​Today in Boston Celtics history, Tony Lavelli was born in 1926 in Somerville, Massachusetts. An alumnus of Yale University, Lavelli was selected fourth overall by the Boston Celtics in the 1949 Basketball Association of America (BAA) draft, which marked the last draft of its kind before the league shifted into the National Basketball Association (NBA) era after its 1949 merger with the U.S. National Basketball League (NBL). Lavelli, known for his time with the Bulldogs in college, didn’t stay with the Celtics for long. He spent just one season, appearing in 56 games, before moving on in free agency to join the New York Knicks at the end of the 1949-50 season. During his brief Celtics tenure, Lavelli averaged 8.8 points per game, a figure that reflects the early days of the league when statistics such as rebounds were not yet officially recorded.
Today also marks the birthday of former Celtics center Ed Sadowski. Born in 1917 in Johnstown, Pennsylvania, Sadowski played his collegiate basketball at Seton Hall and entered the professional ranks with the Toronto Huskies in the BAA’s inaugural 1946-47 season. The Huskies were one of the league’s first teams, though they would soon fold, and Sadowski found himself traded to the Cleveland Rebels, another short-lived franchise that would soon dissolve. In the dispersal draft that followed Cleveland’s demise, the Celtics acquired Sadowski. He spent a season with Boston, appearing in 47 games and delivering averages of 19.4 points and 1.6 assists, with rebounds not yet being tracked in official statistics.
In a different era of the league’s history, today is also the birthday of former Celtics big man Woodrow Sauldsberry, born in 1934 in Winnsboro, Louisiana. A standout at Texas Southern University, Sauldsberry was selected 60th overall by the Philadelphia Warriors in the 1957 NBA draft, which is a franchise that evolved into today’s Golden State Warriors. His professional journey included stints with the St. Louis Hawks and the Chicago Zephyrs (the franchise later known as the Washington Wizards after relocation and name changes). Sauldsberry later joined the Celtics after two seasons as a retiree-turned-player, contributing to Boston’s rotation. He was part of Boston’s championship-winning squad in 1966, serving in a reserve role behind Bill Russell and posting averages of 4.4 points and 3.6 rebounds per game during that title run.
This snapshot of Celtics history ties together three players born on today’s calendar who each left distinct marks on the franchise and on the league during its formative decades. Tony Lavelli’s one-season stint in Boston, Ed Sadowski’s quick path from college to the BAA and then to the Celtics via the dispersal draft, and Woodrow Sauldsberry’s late arrival and championship contribution all reflect the evolving nature of professional basketball in the United States and the long, winding road of the Celtics’ rich legacy.