy	6			.286		1.000		0			1.3
Hal Crisler	4			.333		1.000		0			1.5
Don Eliason	1			.000		–		0			0.0

Transactions

December 12, 1946

To the Boston Celtics Moe Becker

To the Pittsburgh Ironmen Tony Kappen

December 23, 1946

To the Boston Celtics Jack Garfinkel

To the Rochester Royals (NBL) cash

January 2, 1947

To the Boston Celtics Charlie Hoefer

To the Toronto Huskies Red Wallace