Posted on 11/09/2011 9:52:00 AM PST by massmike
Ed Macauley, one of the NBA's first big stars who won a championship with the St. Louis Hawks and was traded by the Boston Celtics for Bill Russell, has died. He was 83.
Macauley played for the Celtics from the 1950-51 season until 1955-56. He and the draft rights to future Hall of Famer Cliff Hagan were traded by Boston to the St. Louis Hawks on April 29, 1956, for the rights to Russell, a move that changed the power structure of the NBA.
The Celtics went on to win 11 titles with Russell dominating in the paint.
After the deal, Macauley and the Hawks faced Russell and the Celtics in consecutive NBA Finals. Boston won in 1957, then the Hawks took the crown in 1958.
The 6-foot-8 Macauley, who had his No. 22 retired by the Celtics, played three seasons with the Hawks before retiring with a career average of 17.5 points per game. He was a seven-time All-Star, six of the appearances with Boston. He was the MVP of the first NBA All-Star Game in 1951.
He coached the Hawks for two seasons, compiling an 89-48 record with two playoff appearances.
(Excerpt) Read more at espn.go.com ...
RIP...
RIP.
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