Bob Cousy: Mr. Basketball
Basketball: NBA Finals: Boston Celtics Bob Cousy (14) in action vs Los Angeles Lakers Jerry West (44). Boston, MA 4/7/1962--4/18/1962 CREDIT: Walter Iooss Jr. (Photo by Walter Iooss Jr. /Sports Illustrated/Getty Images) (Set Number: X8418 F13 )
On August 9th, 1928, Bob Cousy was born in New York City, New York. He went on to be a 6x NBA Champion with the Boston Celtics, and the NBA’s first great point guard.
Bob Cousy went to Holy Cross for 4 years (1946-1950). He was selected by the Tri-Cities Blackhawks with the 3rd overall pick. After a long process, Cousy was picked up by the Celtics. The Celtics went 39-30 in Cousy’s rookie season, losing in the 1st round of the playoffs the New York Knicks. Cousy received his 1st of 13 straight All Star Appearances. The next season, the Celtics also lost to the Knicks in the playoffs. Cousy earned his first All-NBA 1st Team selection that season. The next season, the Celtics lost to the Knicks yet again in the playoffs. Before the 1956-57 season, the Celtics drafted Bill Russell and Tom Heinsohn. Cousy won his first MVP award, and the Celtics won the NBA Finals against the Atlanta Hawks in 7 games. They lost the next season in the NBA Finals because of an injury to Bill Russell, but they swept the Minneapolis Lakers in the 1958-59 season to the win the NBA Finals. They won in 1960, 61, 62 and 63. Cousy would retire in 1963 and coach Boston College for 6 years (1963-1969). He would come back to coach the Cincinnati Royals in 1969. He played 7 games in 1970, only scoring 5 points in total, put the ticket sales went up. He would coach there until early 1973-74 where he would officially retire. In his MVP season in 1957, Cousy averaged 20.6 points, 7.5 assists and 4.8 rebounds. Pretty good. Overall, Cousy won 6 NBA Championships, an MVP in 1957, a 13x All Star, 2x All Star MVP, 10x All NBA 1st Team, 2x All NBA 2nd Team, NCAA Champion (1947). He was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1971 and inducted into the College Basketball Hall of Fame in 2006.
Cousy was a great player, really consistent, the backbone of all those Celtics title runs. He was the NBA’s first great point guard.
I hope you enjoyed this edition of This Day In History, please leave a comment on which player I should do next and on which day.
