Dick Raphael-USA TODAY Sports

Dick Raphael-USA TODAY Sports

The Boston Celtics have had players suiting up in a total of 68 different jersey numbers (and have three others not part of any numerical series) since their founding at the dawn of the Basketball Association of America (BAA — the league that would become today’s NBA), worn by well over 500 players in the course of Celtics history. To commemorate the players who wore those numbers, Celtics Wire is covering the entire history of jersey numbers and the players who sported them since the founding of the team.

With 25 of those jerseys now retired to honor some of the greatest Celtics to wear those jerseys, there is a lot of history to cover. And for today’s article, we will continue with the only person ever to be assigned jersey No. 2. Once again, we have used very specific language here because the No. 2 jersey was never worn by any of the players suiting up for the Celtics, but was rather an honor bestowed on one of the most important figures in team history.

We are talking about the jersey that was retired to honor legendary Celtics head coach and team president Arnold “Red” Auerbach, which was sent up to the rafters in a ceremony in 1985. Given all but the two most recent of the Celtics 18 banners have his fingerprints on them, the honor makes all the sense in the world.

Boston won nine titles with Auerbach as head coach, and seven more in an executive capacity, and he won the league’s Coach of the Year award in 1965, and the league’s Executive of the Year award in 1985, among many others honors. Widely seen as among the best ever at both the jobs he’s held with the Celtics, No. 2 is Auerbach’s — and Auerbach’s alone.

Listen to the “Celtics Lab” podcast on:

Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/3zBKQY6

Spotify: https://spoti.fi/3GfUPFi

This article originally appeared on Celtics Wire: Celtics jersey history No. 2 – Arnold “Red” Auerbach



Source link

Share.
Leave A Reply